Despite its original February 4th due date, our big bundle of sectional joy arrived ahead of schedule. Being our first Ikea sofa, we were a bit taken aback by how many different boxes our Karlstad came in.
But since we’re no strangers to assembling our Ikea purchases we dove right in…and even made a time lapse video of the longer-than-we-expected process.
For those who can’t watch the video (maybe you’re being sneaky at work?) here’s the important stuff: the final pictures of Karl in place.
We’re especially enamored with the fabric, which is nice and durable (it’s completely impenetrable to Burger’s claws, which is always the goal). And the dark color is perfect for hiding those spills and drool spots that happen with a dog and a baby around. Plus because the entire sectional is slipcovered (even the arms and the frame) we can always wash it if something crazy happens. Which is definitely a probability in our house.
Karl certainly is a big boy. It took us a couple of hours to adjust to how much more space he took up than our old couch – but it took almost no time for him to win our hearts. He fits the space really well, the dark charcoal color rocks our socks, he’s extremely comfortable, and he makes us want to schedule a huge friends & family movie night (although that might be more fun when we get a larger TV someday).
Speaking of which, Karl’s presence really highlights the need for some other “heftier” items in the room (it’s a huge space, so larger items will make it look a lot more balanced and proportionate) – like a bigger rug, a new media cabinet, and lots of colorful art on the walls. Plus we need to make this space next to the window look more intentional. We plopped the little game table there because of the light that hangs above it, but we’re thinking that zone might be better served as a play / toy storage area for Clara (and future kiddos) down the line.
We also want to add (maybe build?) a long narrow console table to go between the sectional and the wall to host a couple of lamps and act as a spot for drinks, etc. Especially since our current nailhead ottoman & faux sheepskin solution is great looks-wise (light and round ottoman + dark and square sectional = love) but it doesn’t really function beyond feet propping. But with a console table behind the sofa, that’s all it needs to do. Plus it’s baby-head friendly, unlike an angular coffee table. And with all the angles in Karl we were itching for something soft and round anyway.
We also want to try a DIY upgrade to Karl’s legs. Ikea offers sleek metal ones (which take the look to über modern) but we wanna work with the chunky wood ones that came with Karl.
Especially since the fancy pants sofa that we coveted from Room & Board (more on him here) has the exact same legs in a darker finish. And they look surprisingly sleek in that color, as opposed to cheap and birchy like Karl’s (no offense, man):
We’re thinking we might try to stain or paint them darker (maybe even with high gloss spray paint) to help them work better with Karl’s deep charcoal outfit, er slipcover. We considered swapping them out for tapered or round spindle legs, but Karl is a big dude. So we want him to remain as well-supported as possible. Which is why the legs that come with Karl (along with a 10 year warranty) seem like a smart thing to stick with.
Despite our still-growing to-do list, we’re loving our new spot to relax. I’ve got two directions where I can lie down completely (all 6′ of me), Clara’s got a couple of deep corners to be propped up in, and the chaise just happens to be perfectly Sherry sized. Accordingly, she’s been monopolizing it since Karl’s arrival. Good thing I’m not a jealous man.
Burger is basically nutty with options for curling up, jumping around, and perching upon every possible cushion and cranny. Here’s where we discovered him sit-standing yesterday. Yes that’s business in the front, relaxation in the back. What a weirdo.
Apparently it’s a great vantage point to scope out squirrels in the backyard.
So yes, we still need to stain/paint the beams, get/build a sofa table for behind the sectional, get a larger rug, upgrade the media cabinet, remove the fans, add in a few lighting options, and possibly create a little play area for Clara behind the far side of Karl – but we’re happy to take our time and let things evolve instead of rushing into any big purchases we might regret (we have to replenish the ol’ bank account after buying Karl anyway). But I guess I could tackle those fans sometime soon. And Sherry claims to be saving up the energy to take on those beams (she says as she reclines on the chaise and lies motionless, closing her eyes as if to “charge”). Should be interesting…
UPDATE: We’re still loving Karl over a year later. Check out our little update post here.
katy says
I <3 Karl!
I have a very similar floor plan as yours. Living room/kitchen/family room layout is really similar and I also am working on turning the front living room into a dining room and turning the current dining room into a workspace.
Are you planning on centering your future dining table in the middle of that room? Everyone's giving me a hard time for my dining table in the "living room", so I'm just curious how you're going to do it. Of course, i totally understand if you're not sharing those details yet! no rush : )
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! We’re thinking about centering a big round table with upholstered (probably leather or vinyl for kid-proof-ness) chairs – so the room doesn’t feel too hard and wooden. That way it’ll have sort of a casual library vibe with the built-ins behind it (and less for a formal dining room feeling). Should be interesting to say the least…
xo,
s
Ann Hagedorn says
Love it! Thanks for sharing. Where did you get the pillows on the couch? Love them!
YoungHouseLove says
The yellow and gray square ones are from Target. The longer skinny ones are from Crate & Barrel.
xo,
s
Patty Reid says
I am such a younghouselove nerd… almost 50 and constantly checking your site. You guys are awesome! Do you think it’s okay to be totally addicted? Just keep us amazed :) Thanks.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, maybe we should make Young House Love Nerd t-shirts. I’d totally wear one. Although John is the self proclaimed Nerd King in our household (four years of marching band earned him that crown).
xo,
s
Kristin says
My husband was a Fairfax County high school band director for 10 years. He is definitely a nerd too!! :)
Amanda says
Do it! I’d buy one. :)
Lindaroo says
I’ve despised sectionals in the past because most folks let them line the walls of a room so it looks like a padded cell; not so with Karl in your big room! When you float him off the wall with a console table you’ll get that nice balance of sophistication and pragmatism you’re so good at!
terra says
My favorite part of the video is Burger nestled in his pillow raising his head to watch every now and then.
Burger acts a lot like our little Chinese Crested, Beverly.
Meredith K A says
I saw you address the fans re: AC and cross-breezes during the summer, but I would really encourage you to consider keeping them because of their winter heating benefits too – our living room has a gas fireplace, and if we turn it on without the fan going on its lowest setting, one corner of the room gets swelteringly hot while the rest of the room stays freezing cold. The fan keeps the heat from the fireplace much more evenly distributed throughout the room! I know the fans aren’t ideal from a style standpoint, but I really think you’d find them very beneficial if you kept them. If you do take them down, I’d recommend keeping the fan boxes in place in case you ever want to put them back some day!
From a purely style standpoint I would LOVE to get rid of our ceiling fan – it just makes the room feel lower. We did improve things slightly by getting a newer one in a lighter color and with no light for a lower profile – the fan we inherited was huge and looked even more huge with a big light hanging off the bottom, plus a lot of brass. Ugly!!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the suggestion Meredith! We’ll definitely give it a ton of consideration. We kept our fans in the den and sunroom of our last house but didn’t miss them in any other rooms (bedrooms included) so we’ll have to see how it goes! Most of the issue is the insane placement of them (not over the seating area at all, just spread on either end of the room floating randomly over nothing).
xo,
s
Devon says
Check out the “modern,” “contemporary,” and/or “transitional” offerings from Craftmade and Minka-Aire. Not to toot my fans’ own horn, but I think I found great ones from those companies:
http://greenhousegoodlife.blogspot.com/2010/05/couple-more-pictures.html
http://greenhousegoodlife.blogspot.com/2010/05/master-suite.html
http://greenhousegoodlife.blogspot.com/2010/05/i-see-dead-people.html
There’s a lot of ugly in the ceiling fan world, but handsome ones are out there….
Katreena says
I am not going to lie, the yellow throw pillows and rug look WAAAAAY better with the gray sectional than your last couch! It really makes the color pop! I love it!
Holly Austin says
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! This looks amazing, you guys! I’m kinda sad that you’re having to get a larger rug, even though I see that you need one… I just love the way that yellow goes with the grey!
YoungHouseLove says
Us too, sniffle. If only we could photoshop it bigger (and then print it somehow, haha).
xo,
s
Naomi says
Karl looks great – fills up that big space nicely, and the charcoal/yellow combination works really well. I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the room evolves. Love the way Burger is “nesting” on the old couch at the start of the video, too!
Ashley M says
I never comment on here only for the giveaways ya know! mostly because I know you guys get billions of meaningless comments haha! but this one was comment worthy for sure, I LOVE the video of the assembly of karl great job that was hilarious!
Gina says
Oooooh, I love it! And I have to say, I’m joining team home-made console. You guys did such a good job on those shelves, I’d love to see you crank out something bigger with that gadget. But it’s so easy as a reader to just sit back and say “yea! go for it!” then wait for the ‘before’ and ‘after’ :)
Anna says
Just watched the video and I LOVE how Burger insisted on staying put and napping on his cushion until you basically had to throw him off.
He has such a GOOD life. :)
Angela says
I love it! The color looks great, and it does look super comfy! :-)
Janee Lookerse says
Karl is so handsome! I LOVE LOVE LOVE all the pillows!
yellowbirdyellowbeard.blogspot.com
Liz @ Law Mama says
This looks AMAZING! I love the greys and yellow. Super stylish and lovely. I wish we had the room & budget for a new sectional!
ginai says
YAAAY!I am so happy for you guys! the new sofa looks AWESOME! love love!!
love the yellow carpet also, goly yall are soo good, and seem to always be sooo lucky.. keep up the awesomeness! love all ya’ll do!~((:
I *heart* Clara, and Burger also ~~~
Gaby says
Tip for the sectional legs: General Finishes Gel Stain in the color Java. No sanding or stripping required. 2 coats will give you an espresso color. I did an entire dining set with it. Great stuff!
Mary of Country Porches says
John and Sherry,
Does Karl ‘move’ on your wood floor with normal use? I love how he looks in your room but just wondered about that. Thank you…Mary
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks to the front legs on the rug, he doesn’t move an inch. And we’ve jumped/dove/fallen onto him in the interest of testing that very thing.
xo,
s
Amy says
um, love this! I would love to do this color combo in my house, but I think we’re just too far past that point. It looks great so far!
monica says
looks great! i really like the dark color i think it anchors the room really well.
Steph at Modern Parents Messy Kids says
Ahh, I remember the exciting/overwhelming site of Ikea boxes filling up the house from our kitchen remodel. Karl looks great!
susan says
FABULOUS!!! I have been wanting a smaller version of that couch for about two years… You guys, it looks amazing in that space! And you totally rocked the white/yellow/gray theme. Totally!
kellan says
Grey couches are the best. Nice work! I really like the yellow accents! Good luck with the other projects. I really like seeing the progress!
Anna See says
Karl Rocks! Love the charcoal w/ the yellow. We have the Parsons chairs from Ikea with the same light legs.My husband just used a little gel stain on them and they look great!
Amanda says
Love LOVE the new look! I watched your time-lapse video with my 4-yr-old thinking she was learning about DIY-ing and what-have-you. So what did she take away from it? When the video was over she said, “Ha ha! They have a dog.” Ha! Guess I’ll leave the DIY lessong to myself and the hubs. Thanks for your site, it’s such an inspiration to me!
Barbara says
Have you been to the TableLegsOnline.com website? There is a tab under “furniture” legs that you might be interested in since you are going to replace the legs on your sofa. The house is starting to look good, keep up the decorating!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the suggestion Barbara! We’re actually planning to keep the legs that Karl came with (in the interest of working with what we have and retaining the awesome 10 year warranty that he comes with) but we do plan to stain or paint them somehow. More details as soon as we tackle it!
xo,
s
Jennifer B. says
I have to say, I absolutely LOVE Karl in that room! I was so impressed. Great choice! And I love the yellow rug with Karl. I wish it hadn’t been discontinued!
Jennifer B.
Blaine says
The time lapse was awesome! I wish you guys realized how cool you are. But, I guess that’s part of what makes you so endearing… Enjoy your new Karl!
Kelly says
Sherry, you don’t have to have your shoulder all hunched up to hold the phone while you’re working on projects. I promise a bluetooth headset will change your life in terms of multitasking comfort. I often fold laundry or tidy up while talking on the phone. Plus, this is kind of scary, but if you read the fine print on cell phone manuals, most say to keep the phone at least 5/8″ to an inch away from your head and body to reduce radio frequency exposure. Evidence linking cell phones to tumors is inconclusive, but why risk it?
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the heads up! That’s actually our house phone I’m chatting on (yes I try to limit cell phone use for some of the reasons you mention) but I bet a headset would be awesome just for the whole hands-free-no-neck-cramp thing. Katie Bower has one and tells me how much she loves it quite regularly. Thanks for the suggestion!
xo,
s
RC says
I talk on a headset all the time but I prefer a wired headset for the comfort and one less thing broadcasting waves. We’ve had good experiences with Plantronics headsets. When talking I clip the phone to my pants or put it in my pocket.
Kim says
I love how you mix the pillows. That has been the hardest part for me with our future living room. We bought a brown leather sectional and I have no idea where to go with the accent color. I’m trying to find inspiration in pillows! Love the mustard, but I know my hubby wouldn’t go for that!
Kate says
That looks absolutely fantastic – and so comfy! I wish we had IKEA here in NZ, but the closest one is in Sydney.
Elizabeth says
Very cute – I love Karl the couch (OK … I know someone named Karl and that was a weird sentence to write).
Happy to hear you want to upgrade the legs – that has been on thing keeping me from buying some Ikea furniture – cant wait to see what you do with them. And the business in front party (oops, relaxation) in the back Burger is awesome!
Nesting Newbies says
Love the video. The end was so sweet when everybody sits down as one big happy family! *tear!
Alisha Landreth says
OMG! I love it. We’ve had our eye on that one for over a year now. We just need to finally do it! Is it still as comfy as I remember it being in the store?? Looks pretty awesome guys.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! So comfy. I’m sitting on Karl right now as I type this…
xo,
s
Kristen says
LOVE the grey and yellow combo! The new couch looks fab.
I’ve been so inspired by your blog. I’m currently working on reading through the whole thing. I’ve covered recent entries from August-now and from the beginning to mid June 2009. Almost there!
Anyway, I know you both are into being green and detoxing your homes. I’m trying to green up my life, and I was wondering if you two have tried making your own cleaning products, or just stick to Mrs. Meyer’s products? I’ve been trying to find her products, but I only keep encountering her hand wash. I’ve been reading up on house cleaners, and they seem easy to make and cheap, but I wanted to see what others had to say about them, so I thought I’d ask you two.
PS–love how the comment replies are nested now! So much easier to follow conversations.
YoungHouseLove says
We do love Mrs. Meyers and Seventh Generation but we occasionally use some of these homemade recipes: https://www.younghouselove.com/2009/10/clean-up-your-act-all-natural-homemade-cleaners/
Especially the vinegar and baking soda ones. Simple and effective. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Natalie says
Oooh what a great surprise for you both! Karl looks great, and he fits so well in the space!
If you’re looking to update the legs, you should talk to Lynda over at Focal Point. Her current sofa formerly had blonde wood legs but she updated them to blend with the rest of the furniture. Here is her blog: http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com/
Katie says
Looks great! I’m sure you’ve already answered this somewhere in here but being relatively new I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask (again?).
Where did you get your yellow living room rug? It’s awesome and perfect and I want one (actually I’d love a reasonably priced version but I realize that’s me just being picky).
Thanks a ton.
YoungHouseLove says
It’s the Moorish Tile Rug from Pottery Barn, but they no longer sell it so maybe try ebay? Good luck!
xo,
s
ginny says
We bought the same couch in a regular couch size a few years ago. After sitting on it for 3 months, the piece where the leg screws into the particle-board base disintegrated and we had to get a new couch. It was not one of the couches that Ikea has a warranty on, so they wouldn’t take it back or repair it. I would look at ways to re-inforce the legs now before you spend too much time sitting on the couch.
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry to hear that Ginny! And thanks for the advice! They now offer a ten year warranty on it (and apparently have retooled it a few times in the past few years) so hopefully it’ll stand the test of time! Some other Karlstad owners have mentioned that theirs are still going strong even with kids and dogs and lots of use. Fingers crossed that ours follows suit!
xo,
s
Jane says
Love the video!
casey@loft&cottage says
Wow, Karl is totally handsome! Love it all!!
Ana Silva says
I love the video! I see how you were multi-tasking Sherry. Looks good. My fav color is yellow and it looks great next to the charcoal-blue fabric. Like always, bellisimo!
Catherine says
I love it!
I was wondering if Burger sheds? We have a liitle gray couch that is constantly covered with our terrier’s white hair. Do you have any suggestions for removing dog hair?
YoungHouseLove says
He has very short hair and a bald underbelly, so we don’t really have any shedding issues. But maybe others have tips for ya. Anyone?
xo,
s
Paula/adhocmom says
So refreshing that Ikea gave something a regular name, like Karl, rather than TFORGLRARGD or something. I’m a bit envious right now. My husband and I can not BOTH stretch out on our sofa. You two can do some serious lounging!
Cara says
Love your progress and your video! The music is great. Music is always playing when my husband and I tackle DIY projects – is makes tedious stuff much more fun! Do you have any favorite albums to work by? I highly recommend the soundtrack from Scrubs Season 1. Sounds crazy but there really is some great music on there!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Cara,
Can’t say we have one “go to” album for DIY projects, though it’s always fun to pick something that you know the words to. But usually we just put Pandora on one of the laptops and let it play non-stop DJ for us!
-John
Tana says
love love looooove Karl! Love the color combo too! Super sheek! Have you guys thought about spray painting the legs a shiny metallic silver to get the more modern effect? Or would that look cheap? Just a thought. ; ) congrats!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s definitely something we chatted about. Who knows where we’ll end up!
xo,
s
Alyssa says
Looks wonderful!!! Aren’t those slip covers a pain in the a$$ to put on!?!??! My husband and I got slap happy by the end of assembling our Karl because it seemed never ending…had a few fabric and velcro burns at the end too!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, yeah. By the end we were ready to relax on the sofa, that’s for sure!
xo,
s
Kel says
I love Karl. I want a Karl!
The sofa kooks great in your loungeroom. Nice choice. You guys have great style.
Laura says
Hi! Can you tell me where you found the rug? I’m sure this has been answered before but I couldn’t find it. Love it! Also the pillows? (not the Target Dwell ones, the others)
Thanks so much!!
YoungHouseLove says
The rug is the Moorish Tile Rug by Pottery Barn but they no longer sell it. Maybe try ebay. As for the pillows, the gray square ones are also from Target and the skinny textured ones are from Crate & Barrel.
xo,
s
Caroline says
Its a pity she is still a bit young for it but I would love to see an IKEA toy kitchen behind the couch as a play thing for Clara.
Devon says
Apologies if there’s already been discussion about this — 400+ comments is A LOT to sift through — but have you considered a wall-mounted table (kind of like this: http://www.newtableconcept.com/)? Seems like that would be easier to build and install for the loooong expanse you have behind Karl. (It’s also perfect if you’ve been dying to use “Look, Ma! No Legs!” as the title of a post.)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Devon,
That’s so funny because we were actually thinking about hanging Lack floating shelves (like we had in our last house’s dining nook) behind the sofa for a cheap and legless look. Not sure it’s what we’ll end up with though. Time will tell!
xo,
s