Add us to the list of Karlstad lovers...

I've been looking for a couch for years. YEARS. I bought a "leather" couch off Craigslist about 6 years ago and then my style totally morphed and it hasn't fit in with my decorating style for quite some time. It was comfortable but not the look that I was going for. I started saving all my antique booth money toward a couch. I saved for two years because it took that long to make a decision!

My wishlist was:

• Clean, mid-century lines
• Button tufting
• Tapered mid-century legs

I kept looking and looking in furniture stores and online for just the right couch. I couldn't find anything that I loved for under $3,000...and that just wasn't happening! I knew I'd have to make some compromises based on what we were willing to spend.

I thought about getting the leather Karlstad couch. It has tufting, but not button-tufting. Both the back and seat were tufted, but I really only wanted tufting on the back. We almost went with it, but I was having serious doubts. I felt like Goldilocks!

Then I saw this image and I fell in love with the idea of a fabric couch.

It was hard to decide on fabric - Lucy sheds pretty badly and I was really nervous about having to constantly vacuum the couch. Each week, I wiped down our "leather" couch with a slightly soapy rag and I knew that a fabric couch would be a totally different cleaning experience. I was nervous about the dog hair on fabric, but we took the plunge anyway.

We got the Karlstad couch from Ikea in Sivik gray and I love it!


I ordered replacement legs on etsy from thirteencolonies. I love them!


I'm so happy that for under $600, we have a really great new couch! It's really comfortable and I am so glad we went with this.

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