Both Austin and I are big interior design lovers and really value making our home both beautiful and functional. The only downside to this: we both have pretty expensive taste. Boy does it hurt our bank account. This is our first home and we wanted to create that high end look, but within our means. So we headed to Ikea to try and find a way to transform our living room and design a couch dupe on a budget. This is how we created the luxe look of a six penny couch for a fraction of the cost.

Ikea Soderhamn Sofa

We started in the Ikea couch section. The Soderhamn Sofa had that low, sleek design we were looking for and it was so affordable. Check out the whole series here. The trick to cutting cost on this couch is to only buy the couch, and NOT the couch cover *wink wink.* I believe you can only do this in store, so if you are ordering online you’ll have to buy them together. By not buying the covers we saved around $250-$350 if my memory serves correctly.

Bemz Custom Covers

You might be wondering “But Anna…we need a slipcover for our couch” yes yes exactly. This is where it gets fun. Austin discovered the company BEMZ during his furniture research (I know, what a dweeb, jk jk). Bemz is based in Stolkhom and they specialize in custom Ikea couch slipcovers. They have slipcovers for almost every Ikea couch series. They have such a variety of cuts and styles as well as fabrics made with the most quality materials. I also loved that they send you up to 5 free fabric samples to test colors and feel prior to ordering.

Simply Linen Slipcover

We chose the Loose Fit for our Soderhamn Three Seater Sofa in simply linen unbleached shop here. Once the covers arrived we pieced the couch together and it was so simple! I love how customizable this is and I love that my couch is WASHABLE (dog moms everywhere said “amen”). The quality of the material, the soft fabric, the neutral tones etc. really bring the space to life. We are so in love with how it turned out. We ended up spending around $850 for our couch, armchair, and the slipcovers combined!!! Versus the $2,500-$3,500 for a similar, comparable sofa. You can’t beat a deal like that!

It’s been about a year since we got our couch and armchair and they have held up so nicely. So comfortable and the deep seated cushions are perfect for hosting, snuggling, and a Sunday afternoon nap. I’ve been so impressed with the furniture we have purchased from IKEA. Because of the price point and some materials, I expected them to wear down quickly but the opposite has happened in our case. I just updated my Ikea Ivar Cabinets and shared that whole process in a blog that you can read here. I hope this inspired you and you found it helpful. So go out and create your very own “six penny” Ikea couch dupe and I’ll see you in my next blog post.

xx – Anna