Blogger Review of IKEA EKTORP Sectional

Are you considering purchasing an IKEA EKTORP sectional?

When I made the decision to buy this one almost two years ago, I searched everywhere for honest reviews about it.

The price just seemed too good to be true…

I visited every local furniture store to test out how comfortable their sectionals were. The great room in the new house really needed a sectional, but I couldn’t find one that was comfortable. And they were crazy expensive!

A friend suggested the IKEA EKTORP sectional and I gotta admit… I gave it the thumbs down before really even considering.

I had flashbacks to my college roommate and I stalking the IKEA in northern Virginia looking for things we could afford to make our dorm room look “cool…”

Out of desperation, I finally made the trek to the IKEA in Michigan with a few of my peeps.

Holy Hannah! The store is basically the hot mess express! We almost left before we ever found the sectional. I’m told it’s one of the busiest of the IKEA stores. I won’t bore you with all of the customer service issues we encountered during our shopping trip, but let’s just say there were many.

But once we tried out the sectional, checked out the colors, and confirmed the price I decided it was the best way to go.

Two years later, we are still loving it.

So what should you know and consider? Here’s my honest opinion and a few tips for maintaining your IKEA EKTORP sectional.

An Honest Review of the IKEA EKTORP Sectional & the Buying Process

1. Don’t fear the white: Don’t be afraid to pull the trigger on the Vittyard White color. It is so versatile and flexible, especially for those of us who like to change our room colors often. The slip covers are easy to spot clean and to take off to wash.
2. Buying online is easier: As crazy as it sounds, we had to put the sectional on carts and wheel it to the counter all on our own. We weren’t prepared for that. Apparently the staff has to charge you quite a bit extra if they help? So if you plan to buy it in person —either for home delivery or to take it home on your own—bring extra girl power. It’s some heavy stuff to drag through their huge, crowded store on carts that don’t maneuver very well.
3. Check for coupons: While the EKTORP line is very affordably priced, who doesn’t love a coupon? I found a few that helped bring the price down even lower. Consider it your payment for suffering through the IKEA buying process…
4. Expect to be frustrated: I don’t remember the poor customer service we experienced at the Canton store from other IKEA stores I’ve been in. But it had been many years since I’d been to an IKEA store. They schedule the delivery for you after you checkout. And, yes, you have to drag your flat carts from the checkout area to another area where you wait in line to schedule your delivery. From there the carts with your sectional are wheeled to a storage area to await delivery. The staff told us there aren’t any local phone numbers to call to confirm the delivery or talk with a real person. (We asked because we wanted to confirm the sectional was in stock before we left home, and couldn’t find a local phone number online.) Don’t believe it and don’t leave the store without a name and phone number. You’ll probably need it.
5. Head outside during delivery: In our area, IKEA contracts out the delivery. Around here, they use a delivery service that isn’t so great. Unbeknownst to us, they pushed the furniture boxes off the back of the very tall delivery truck allowing the furniture to crash to the ground and hit the concrete. We weren’t outside to see it, but a neighbor was. The delivery crew will bring the boxes in to the foyer and you are on your own from there. Once the delivery crew left and we cut the boxes open, several of the wooden frames were splintered. This is where having that local phone number is key. We had to call (and get the run around) to arrange for the damaged pieces to be picked up and new ones to be delivered.
6. It takes time to unpack: While it’s fairly easy to assemble, the furniture is wrapped in plastic up tightly in plastic and paper. You’ll need to give yourself some time to cut it all out and put it together. Again, it’s not a difficult process but it is time consuming.

So after all that would we do it again? Would we buy an IKEA EKTORP all over?

Yep! But we would likely do it online and be waiting curbside when the delivery crew rolled up!

Cleaning an IKEA Ektorp Sectional

This house sees a lot of traffic! From dogs to kids to parties, it might seem like an off-white sectional isn’t the best choice.

In two years, among the many disasters this sectional has survived are:

• Crayon marks on the back
• Carrot juice spilled from a bottle
• Coffee spilled down the arm (full cup…and yeah…that was me)
• And…red wine during a Christmas party

I first try soaking up the spill and spot cleaning with Oxyclean. It almost always works.

For tough spills or when the sectional just starts looking a little dirty, you can take the slipcovers off and throw them in the washer. Warm water on a normal cycle works.

I hang them all over the house to dry, although I know some people actually toss them in the dryer. The IKEA instructions say no drying, so I’ve never risked it.

One more tip I can share is to put the slip covers back on when they are a little damp. It’s a lot easier to maneuver them.

While you could iron them, I’ve never found it necessary if I put the slipcovers back on while they are still a little damp-ish.

So that’s it! The honest scoop on surviving the process of buying an IKEA EKTORP sectional and caring for it.

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Shelley