I have the Ektorp corner sofa, 2 chairs, the Karlstad sofa and 2 chairs and 2 Jenny Lund chairs. LOL..I guess that makes me a slipcover expert! Add to the mix 3 kids, 2 dogs and a cat..I find the Ektorp slipcovers fit great! So simple to slip on and off to wash and not alot of fussing with the fit. The Karlstad is a pain because you have to take apart the whole sofa to remove cover, blech.

Hope this helps!
Melissa

Yes that helps - thanks! I am going to look at those sofas at Ikea today. I've never had a real slipcovered sofa; we once had an upholstered sofa that we put a slipcover on because the upholstered fabric was faded and didn't match our decor...I found I was constantly straightening and smoothing the slipcover, tucking it back in, etc, it always looked sloppy and it drove me crazy. But I guess with a sofa that comes with a slipcover that is designed for it, you wouldn't have the same fit issues, right?

I looked at the IKEA slipcovered sofas, but thought they seemed skimpy and not quite what I wanted for my LR. I ended up getting a leather sofa and have to say it's one of the best things I've done as far as easy to maintain decorating!

We've got two cats, and they haven't done any damage other than a couple of very minor scratches. I guess this is a highly variable factor though. I love that they are easy to keep clean and that they seem pretty indestructible.

Good luck, either options seems like it will be nice.

Ann

Look at JC Penny Linden collection. I don't have their couch, but have bought two slipcovers and they fit great. Heavy duty fabric, made well. All are on sale right now with a 10% off.

Also Ballard Designs. I have a tailored chaise slipcover. Their offerings are wide ranged for styles. A link to their slipcovers is below.

Here is a link that might be useful: slipcover selections

Thanks, emagineer! I am leaning very strongly toward slipcovered right now for cleanliness. Sadly, my family is just too messy for upholstery. And while I'd love a leather sofa, it's probably too risky with the pets, especially as we are likely adding a puppy to the menagerie soon. Unfortunately, I checked out Ikea and the sofas were all way too shallow for me; I want nice deep cushions. PB and RH are a bit out of the budget so I will be checking out the sofas on your links. Does Ballard have any kind of showroom or is it all purchased sight unseen? I am a little hesitant to buy seating that hasn't been test driven.

MSince I don't have either Ballard or JCP furniture, it is difficult to tell you how they stand up. I measured my furniture and took a chance with their slipcovers.

Is your furniture still decent regarding cushions? If not, there are still some inexpensive couches you could try out at stores and consider adding the slipcovers. I've been known to buy bed pillows close to the right size for refurbishing, adding on top of existing foam. Enjoy the softness of feather cushions on seating.
I love my slipcovers and have washed them repeatably. They are more of a heavy denim. Spot cleaning is easy too.

Watch for sales. Both companies seem to go up and down on prices. I've lost on waiting though, a couple of covers were discontinued. You can also find them on ebay. The only thing with ebay is sometimes the cost of shipping adds up more than buying directly.

Remembering back when kids were small, slipcovers would have saved my investments. Now it is animals.