Do you suffer from Dark Sofa Remorse?
It’s a thing.
And I’m a victim.
When we moved less than three years ago, we almost immediately bought this reclining sofa and loveseat. We got the biggest, brownest leather pieces out there.
And I almost immediately suffered the side effects of Dark Sofa Remorse.
They’re just so big. And so brown. And so nothing at all like anything else we’ve collected for the house.
Add to it a recent obsession with white and gray, as seen here and here. Also here.
I tried to fight it. But then I fell in love.
The Ektorp line of IKEA couches kept cropping up all over the blogosphere, my Houzz app and my dreams.
I know what you’re thinking: But it’s white. And you have a dog. Plus two kids. What the heck are you thinking?!
And it’s IKEA. (Just joking here. I absolutely adore IKEA. It’s seriously my happy place. Just about everything in the house is either IKEA or antique.)
Not to mention, I have perfectly fine couches already. Huge, browny brown couches. Sucking up all the light in the room like overstuffed black holes.
I seriously read about fifty blogs and every review I could find on the Ektorp sofas, trying to convince myself to fall out of love with these gorgeous white couches. But the more I read, the harder I fell. The slipcovers are completely washable. Even bleachable!
Plus, if I ever really screw them up, a new set of slipcovers for the entire sectional is $100. Wha?
And they also come in a dozen other fabrics, if my tastes should *ahem* change again.
I was convinced. My husband? Not so much.
But when I posted the browny brown couches for sale, they sold in a few hours. Four different offers in one day! (Which actually made the hub even more annoyed. “Want to make me even more certain that we’re getting rid of great furniture for an IKEA sectional? Keep telling me about the people who want to buy it.”)
The Ektorp Corner 2 x 2, by the way, fits PERFECTLY on a trailer.
Honestly, unpacking the sectional was a little intimidating. That’s a whole lot of couch spread around the living room. But putting it all together was incredibly easy. I did most of it myself. Huzzah!
The slipcover came out of the packaging pretty darn wrinkled. I knew from the reviews to expect that. I ironed the base piece but the cushions nicely filled out the wrinkles in the seating and backing pieces.
Now it’s all together and I got the coveted and rarely heard “You were right.” The sectional just suits the space better.
I think a smaller coffee table, maybe something round, would work better.
We’re all enjoying it, and I’m not even freaking out* that the boy’s incredibly dirty feet are on the white sectional. 
Because it’s washable!
(Okay. Maybe I shooed him toward the den.)