01 Apr
Comfort Works Ektorp Slipcover Review (and a Giveaway!)
Comfort Works contacted me back when we lived in Chicago and asked if I’d be interested in doing a review of one of their slipcovers for them. I was tempted to get something for the Ikea Beddinge sofa bed that was in our living room, but wrote back and asked if it would be okay to wait until we moved to San Francisco. They agreed, and once I started working on putting together our nursery/guest room I wrote and asked if we could start the process of choosing my cover. We ended up buying the Ektorp Sofa Bed from the As-Is section in Ikea (even though it’s a bit big for the room, having a sofa bed was really important to me so we can have people over and house them comfortably) and so Comfort Works provided me a custom, machine washable Comfort Works Ektorp Sofa Bed slipcover and sofa protector. Having a cover that is machine washable was definitely the most important part for me since we will have young kids buzzing in and out of that room. Comfort Works made things extra appealing when they mentioned that they are offering a sofa protector to help protect the sofa from kids and pets (and let’s be honest, from messy adults like me who like to eat on the couch).
The first step in the cover selection process was choosing the look of my slipcover. Comfort Works has dozens of slipcover options when it comes to color, pattern, fabric, etc, and they’ll send you some free fabric samples so you can see them in person before you commit to buying an entire cover. I didn’t know quite where I was going with the theme of the room yet, so I wanted to stick with neutral options that would allow me to be inventive with the decor in the room. I decided on white because I wanted something that would be easy to bleach (and Pinterest has successfully convinced me that using white in a nursery is a good idea). In a different room the Nomad Grey would have been my favorite option.
When my slipcover pieces arrived and I took them out of the box they were really wrinkly (which is, of course, to be expected!) so I took about 30 minutes to steam them.
The process of applying all of the different pieces took about 30 minutes, even with T1 popping up here and there to “help”, ask for milk, etc.
I didn’t need any directions to show me how to do it, the process was really intuitive. I initially applied one of the cushion covers the wrong way but it was a quick fix once I realized that it wasn’t sitting correctly. I appreciate that the covers fit really tight, but they won’t be difficult to get on and off when they need to be washed.
I only had one problem with my cover, and that was getting the back to fit properly. In the back corners it doesn’t lie completely flat no matter how much I tug it this way and that. For me that isn’t an issue because my couch will be up against a wall.
Once I had everything on I did another round of steaming along the bottom to get at any leftover wrinkles.
Doesn’t it look great? I really love my custom, machine washable Ektorp Sofa Bed slipcover from Custom Works and I’m looking forward to how the entire room comes together now that I have the sofa and the rug.
Next I gave the custom Comfort Works sofa protector set a try. The set came with sleeves for the arms of the sofa, as well as a sofa protector that I tried applying two different ways.
This is the first way, with the sofa protector under the top cushions, but on top of the bottom cushions. With the sofa protector applied I lose the clean look that is very appealing to me (as seen above) but I gain a lot of peace of mind. If baby spits up and it lands on the sofa protector, I don’t need to be stripping items off the couch and zipping them back on. I can pull it right off and get it in the washer, and lay it back on the couch again with little effort.
Next I decided to try putting the sofa protector over the entire couch (the sleeves for the arms are still on, and unless we have guests in there I’m sure I’ll be leaving them on all the time).
I confess, this isn’t my favorite look, but if I find myself washing the top cushions frequently I would definitely lay the sofa protector over both sets of cushions like this to save myself some work with a new baby in the house.
Another drawback to putting the sofa protector over the entire couch is that there is nothing anchoring it down, and so it wrinkles anytime someone sits down on it.
And it really struggles when your 2 year old climbs up and kicks and rolls all over the place! 
I’ve finished decorating the room now, so you can see how it all came together!
Overall I am really happy with this cover. I went to Ikea and looked at the cover that they offer in white, and now that I’ve seen them both in person I think they are very similar, though the Comfort Works fabric seems a bit sturdier. I would use Comfort Works again in the future for one of two reasons. Because you think the sofa protector will save you a lot of time and headache (for me I know it will!). Or because you see a color/style on the Comfort Works website that you like better. Order some free samples and see them in person because the Kino Natural and Nomad Grey were runners-up for me and looked and felt different than I expected (in a good way).
Speaking of ordering samples… Comfort Works is a free pair of cushion covers (45cmx45cm, or 17 3/4 inches) in any Comfort Works fabric to one of my readers! Even better, it’s a contest that is open worldwide. You can order free fabric swatches to figure out which is your favorite. Maybe you’ll pick something in an fabric more adventurous than white and then send me a picture of how it looks? I would really love that. Look at this fabric they posted on their Facebook page. Gorgeous right? I might need to order a second cover.
To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget below. To enter you’ll need to both like their Facebook page, and comment below. Rafflecopter will walk you through the process. Enter before April 7th at 11:59pm PST.
Update: After I wrote this post (but before I published it) my family came to stay with me and my sister used this sofa bed. After she left I noticed that one of the zippers on the right couch cushion (the one you sit on) had burst. She’s skinny-mini so I definitely considered this a manufacturing issue. I contacted Comfort Works and sent her a few pictures and received a replacement cushion two weeks later. I delayed this review for a few weeks so we could use the couch again (my mom stayed in that room when she came for the birth of T2) and everything looks great now. The customer service experience concerning this issue was great and I do think it was a production issue that’s going to happen every so often, but I thought it was important for you guys to know.
Also:
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
I like nomad grey as well.
1I’m curious why you bought the white when Ikea sells a white slipcover (also machine washable) for the Ektorp sleeper that is only $49? Is the quality on this one so much better than the one Ikea sells to be worth the price difference? I could see spending more for a cover in a color that Ikea doesn’t sell, but for basic white I’m not sure it is worth the extra.
2Love the white couch! You are a far braver woman than I! I know it would be my luck that my morning coffee would find its way to that beautiful white surface, haha. I think I’m torn between the Kino Ash and the Charcoal. Heavy Duty fabric seems like the way to go in my house!
3I would choose nomad sand or white like you. Nothing like a crisp white to lighten up a space!
4Oo what a great giveaway! I’d definitely be going with one of the greys. We keep visiting the ektorp sofa in IKEA and we should just take the plunge… I know we’ll be buying a slipcover too!
5I like Nomad Black, but I like black everything so… I want it!
6I would choose the grey! It would make our two couches match!
7I’m not sure what I’d pick. I’d want white but with my 2.5 year old DD that might not be ideal.
8Lino brushed! I’m desperate for a new couch… Pick me!
9I like the Kino Charcoal. (And I really like how you write reviews - very honest and I trust what you tell us. :))
10I love the texturized look of the Nomad Grey. Thanks for the review and giveaway!
11I love Kino ORange and Nomad REd!
12I would choose the KINO green.
13The white looks so nice, though I`m not sure I would ever be brave enough to have a white couch!
Some Snapshots Blog
14Jess
I like the look of the white but with a black cat I could never do it.
15Gaia pure white is pretty
16I’m loving the Kino Charcoal! That’s for the great opportunity!
17I like the nomadgrey
18I just bought an Ektorp chair and wanted a cover with a fun pattern but couldn’t find one that matched my decor at Ikea. This is a great alternative! I would get one of the stripes - the Elizabeth Blue or the Brighton Blue.
19I lean towards the neutral grays. Like Lino Brushed.
20Hmmm I do love the grey ones. It’d look lovely in our living room!
21Modena white leather
22I have been looking at comfort works covers for my kivik sofa that I’ve had for three years! I originally purchased the couch with the blue denim cover and I tried to dye it darker and it became tye dyed so I could only afford the white cover to correct my error! I love the nomad grey but my all time favorite is ROUGE ASH GREY!!!!!!! I ordered the samples and it is awesome, but unfortunately at this time I cannot get a slipcover due to pricing but all the reviews I have read are only positive ones! I would love to get a new slipcover instead of covering my couch with blankets!
23Nomad grey
24I have been looking for an affordable way to recover my guest-room sofa, and would love the Kino Charcoal! Thanks for hosting!
25I really like the white one
26Love that there are places besides Ikea to get covers, learned something..I’d go with the Rouge in Ash Grey.
27That Urbanskin Kramfor loks like it would be perfect to update my old Ikea sofa.
28I like the brown Urban Krmafors
29Nomad grey
30White
31Nomad grey
32what steamer do you have? does it do floors or is it just for upholstery?
Jenna Reply:
April 9th, 2013 at 8:09 am
It’s one we bought at Costco, technically for clothes I think.
Is the ikea sofa sleeper comfortable to sleep on?
Jenna Reply:
June 5th, 2013 at 4:51 pm
The mattress that comes with it is not comfortable, unfortunately.