Ikea Ektorp Sofa Review-My Honest Opinion

A review of the IKEA Ektorp Sofa

Many moons ago, I was the crazy lunatic reading 5,895 review about the Ikea Ektorp sofa. Will it last? Should I get white or gray slipcovers? How big is it? Will my tushy be comfy? Will my husband hate it? Will it look too bulky? Should I get two sofas or a sofa and loveseat?

All those questions were floating around my head 5 years ago.

We pulled the trigger though and 5 years later, I can answer all the questions.

If you are like I was 5 years ago, I’m here to answer your questions….honestly

(This post contains affiliate links. You can see my full disclosure policy here)

Is IKEA discontinuing the Ektorp Series?

Updating this post to give you the bad news that the Ektorp sofa is (if not already) being discontinued. It’s a shame really and I had a hard time accepting that IKEA would do this to us.

The IKEA Ektorp Sectional is also being discontinued I hate to say

They have replaced the Ektorp with the Uppland Sofa which looks almost identical to the Ektorp sofa

IKEA Ektorp vs IKEA Uppland Sofa

Do not fret, I wrote a whole blog post reviewing the IKEA Uppland sofa and how it compares to the Ektorp.

If you are desperately wanting the Ektorp sofa check your local FaceBook marketplace. Sometimes you can find them there and you can replace the slipcovers if needed.

(Amazon has Ektorp slipcovers)

What makes Ikea Ektorp sofa so popular?

Well, first off, it’s pretty inexpensive. The price has gone up since we purchased ours but it is still a great price for a couch.The price of these couches shouldn’t scare you. This isn’t a “you get what you pay for” situation.

But most importantly, these bad boys are slipcovered. Slipcovers are a mom’s best friend when you have kids and a dog. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t remove these covers to wash them. You can also choose from an array of different slipcovers. Some of the slipcovers are only $49. Change out your slipcover for under $50 and you technically have a brand new couch…well, not really but you get the idea.

Is the IKEA Ektorp comfortable?

I’ll be honest, my tush is somewhat comfy. This isn’t one of those couches you sink into and want to take a nap on. Don’t get me wrong, naps are still taken on this couch.

We’ve had these couches for years and our cushions are sill pretty firm. We have the 3 seater sofa. If you have ever been to an IKEA store and sat on a Ektorp in store, just know, your couch will not be that comfy.

I really don’t know why but I can feel a huge difference between my IKEA Ektorp couch cushions and the ones in store. I was really thinking I just needed to break in our cushions more…but it’s been 5 years, I have given up.

Also, this sofa has three cushions. I feel like I always find a way to sit on a crack between two cushions. I think if the cushions would be two long ones instead of three, it would make a world of difference.

How is IKEA’s shipping?

You are more than welcome to drive to an IKEA store and bring your own couch home. At the time, we did not have an IKEA near us nor did I want to try to shove two couches in our minivan so we opted to have our couches shipped to us.

We spent $250 to have two couches sent to our door and it was the best $250 we spent. The couches somehow get compacted down and they fit in a large box. The large box is then shipped to your house and the nice delivery men carried the large box right to my family room. I have no idea if that’s the case for every IKEA store, but the delivery was amazing for us.

I put the couches together myself. And while I know I did the laziest job with these couches, they are still holding up and it was a fairly easy project.

What color slipcover should you get?

This is a tough one. I think this was the hardest decision for me. I wanted the white sofa cover sooooo bad. My husband was so against white, more than I thought he should be. But he was being logical. I was living in a dream world and believed my kids would never get the white sofa dirty.

And if they did, I would just wash the slipcover. That’s the whole point of having a slipclovered sofa, right?

I lost the battle with my husband and I picked the Nordvalla gray slipcover.

It’s probably the only time I am glad my husband won a battle. Since we purchased our couches we brought home a puppy that turned into a 90lb dog….that gets on the couch when I am not looking.

Also, my kids are dirty little humans

I am so glad we went with the dark sofa covers

I cannot imagine washing these slipcovers as much as I would if the couches were white.

I know white is a popular choice and everybody wants a white couch. Instead, I opted to add white pillows to my couch. Pillows that I can hide and move from the dirty humans and the dirty dog.

(Sharing a photo of my couches all decked out for Christmas. These gray couches can work with any design)

You can find a million of blog posts about these sofas in white and most will tell you it’s fine. I am sure it is, but just know you will need to start working out to fight with the slipcovers.

IKEA has a few option you can choose from. I feel like every once in a while they throw in a ugly slipcover and you wonder what the heck they are thinking. Like this one, for example. What the what!?!?

Some slipcovers are more expensive than others. Some are probably easier to clean than others. I’m still not ready to pull the trigger on going light with my couch slipcovers but one day Lofallet Beige might join our family.

You can also find IKEA Ektorp slipcovers on Amazon. Some companies also make slipcovers that will fit the IKEA Ektorp sofa. I looked at a few of these and they cost more than the couch.

But if you are on the fence about purchasing an IKEA sofa and do not like any of the slipcovers, do a quick google search. You can find other options to cover those sofas.

How to clean IKEA Ektorp slipcover

I might be the fist blogger to let you know that this part is not fun. Not fun at all. I’m also lazy and despise these kinds of chores. It’s up there with putting sheets on a top bunk bed. We don’t own bunk beds but if we did, I don’t know what chore I’d hate the most.

Here are some tips.

Tip #1: Don’t let your kids sit on the couch.

Tip #2; If you failed on tip #1, get a big glass of water (or whiskey) and remove the covers from the cushions. I usually do one couch at a time. Throw the covers in your wash on cold.

Tip# 3: Do not dry them…at all. Let them air dry. If it’s possible, I put the covers back on the cushions when the covers are still a little damp. You might swear and more than likely they will look all lopsided once you get the cushions back in the covers but they usually go back to normal as you sit on them.

Seriously, if I had to do this every week, I think I would have went all 90 year old grandma on my family and had my couches wrapped in plastic. It’s not an awful experience but it’s definitely not one I want to do often

Should you get one or two sofas?

I know most people default to purchasing a sofa and loveseat when they are buying new couches. We didn’t. We purchased two couches. The Ektorps are not very large sofas and the price of a loveseat was only $20 cheaper than the couch. We had plenty of room for two couches in our old family room and went for it.

When we were moving I was worried that the 2 couches would not fit in our new and smaller family room but they fit just fine in here.

These couches are not massive so if you can swing two couches, I say go for it!

Now if you need a bigger couch than the Ektrop but love the look than do what Kris did and supersize your couch.

My opinion of the IKEA Ektrop in summary

I love them. I don’t LOVE them, but I love them with lowercase letters. The price is amazing, the covers can be washed and replaced inexpensively, they look like more expensive couches out there and after 5 years they are holding up great. I just moved these couches into our front room since our family room just got a makeover.

(Update….I did take the plunge and purchased the beige slipcovers and they are holding up well. You can see more pictures of them in this post)

My husband’s opinion of the Ektrop.

He hates them…seriously. I just wrote 1200 words telling you how great the Ektrop sofa is and at the end I am throwing you this curve ball. There is no exact reason why he hates them but this is the first thing out of his mouth when he sits down.

I think it’s just a man thing…maybe…who really knows.

He’s a tall man and these couches might be not be best for bigger guys.

Other slipcover couches

I rounded up some other slipcover sofas for you too just in case I scared you when I told you my husband hates our couches. I also recently did a blog post on quick delivery sofas and sectionals.

1.) Pottery Barn Slipcovered sofa: This sofa looks almost identical the IKEA Ektrop. I am sure there are some differences but they can pass as twins.

2.) Stone and Beam Slipcover on Amazon: This couch has decent reviews and I love the look of this couch and linen slipcovers

3.) Madison Slipcovered Sofa on Wayfair: The price is a little bit more than your IKEA price but there are so many options for slipcovers and has great reviews.

4.) York Square Arm Sofa from Pottery Barn: I like the sleek arms of this sofa

5.) Birch Lane Slipcovered Sectional. If you are looking for a slipcovered sectional this one looks great and has tons of options to choose from.

6.) Clausen Sofa: This sofa is pretty wide if you need a longer sofa for your space