The Farlov line of IKEA soft furnishings is well-loved among designers and homeowners alike. I’m so excited to say that we’ve just added one to our living room. The area in front of our living room window has been sitting empty or nearly empty for over a year now, waiting for the perfect piece. Initially, I thought I wanted two chairs or a petite loveseat, but neither offered the nap-worth comfort of a plush, oversized loveseat. I hadn’t really considered the Farlov for this space until the idea struck. I decided to measure, just in case. So I was happily surprised to find out that the Farlov loveseat would fit perfectly in the space. I purchased it online as soon as it was in stock. It’s now been a month since we received our new sofa, so I wanted to share my honest, unbiased IKEA Farlov loveseat review.
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I’m no stranger to IKEA reviews and product posts, and this is my third straight week of IKEA posts! I previously reviewed the IKEA Froslov sofa which we have in our family room. You can read the review here. The current post provides a complete and unbiased review of the Farlov loveseat after one month of daily use in our busy house of five. I hope this review will help potential buyers get the information they need before purchasing this piece. While I have seen numerous reviews of the Farlov sofa, I haven’t seen any reviews specific to the Farlov loveseat. This post contains my own honest opinion and I’m not affiliated with IKEA in any way. In this post, I share details on style, comfort, pricing, and durability/washability.
Consider Your Needs
Before purchasing any new piece of upholstered furniture, I always recommend considering the intended use of the piece. Will you be watching television, entertaining guests, reading, or napping? Will the loveseat have a prominent place in your home where it will be seen often by visitors? Do you need it to do double duty as a sofabed? Do you have children? Pets? It’s important to consider comfort, dimensions, price, durability, washability and style.
For our new sofa, I was looking for a cozy and comfortable loveseat to be used primarily for reading and relaxing. However, I still wanted it to be stylish enough for entertaining guests since it’s in our living room and where I teach piano. My style for this part of our home is French farmhouse and I wanted to shift the design to a slightly more modern style. I knew I wanted a white sofa with washable slipcovers. And, it had to be affordable since I have several other projects in the works. I had my eye on some beautiful sofas from Restoration Hardware and Arhaus but they were four to five times the price.
The Details
The Farlov loveseat is priced at $899.00 CAD or $ 749.00 USD. The full-size sofa is priced at $999.00 CAD or $799.00 USD. They also offer a sleeper sofa. The loveseat and sofa are nearly identical in appearance aside from the width! Both the sofa and the loveseat have a single seat cushion and two back cushions. IKEA also sells the Farlov chair.
The dimensions of the loveseat are 70 1/8” wide by 41 3/4” deep (seat depth is 25 1/4”). The back height is 34 5/8”. The dimensions for the full-size sofa are 85 7/8” wide by 41 3/4” deep (seat depth is 25 1/4”). The back height is 34 5/8. Only the width of the sofa varies from the loveseat. They both have the same depth, seat depth, and back height.
The Farlov comes in three different fabrics: Flodafors White, Djuparp dark olive-green, and Djuparp dark gray. The two Djuparp fabrics are velvet and have a slightly higher price tag ($50 CAD more for the loveseat or the sofa). The Flodafors fabric is an open-weave, but heavy cotton fabric. I’ll discuss the fabric in more detail a little later in this post. The US IKEA also offers the Farlov line in Flodafors Grey.
The Farlov loveseat has only one seat cushion that spans the width of the sofa, which makes it ideal for napping and also provides a clean-looking appearance. There are two back cushions and two smaller accent pillows.
Assembly
As with most IKEA furniture, assembly was required. It was straightforward to put together in about 45 minutes. There was one part that I needed help with for two minutes, but other than that it could be done solo.
Comfort
Seat depth
The Farlov is a very deep sofa/loveseat. This may be a deal-breaker for some. Even two years ago, I dismissed the sofa for our family because I didn’t think I could get comfortable with the depth. If you like to sit perfectly upright on a sofa with your back against the sofa back and your legs in front of you with feet on the floor, you likely won’t feel comfortable in this chair. If you’re less than about 5’10”, you won’t even be able to place your feet on the floor while sitting back against the cushions. This sofa is really made for lounging, there’s no other way to describe it. If you like to curl up on the sofa or lay reclined lengthwise, this is a hit. It has come to be my new favourite spot to curl up with a book and a blanket.
Cushion firmness
My favourite cushion style has that sink-into-it feeling found in feather-wrapped cushions. Feather cushions are out of the price range for Ikea sofas, however, these cushions do have a little give to them and are quite comfortable. The seat cushion is a little firmer than the back cushions and offers good support (fairly high-density cushion fill). The back cushions are softer and less dense. Time will tell how the cushions hold their shape. The armrests are nicely padded and the perfect height for resting the arms or supporting a book.
Slipcover
The Farlov comes with a fitted, washable cotton slipcover. I purchased the sofa with the Flodafors white slipcover. This fabric is an open weave, heavy fabric that has a slightly rough feel. Others have described it as a mesh-like fabric. However, it does feel fairly comfortable against the skin. After reading other reviews and examining the fabric in the store, I anticipated that it wouldn’t be as soft as I wanted. However, after a month of use, I haven’t found the fabric to be uncomfortable. Mind you, it’s winter here in Canada and we’re dressed in long sleeves and pants these days. For those that find the fabric uncomfortable, Comfort Works makes slipcovers to fit this exact sofa model in a wide variety of comfortable, functional, and stylish fabric choices.
The fabric on a sofa or loveseat almost always wears out before the sofa breaks down, and it can be difficult to find a new slipcover years after the initial purchase. In a family with 3 young boys, you never know when a piece of furniture might suffer a fatal wound. My recommendation is to buy a second slipcover soon after purchasing your sofa so you can extend the life of your sofa.
Durability
We’ve only had the sofa for one month, but the fabric is thick and durable looking. I suspect it will be quite durable and that the covers will stand up to regular machine washing.
Washability
IKEA offers this advice for washing: machine wash warm, normal cycle. To be washed separately. Do not bleach. Do not tumble dry. Iron medium temperature, max 300°F/150°C. Iron on the reverse side. Dry clean any solvent except trichloroethylene. Based on other reviews I have read, I would recommend following these directions carefully. Specifically, I have heard that bleaching the fabric can cause discolouration and yellowing. Also, the slipcover is perfectly fitted prior to washing, so I would consider washing it only in cold water and allowing it to dry on the sofa.
My method for washing and drying slipcovers is to start with machine washing in cold water. If the covers are still quite wet after washing, then I run an additional spin cycle, or put them in the dryer and run the air dry cycle (no heat). Next, I put the wet covers on the sofa and cushions. I usually do this early in the morning, so that the cushions will have plenty of time to dry in the sunlight. Next, I place the cushions near a window to dry, rotating them so both sides get their time in the sun. I only return the cushions to the sofa once the main sofa slipcover and the cushions covers are fully dry.
Summary
I hope you found my IKEA Farlov loveseat review helpful. I’m in love with this sofa because of the beautiful crisp styling and the cozy comfort factor. I think this sofa would be suitable for many different households, including those with children and pets, because of the washable slipcovers. If you like a deep sofa with plenty of room for curling up or cuddling, this may be the sofa for you. It is a very deep sofa though, so make sure to measure your space to ensure you have the necessary space for the loveseat or sofa. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about the Farlov loveseat or sofa.
Rachel says
Shawna,
This was so helpful.
Shawna Liao says
Thank you Rachel, I’m glad you thought so!
Jen says
They are gorgeous, Shawna. Thank you for sharing.
Shawna Liao says
Thank you Jen!
Nan says
I love your area rug. Would you be willing to share information about where I might find it?
Shawna Liao says
Thank you! It was from Boutique rugs. I share all my rug sources and paint colours in the menu bar at the top of the page, under Home Resources.
Kelly says
Shawna this is so helpful, thank you! I love the look of this sofa and it sounds family friendly which is always a plus! Thanks!
Shawna Liao says
Thank you Kelly! Yes, I think it’s really family friendly.
Lane says
I bought a new chair (Stocksund) two months ago and it is a deep seat. I’m 5’7” and I need to sit with a pillow to my back. My daughter, who is 5’4”, seems to like sitting with her feet off the floor.
I love it though.
Shawna Liao says
Thank you for your comment. It really comes down to personal preference for depth. It’s not for everyone, but it may be just perfect for some.
Jill says
Thanks for this review, I really like the looks of this loveseat with the single seat cushion and slipcovers. It looks very nice in the photos and with the extra pillows. So…a few questions…We are remodeling our walkout basement and will be purchasing a new sofa. We have a large home and I seldom go in that family room, but my husband watches tv and snacks there, so slipcovers are good. I have always purchased custom made sofas and they last forever, (the ones we are replacing are 20 years old and like new, but changing the decor.) Any way, as we are older it is ok if not forever. You have had your Ikea family room sofa for 2 years now, how has it held up? Is it still comfortable? Is it sagging etc? I would buy the sofa size in the farlov if we did buy one.
Shawna Liao says
Our family room sofa has held up really well- no sagging or any issues after 2 years of daily use. The Farlov has a looser fill (making it very comfortable) so the cushions could become a little deflated over time. However, the structure of the sofa seems really sound and I don’t think it would sag or lose its shape. So I think the worst-case scenario would be having to get the cushions restuffed at an upholsterer after a few years of use. But it’s quite possible the cushions would be fine for many years.
Jenna says
Love this review! There aren’t many reviews of the Farlov loveseat. I have a smallish living room and am considering trading in my huge roll arm sofa for a Farlov loveseat. Most of the time, it will just seat me and my cats, but sometimes other people. Do you think the Farlov loveseat would be enough for two? Or should I hold out for the sofa?
Shawna Liao says
Thank you, I’m glad it helped. It’s the perfect sofa for 2 adults with lots of room to spare. It’s a good-sized loveseat and not significantly smaller than the 3-seater sofa.
Jenna says
Sounds perfect! Thank you, Shawna!
Summer says
Hi Shawna,
Thank you for this, especially since you are in Canada 🇨🇦 Wondering how your farlov love seat is still holding up… thinking about buying the sofa and curious if you are still happy with it?
Shawna Liao says
Thank you for your comment Summer. The Farlov is mostly holding up well. The one complaint I do have is that the main seat cushion has started to sag/deflate in the middle. We don’t use this sofa nearly as much as our other sofas so that is disappointing. I think the cushion will need restuffing soon. I love everything else about the sofa though, so I still think it’s worth it.