Review of the Ikea Farlov Sofa Line – Two Years In

Things to know before purchasing and my honest review of the Ikea Farlov line after owning a sectional, sofa for over two years and the chairs for four years. 

One of the most popular questions that I get from readers and followers on social media is about our Ikea Farlov sectional and Ikea Farlov sofa. I decided it was time to gather all those questions and answers in one comprehensive post all about the Ikea Farlov line to help all those of you out there who are considering purchasing a piece (or four!) from the Ikea Farlov line for your home. I shared my review of our Ikea Farlov chairs a couple of years back, but I have learned a lot more about this line over the past couple of years that we’ve now also owned the Ikea Farlov sectional and an Ikea Farlov sofa. We have been actively using them in our home for the past two or more years. And although I love the look of them, there are definitely some things to consider before making this purchase, so today I’m sharing the raw truth in my review of the Ikea Farlov line. I hope it helps you!

Is the Ikea Farlov Sofa comfortable?

 Short Answer: The Ikea Farlov sofa is very firm at first but becomes more comfortable with time.

Long answer: The cushions come vacuum packed and are very firm at first. I recommend you leave them out to “puff up” for about 24 hours before putting them in their covers if you can.  Then allow a few weeks for them to come fully to size and full comfort level.  We found that the cushions that we left overnight before stuffing in their covers puffed up and were comfortable more quickly than those that we put right into their cushion covers immediately out of their vacuum sealed packing.

Are the Ikea Farlov slipcovers comfortable? Are they scratchy?

Short answer: The white Ikea Farlov slipcover is kinda scratchy but still comfortable.

Long answer: I get this question a lot! The white cover that we have is definitely textured – it has a small, 3-D woven design to it.  I think this makes the fabric much more durable, but it is a bit scratchy as well.  The beige slipcover has a scratchier texture to it as well, but the dark grey and yellow velvet are obviously quite soft.  I can’t speak to their durability as I’ve never owned them.

Is the Ikea Farlov Sofa easy to assemble?

Short answer: The Ikea Farlov Sofa is relatively simple to build.

Long answer: The Ikea Farlov sofa comes flat packed in boxes and you need to build it by attaching the base to the back, adding the legs, and attaching the arms to the sides.  It takes about 1/2 hour to build at the most.  The good thing is, that because it’s quite a large scale sofa, the ability to take it apart and put it back together makes it easier to move from place to place. This helped us enormously recently when we moved our Farlov sofa from our previous house to an upstairs den/bedroom in our cabin.

The Ikea Farlov Sectional is a bit more difficult to assemble as you first need to build each of the end (sofa/loveseat) sections, and then put together the middle section.  You then need to attach the longer end sections the corner piece by sliding them into a metal bracket that is anchored on the frame.  The slipcover is put on first, before sliding the pieces together, so when you want to wash the slipcover of the sectional you literally have to take the couch apart into its three sections again.  It definitely takes a bit of time (and muscle) for this process so I only wash my sectional frame slipcover a couple of times a year and I wait until my husband is home to help me pull the sofa apart to do so.

Is the Ikea Farlov Sofa durable?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Yes, I would consider it to be quite a durable sofa.  The cushions have all held up quite well despite the amount of use they have received, on both our sofa and our sectional as well as the two chairs (which are more like 4 years old now!).  The sofa and sectional have both had hours and hours of use, even by our dog (despite our best efforts to keep her off it), and it has held up really well.  I have washed, bleached, and dried the slipcovers multiple times and they hold up very well to washing. Overall I would say that it is good quality for the price, and even if we end up replacing the slipcover down the road, the cushions themselves seem to hold up quite well to use and wear.

What slipcovers are available for the Ikea Farlov Sofa?

Short answer: Velvet and yarn-dyed fabric in a few colours.

Long answer: Ikea changes it’s selection of slipcovers that are available somewhat regularly.  There used to be a beige and yellow option available, but at the time of writing they are offering a dark grey velvet, dark olive green velvet, dark grey fabric, and white fabric slipcover (like the one we have).  The velvet is more plush, and I can’t speak to its durability.  I know it would be a disaster with dog hair and our yellow lab, so I’m not going anywhere near those.  The fabric slipcovers are both a yarn-dyed fabric with a textured weave to them, and our pups hair does not stick to it at all.

Should I buy an Ikea Farlov Sofa?

Short answer: It’s definitely worth considering.

Long answer: One key consideration is the look you are getting for the price – are you wanting a slipcovered swoop armed sofa style? Well, then the Ikea Farlov is designed to look like higher end sofas from Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware, so even if you need to replace your slipcover down the road you are still getting a pretty high-end look for a fraction of the price.  And it’s pretty darn comfortable and durable for the price point.

But, you also need to think about the reality of washing the slipcovers if you are going for a lighter colour.  I love white sofas but I have two busy boys who are kinda messy and dirty and a big yellow lab.  I don’t like to be super uptight about not allowing the boys to eat popcorn on the sofa while watching a movie etc. and my dog loves to scratch her back rubbing along the edge of our sofa arms.  So… that means I probably need to bleach my slipcovers every couple of months.  The sofa and chairs are quite easy to whip the covers off and clean, but the slipcover definitely takes more effort.  It held up better in our old house as it was used less frequently, but now that the sectional is our main sofa in the cabin I find it’s getting dirty more quickly and that drives me a little bit bonkers.

Is it easy to wash an Ikea Farlov slipcover?

Short answer: Yes for the Farlov sofa and chairs.  No for the sectional.

Long answer: The sofa and chair slipcovers are very easy to pull off and wash and put back on – minimal sweat effort required.  The sectional requires more effort and muscle (read the details above under “assembly”).  I’ll be sharing a post soon with my best slipcover washing tips and the process I use to get and keep my white  slipcovers white, wash after wash.

Do you love Ikea like I do?

Then you might like these posts about the Ikea PAX system – another one of my favourite Ikea lines!

 

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