Although you might mistake them for identical twins at first glance, this article will show you just how to tell between these seemingly identical IKEA sofas apart – the Karlstad and Karlanda.
Mr. Karlanda is the older brother of Mr. Karlstad; sadly because he’s older and has been forced into retirement by IKEA and has been discontinued for quite a while now (can’t even get replacement slipcovers for him from IKEA either). Both these brothers are highly configurable, you can get them in loveseats, 3 seaters, armchairs, footstools, chaise lounges, heck I bet they could turn into a hovercraft and fly away! (They can’t – I’ve already asked IKEA one too many times)
Uncanny resemblance – what’s the difference?It’s pretty easy to tell Karl from Karl with their 3 seater sizes. The Karlanda’s 3 seater has 3 normal looking back and seat cushions while the Karlstad’s 3 seater has 2 wide ones, so if your sofa’s over 200cm wide and you’re suspecting it’s either the Karlstad or Karlanda – it’s more likely the former.
Obvious difference in cushion sizesOh, and if you’re wondering, that’s the long skirt Karlstad replacement sofa cover in Shire Earth on the left. Mr. Karlanda on the other hand, went for a Karlanda sofa cover in Gaia Taupe. The elegant skirts they have are an addition that wasn’t even offered by IKEA originally, and that’s the cool thing about having a custom slipcover.
But I don’t have a 2 or 3 seater!
Well, in that case you’ll need to grab your trusty measuring tape and do a quick comparison of your sofa with the table below!
Another thing to note is that the Karlstad’s armrest is detachable so you can add or remove the chaise lounge easily, and connect it to a corner piece – or just combine everything together to form a giant U-shaped sectional even. Karlanda on the other hand isn’t so flexible, its chaise lounge is more of a permanent attachment. Just another quick way to tell the difference between the two 😉
Karlstad Sectional Sofa Cover – Comfort WorksI hope you’ve found just as much appreciation for how modular the Karlstad and Karlanda are as I have, and have learned a little about differentiating the two. It’s no wonder they’re so popular, with multiple configurations and custom slipcovers readily available for everyone!
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11 Comments
by Alex
Hey guys, thanks for the helpful post, is that corner sofa IKEA’s? I have a Karlstad but the legs look rather different.
by Chuck
That is indeed the Karlstad! One of the reasons why it’s one of our favourite sofas is the fact that its legs are easily swapped. You’ll notice that IKEA sells both the standard wooden block legs (which I believe you have), as well as the skinny metal ones.
The corner sofa in the picture has custom sofa legs which can be easily obtained from a few online stores actually – 2 of the biggest ones we know can be found in our latest review here: http://www.comfort-works.com/news/uncle-bob-vs-prettypegs-sofa-legs-review/
Hope this helps! 🙂
by MARIO PACIFICI
I have an old Karlanda sofa bed and would like to purchase a new cover.
Before to transmit any order I must be sure the cover will be really suitable.
I read on the internal label of my old sofa’s cover the following:
KARLANDA
500.833.47 19961
Are you able to supply me with any details to place my order?
Thanks for a kind and urgent reply.
Kind regards
Mario Pacifici
by Chuck
Hey Mario!
Unfortunately those are batch numbers which IKEA uses so we can’t tell for sure what model it is specifically. I understand you have a Karlanda sofa bed but just to be prudent, it’s best you send a photo of it over to info@comfortworks.com.au and we’ll be able to help you out.
Alternatively, you can see if the 3D image matches yours here and check the description for measurements to see if they match up: https://comfort-works.com/en/karlanda-sofa-covers/karlanda-2-seater-sofa-bed-242?USB0,1003-05,DF,CUST,SNUG,SP,JH-07
Hope this helps!
by pollaci
Hello
Could you confirm me that Karlanda’s sofa is older than karlstad’s sofa?
Do you know the date of the end of the older sofa?
I have one but i don’t which one it is.
Thank you very much for your help
Warmly
by Chuck
Hi Pollaci,
I can definitely confirm that the Karlanda is older – as a rough guesstimate I’d say the Karlstad appeared in the market around 2009 or so.
Either way you can just send us a photo of your sofa and we can help you identify it 🙂
Alternatively the Karlanda’s slipcovers are removable without having to disassemble the sofa, whereas the Karlstad requires you to disassemble the armrests in order to remove its covers.
Hope this helps!
by Natalie Sharif
Have you found any info. On the Karlanda long leather bench that was sold in the early 2000’s? Mine was manufactured in 2002 in Canada. I cannot find any pics or info. I have even checked ikeas online museum catalogs.
by Naomi
Hey Natalie,
Looks like you have a rare one!
The Karlanda bench was indeed sold around the early 2000’s, and not in every region (if we’re not mistaken). It was discontinued perhaps even before the entire Karlanda line itself was discontinued.
We actually do sell covers for the Karlanda bench – and you may find it here; https://comfort-works.com/en-ca/karlanda-39/
If yours is the leather version, you might have to get a set made on a custom basis (as the covers we sell will only fit the fabric version).
Drop us an email at info@comfortworks.com.au and our agents will help you out 🙂
Cheers! x
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