She's got legs, she knows how to use them...

My living room is HUGE. Massive. Ginormous if you will. It measures out somewhere around 18' by 26'. Due to its massive girth it needs a lot of furniture not to feel like a bowling alley. Since I don't really havea a furniture budget as large as the  living room, I knew I needed to stretch those dollars. Enter the Karlstad by IKEA.

This sectional is big enough for three people (and a dog) to lay on with room to spare. I heart it. It is amazingly comfortable, especially considering that  came in at a bargain $1248 for all that slip covered loveliness. My particular configuration consists of the corner sofa 3+2/2+3 and the add-on chaise and I got the covers in Sivik Grey. I can't take credit for finding it as I've had the pleasure of butt-testing it in a slightly different fabric and configuration over at my cousin's fabulous casa. And then after I'd added it to my virtual shopping list but before I made it mine, the gang over at YHL brought one home (check out their uber-informative write up here). If my butt, my wallet, AND my favorite bloggers could agree, only one question remained...what to do with those legs?

Karl from the Living Room Progress Shot, sporting the bad legs

If you're into blocky birch, you'd be all set,  but those basic freebie legs just weren't doing it for me.  I wanted a more custom, sleek look and I needed a darker finish to tie into existing wood-tones in the room.

IKEA also sold this option, so for about $60 I could have switched out the basic birch for aluminum, but that look left me a little cold. If they had been included for the same price, I might have lived with them, but I couldn't see dropping $60 on something that took me from bah to meh. The hunt continued.

I'd read where Sherry and John over at YHL (seriously people, read this blog) gave their Karlstad legs a spray paint face lift, which was tempting for its ease and cost,  but wouldn't work for me since it only addressed one of my two issues with birch legs. Thus began my Internet search for the perfect legs.

First I checked out IKEA Hackers to see if anyone had posted a DIY solution to this leggy problem. No go. So then I did what I do whenever I'm faced with a question, I went straight to google... I searched "Karlstad replacement legs" and found this little question over on an Apartment Therapy post. I was a little concerned about buying random legs and trying to rig the screw bolts to fit and really wanted something touted to be IKEA compatible.  I patiently scrolled all the way down to the bottom of the comments until I found this little gem from Uncle Bob and got all excited seeing that the threads matched and he had an etsy shop. So over to etsy.com I went and ordered myself 12 of the most beautiful walnut colored spindle legs I'd ever laid mouse on.  I placed my order before I'd even purchased the sofa, but not before I asked if I could get a discount buying three sets (the answer was no but it never hurts to ask.) I'd hoped to get the legs in before I brought by my big Karl home, but alas, he didn't have enough in inventory so I had to wait a couple weeks.

I highly recommend if you're doing anything similar to have your replacements on hand prior to assembly to save yourself the small hassle of swapping out the legs as the sofa is BEEFY and hard to move solo. But in my case, about a month after I'd placed the order, my new legs showed up.  I was thrilled with their overall appearance but still concerned about their fit and stability. I got to it removing the IKEA standard legs and screwing my new pretty legs in. I was delighted that just as Bob advertised, they were a perfect fit. Uncle Bob's Workshop FTW.

MUCH better and oh hai, I have a pretty rug now
it is  and gianty (20'x12') and antique ...
because you know, everything old is new again!

Since I needed a whopping 12 legs to support my big boy sofa I dropped $90 on this upgrade. Not a tiny chunk of change but worth every penny to me. If you include them in my sofa budget, the whole beast comes in at a friendly $1338. Which is even friendly considering it is one-third to half the cost of the sectionals I looked at from Crate and Barrel and Room and Board and manages an almost 'custom' feel.

Never underestimate the power of nice legs :)