Meet our new sectional - Karl

Yep, we went with what seems to be the most popular choice for a well priced sectional among bloggers- the Karlstad sofa and chaise lounge from Ikea!

We've been planning to make this change for quite a while. Our old couches were nice and soft and still in good shape, but just too big for the space. So they'll likely go into storage until my brother graduates college (yay, hand-me-down furniture!).

We knew one thing going in with Karl was that we hated his legs. The light color just didn't work with the dark fabric (we went with Sivik Dark Grey) and he just felt too short with the 5 7/8" legs. So after a lot of research and seeing various failed methods of changing the legs, we went for it and ordered these 8" legs from Waldell Mfg.

 Well they are actually more like 7" legs, and the metal color is silver (unlike their picture that shows gold). But we decided to go for it anyways. I stained them with one coat of Kona stain and sealer, and we decided we were happy with that coat. I didn't bother spending time taping off the metal part since I knew I could scrap off the stain that got on there, but actually we decided it gives it an "antique-y" look similar to what our favorite store, Ballard Designs, does on a lot of furniture. So I'll likely go back and dab more stain on the metal to even it out.



Then on to assembly.... it took us about 2.5 hours, which includes the leg change, so not too bad. Here's how we made that change. First, we pried off the plastic black piece that goes between the leg and the couch frame to get a sturdy surface to attach the brackets for the legs.

Then we pre-drilled holes for the screws to make sure they went in straight and didn't split any wood.

Then simply screwing in the bracket. We used a combination of the provided screws and a few extra long ones mixed in, in case that gave it a little more bite into the wood.

Then screw in the legs and repeat for all 8 legs! It's pretty simple after you get the hang of it. The good news is the legs feel very very secure. So we'll be monitoring them to make sure they don't loosen up as the couch gets used. But we're pretty confident at this point!

We are very happy with the final product, just have to get some more pillows (not all of our old ones worked with the new color scheme), probably a garden stool or other small object to put next to the chaise to hold drinks, and of course a new coffee table!