IKEA Vallentuna sofa review: Something fishy this way comes

We review IKEA’s latest offering in the sofa world, the Vallentuna sofa. Is it the best IKEA sofa ever? Or is there something fishy in the state of Sweden?

Actually, I’m not going to waffle on: it’s kind of a mixed bag of hits and misses.

There are quite a few reasons, but first, let’s talk about the fine details. Launched in March 2016, the Vallentuna is the latest completely modular sofa series from Sweden, intended to be contemporary and modern. It’s made up of freestanding modules which can be either seating, sleeping or storage modules. Designers – Lisa Hilland, Eva Lilja Löwenhielm, and Andreas Fredriksson.

Now, let’s take a look at one of the Vallentunae.

This is the IKEA Vallentuna 3 Seat Sofa with Bed. I’m not even going to touch the low hanging fruit of the fabric; just look at that gap in the backrest and protruding centre seat. Personally, that is going to spell a lot of accidents in my future. The sleeper module is also just a single bed, so it’s not really the best for sleeping on after a night out.

You might think that the 3 seat Vallentuna is acceptable. And I’ll agree with you, it’s decent. Except for the shorter backrest / armrests and protruding seats on either corner. That’s the only downside of this piece.

But then you have this suggested configuration. At which point I just have to ask, why?

The good points

Okay okay the Vallentuna really isn’t ALL that bad.

Here are some benefits:
– It’s modular, so it could be combined and moved around to a configuration of your preference
– Cushions are firm: you don’t sink in nor are they as hard as rock.
– Setting up the sleeper was fairly easy, just pull and transform the cushion
– Fabrics come in 8 different basic colours

Apart from this though, we can’t say that it made a very good first impression between us:

Chuck: “Great concept, questionable execution”
Feli: “I couldn’t bring myself to sit on it. It looked horrible.” (editor’s note: she really did refuse to sit on it)
Chris: “It’s too small for me. Also, no real support. Those walls make you feel like you’re in a cubicle.” (co-editor note: yes he’s a bit of a tree)

So there you have it.

The overall verdict would be as follows for us:
– Design/Aesthetics: 5/10
– Practicality and Comfort: 7/10
– Price: 5/10 (Would prefer a Kivik any day)

But to each their own of course, so if you have a different opinion altogether – feel free to drop it in our comments section below.

P.S. We now have custom Vallentuna sofa covers, if you have need of them.