Imagine, what can you do with a Soderhamn Corner? More than you’d think; this is how we ‘hacked’ the Soderhamn Corner piece! Turns out, it’s a transformer in disguise 🙂
Take a minute here, the Soderhamn corner piece looks pretty much like this:
Square and sturdy, it comes with 2 lumbar cushions, 1 throw pillow, a side rest and a back rest. Unfortunately, the side rest and back rest are not quite symmetrical as IKEA believes the corner piece will only be used in the corner of a sectional. Little do they know.
1. One-seat section
Versatile? Not really, this piece isn’t so much a hack as a simple step of logic – a corner piece and 1 seat section share the same dimensions. The corner piece is $200, and the 1 seat is $229. The covers for the 1 seat section are $29. Simply purchase a single corner piece and the cover for the 1 seat section. Replace the frame cover of the corner piece with the frame cover from the 1 seat section, and do not attach side rest. You now have a 1-seat section. With spare side rest, and bonus back pillow!
2. Soderhamn Chair
Easy! Remember the previous one-seat section? Let’s say you want a chair to go with this. Purchase another corner piece for $200, and attach the spare side rest to this new corner piece. You will have to poke holes through the frame slipcover to do this, though, but it’s pretty easy as the frame comes with pre-drilled holes. Now you have an easy armchair as well as a one-seat section! And another bonus back pillow for you too 🙂
*the normal Soderhamn armrests will not cover the full length of the armchair like the side rests do, so if you’re after the same look, it would cost another US$100 for 1 pair of armrests.
3. Three-seat section
Right, just take 2 Soderhamn corner pieces. Press them together. Rotate the one on the right clockwise 90 degrees. Attach side and backrests appropriately. Clamp in the centre. Alternatively, you could simply swap the side rest from the middle to the right side. You may have to pierce through the fabric in this case. The only difference in approaches is how you would like the side rests to work, and where you’d like the gap between side rest and backrest to be.
Yes, this is what we did for the Herringbone Pebble slipcovered IKEA Soderhamn sofa pictured here:
4. A Soderhamn Sectional!
Don’t panic! Yes, you could make a whole sectional out of the corner piece if you wanted to. I ran the numbers on the 4 seat corner sectional, and the hacked together corner pieces would total $1000, compared to $1198 from IKEA. And you’d get all the extra back pillows as well 🙂
Anyway, this is but a small hint of the possibilities you could explore. Plus, if you like the modular sectional, you could finish your hack with a custom slipcover by Comfort Works! Long skirt Soderhamn, anyone?
Imagine that! Who on earth would do such a thing, that’s rubbish. Only some madman would play God like that, a madman by the name of Felicia perhaps 😉
42 Comments
by Hillary Clift
Does the corner piece also have pre-drilled holes for the set of arm rests that would be for the single seat section? You mentioned it had pre-drilled holes for the side rest, but I wasn’t sure about the smaller arm rests. I am thinking of saving $60 bucks by getting the corner piece and buying the pair of arm rests instead of getting arm chair.
by Ning Lim
Hey Hillary!
The corner unit has pre-drilled holes for the metal hinges to connect other units to the corner unit. Not necessarily suitable for arms.
https://www.ikea.com/my/en/assembly_instructions/soderhamn-corner-section-frame__AA-570543-4_pub.pdf
by Ukeje
Hi. We would like to use your hack. 2 corner sections to form a 3 seater. We would like to know how it feels like for someone to sit in the middle of the joined chairs. Compared to sitting in the middle of an actual 3 seater.
Do you have any experience with this? Thanks
by Chuck
Hey Ukeje,
Being one of Comfort Works sofa testers, I’ve got to say that it’s actually not as uncomfortable as you’d think (or as it looks). The Soderhamn cushions may be flat, but they’re actually quite good in terms of support.
Because it’s flat, sitting in the middle of two cushions doesn’t feel like there’s a huge gap in between but of course this is arguable and there will always be people who’d find it obviously uncomfortable. Long story short, if you have a choice then don’t sit in between 2 cushions but if you do, definitely take one cushion for yourself.
Hope this helps!
by Nick
Hello! I’m interested in getting a Soderhamn sectional, but the 3 seat with chaise is too wide for my space.
Hear me out– I’m thinking of doing an L shape using a corner, with a single seat on one side (Though I might get a corner based on your thoughts!), and a chaise on the other, but rotated out so the back of the chaise would connect to the side of the corner. And then I’d like to put a back on the side of the chaise to align with the back of the corner. I guess my question is does the chaise have the same connectors on all sides for connecting backs and to other pieces? Also, is the base a perfect square when it has no backs attached?
It seems like this will work but want to check before I buy! Thanks for your feedback!
by Ning Lim
Hello Nick!
Thanks for writing in! That sounds like a good project. I have some diagrams I marked to show some precautions you should know about before making this purchase, which I will be sending to your email directly. Alternatively, consulting with the IKEA team on the retail site would be super helpful as they can physically show you.
The base of the one-seater is indeed a perfect square, but only one side has the holes to attach either a back or arms. The chaise lounge has a rectangle base frame as it’s own.
by Kelly Lao
Does the chaise have pre-drilled holes on the side for arm rest?
by Ning Lim
Hey Kelly!
Yes, all the Soderhamn pieces should have pre-drilled holes on 3 sides (back and arms on each side). To be 100% sure, head on over to IKEA and take a look. 🙂
Our covers will be made without the holes, you just need to pierce a small hole on the covers with the screws and screw it in place.
by Hafsa
Hi I am hoping to do something similar as Nick. Could you please tell me what the precautions are that you speak about?
by Naomi
Hey there Hafsa,
Sorry for the late one! It’s a little tricky to explain in words alone and there are diagrams involved to demonstrate the quirks involved. We usually recommend following the assembly manual in reverse, however; it would also be good to check in with IKEA at the same time, if possible.
You’re more than welcome to drop us an email too, at info@comfortworks.com.au and we may be able to better help you as you’re going along with it.
Hope this helps 🙂
by Kelly Lao
Hi, I’m thinking of attaching an armrest to a chaise. Does the chaise have pre-drilled holes for the side arm? Or does it only have the back holes for backseat?
Thank you.
Kelly
by Naomi
Hey Kelly,
From what we know, you can definitely do that! The Soderhamn components are modular components designed to be affixed with or without armrests, so you should be able to do this.
Soderhamn armrest frame assembly manual: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/assembly_instructions/soederhamn-armrest-frame__AA-568569-2_pub.pdf
Hope this helps!
by sıla
hello! is this possible to use the armrest and the backrest of a corner section as armrests for a 3 seaters both side? i have a södernhamn 6 seat corner sofa with tho armrests and now i’m moving in a smaller place so i had to take it apart to two 3 seaters, and i want them both to have armrests. should I have to buy a new pair or can i use corner section’s arm and back rests for one of the 3 seaters? I don’t mind if they don’t look exactly the same.
by Naomi
Hey Sila!
We love hacking stuff – and the Soderhamn makes it so easy! Not too sure about converting backrests into armrests, but you could try to unscrew the backrest and see if it fits one side of an armrest first. If it does, this could work but otherwise, the safest bet would be to get another pair of Soderhamn armrests from IKEA 🙂