Our IKEA Söderhamn Makeover & Comfort Works Sofa Covers Review

This is a sponsored post. Comfort Works generously provided me with the sofa covers being reviewed in exchange for an honest review. As always, this review is completely uncensored and all opinions are my own.

I've always loved IKEA furniture. It's the perfect intersection of clean, modern Scandinavian design and affordability. And, I'm not alone: IKEA has infiltrated many of our homes from childhood, through to dorm living, and beyond.

Some elitists may feel that they've outgrown IKEA after college or with the advent of their first 'grown up' jobs. I, however, am an unabashed IKEA lover for life!

You don't need to spend a lot of money to create a beautiful home, and there's something to be said about the challenge of decorating within a budget. In fact, professional designers frequently incorporate IKEA into their works. It's often the 'low' in high/low decor combinations.

There's also satisfaction to be had in taking something mass-produced and making it your own with an alteration here and there. Who doesn't love a good IKEA hack???

If you've been following along for a while, you'll know that customizing IKEA stuff is my jam (whether it’s via painting, knob changing, or you name it!). When we first got our IKEA Söderhamn sofa, we did this by replacing the original chrome legs with teak ones, to better suit our Scandiboho, Mid-century Modern aesthetic.

In our home, IKEA's speckled throughout; it makes an appearance in our kitchen, my son's bedroom, our living room, and even our walk-in-closet!

Our Söderhamn sofa is our most utilized IKEA piece. It's the focal point in our living room, and something you're probably getting a little sick of seeing, if you follow my Instagram.

We've had the Söderhamn for years now. Structurally, it's stood the test of time, but the fabric is definitely worse for wear. Between a three-year-old who loves building couch forts and a sneaky dog who naps here when he thinks we're not paying attention, it has its share of stains!

We've tried washing the removable slipcovers and spot cleaning the soiled parts, but the original IKEA fabric just doesn't wash well. Each year, it's accumulated a few more permanent stains. Recently, it's crossed the threshold from lived-in to just plain grimy.

So, for the past few months, I'd been shopping around for replacement slip covers; I saw this as an opportunity to inject some non-IKEA flare and change up the look of the sofa.

Through my research for replacement sofa covers, I came across Comfort Works, who is renowned for their high quality, handmade covers. After seeing these in the homes of some of my favourite home decor bloggers and reading numerous rave reviews, I was sold!

Being an MD, mom, and blogger means I don't have a lot of free time. So, I do a lot of two-birds-with-one-stone killing. When my closet's a mess, I blog about closet organization and tidy it up; when we needed a home command centre, I documented our DIY on the blog. So, when I decided to makeover the sofa, my gears were turning on how to get it on the blog.

I reached out to Comfort Works, to see if they'd be interested in sponsoring my project...and they were! As a newer blogger, I was thrilled to partner up with such a reputable company in my niche.

They sent me a swatch pack from which to choose our desired fabric.

I was quite taken by their gorgeous, luxuriously soft, dusty rose-coloured cotton fabric (dubbed 'Madison Rose'); I was equally tempted by the deep blue-green 'Madison Teal.'

Alas, my fear of change prevailed, and despite my best intentions to give the couch a new look, I decided on the fabric most similar to our existing sofa. To give our tiny home a lighter, loftier feel, I stick to white and neutral hues. I also shy away from bold shades on large, staple pieces and prefer a judicious sprinkling of colour with throw pillows and other accents.

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So, we chose the off-white 'Luna Flax.' This fabric is one of Comfort Works' Luna linen blend fabrics; it's a natural, un-dyed linen with a subtly warm hue and slight colour variations inherent to natural fibres. What better way to camouflage future stains, right?

For me, one of the big selling points was its 'child and pet friendly' rating. Now, you may scoff at the fact that this is a white couch we're talking about. But, these slipcovers are removable and machine-washable (and come pre-shrunk!), which is a lifesaver when you have kids or pets.

Also, since the 'Luna Flax' is a linen blend, it's offered at a cost much less than that of pure linen, while providing that linen look.

In addition to fabric selection, I got to choose between the two styles of Söderhamn sofa covers offered by Comfort Works. Along with the prototypical covers (that fit identically to the original IKEA ones), they offer a version with a long skirt. I stuck with the original fit, but I think the long skirt model would work really well in a more traditional home, or with farmhouse decor.

Within just a week of confirming my order, I was surprised to receive my handmade sofa covers! I rabidly tore open the box and found this pretty package inside:

It literally put a smile on my face to receive this parcel sealed with a pretty, red bow (what a nice touch)! I was even more impressed with the luxurious, high quality look and feel of the covers. The fabric sample did not do these justice! When compared to the original IKEA covers, these are a lot softer and much better looking.

As for installation, some disassembly of the couch is required. Though, the process is the exact same as if you were removing the original IKEA covers to wash.

Of course, I enlisted the help of my two favourite assistants.

My son's been into tools, and anything with movable parts, really, since before he could walk. Getting him to help out while keeping him entertained is one of our parenting Jedi mind tricks ('playing' with the hand vac when we're getting ready to have company over is another one of these)!

Once the couch was dismantled and the original IKEA covers removed, applying our new Comfort Works covers was a breeze. They slide on easily and have velcro fasteners that align perfectly with those already on the Söderhamn, to ensure a snug fit. Since the Comfort Works fabric is softer and more pliable, it was actually easier to apply than the rigid IKEA covers.

They even label each piece with friendly reminder tags:

With the new covers applied to each piece, we put Humpty back together again:

I love the grey, microfibre, non-slip surfaces on the Comfort Works couch base cover and seat cushion covers. A nice touch and definite step up in quality from the IKEA originals.

The zippers glide smoothly and have a sturdy feel.

Voila! The finished product:

I love the way it turned out! What do you think?

The Comfort Works covers fit perfectly----even more snuggly than the original IKEA covers. I really appreciate the craftsmanship; I guess that's the advantage of handmade sofa covers! And, that fabric: it's subtle texture and colour variations give off some sophisticated, mid-century modern vibes.

Here she is all gussied up:

If you're wondering where I got that gorgeous caramel-coloured (synthetic) leather pillow cover, it's also from Comfort Works! They also make custom pillow covers. This fabric's called Savannah Saddle. I've always wanted a couch in this colour, but feel it might be too bold for an entire couch in our teeny-tiny space. So, this is the next best thing!

It's been over a week now, and so far, so good! I know it hasn't been long, but we've had a lot of 'life' happen to these already.

There's been a lot of rain this week and the couch has fallen victim to Charlie's mucky paws and a few drips of coffee (my bad!). Each time, I quickly removed the victimized seat cover/pillow cover, ran the soiled spots under the tap, and rubbed gently. There was no permanent harm done and these are still as good as new! I should probably try to be more careful, though! What's that saying again? People with white couches shouldn't throw coffee? Wine? Chocolate???