I am sorry I know you really wanted them. Can you unzip the actuall cushions and stuff them with pillow fill? or maybe try to sell them for close to retail on craig's list, say they did not fit the room. Often people want ikea products but do not want to travel hours to the site.
Good luck.

Try wrapping the foam in dacron batting? I'd think of ways to *add* to the cushions to make them softer, rather than breaking down the foam that's there. It can be a good support and you can add cushiness and take it out as the foam degrades over time.

anele,

What are the cushions actually made of? Is it foam? If so, is the foam just too firm for you do you think? If so, you could buy different foam inserts. Or, if you don't like the feel of foam at all, you could buy the largest down pillows possible (I can recommend one place), and refill the cushion covers.

If the cushions are one solid piece of foam I'm curious as to whether or not you could (it's a radical thought!) slice them in half w/ an electric knife and then wrap dacron around the now thinner cushion to plump it up, make it more comfortable and still fit in the slipcover.

Since it seems the kids and DH are fine with them, would you consider just returning the armchairs (or reselling on CL)? Then purchase a nice and comfortable accent chair for you? Something with a higher back to give you the support that you need right now. You are pregnant are you not? That may well be adding to your discomfort. For me (I had 3 kids), I noticed my last pregnancy was definitely my most difficult. Perhaps the accent chair could be a good chair for rocking/feeding the baby afterwards.

anele, this must be so disappointing! I hope it works out for you somehow.

Have you read sheesharee's decorating mistakes thread? It won't solve this problem for you, but it might make you feel better--

I would take them back, if you just got them IKEA should give you a full refund if you have your receipt. I bought the chair and ottoman a little less than 2 years ago and I am so disappointed with how frumpy and worn they look now.

I like Val's idea and I'm sorry that you are unhappy~~~ :(

How disasppointed you must be after waiting so long. Your room is really lovely, though.

I know you said custom cushions are out of the question budget-wise, but what about getting custom just for the piece of furniture YOU normally sit on? Years ago, I had read that, while many decorators may use the IKEA slipcovered sofas, they replace the cushions for comfort.

I think it would be much cheaper than upholstering your old sofas.
Good luck.
Dee

I'm not sure why Ikea would have said they don't know how much you'll get back -- around here, the policy is 90 days to return anything you're not happy with -- within the first 90 days, you should definitely get all your money back. Perhaps the person you spoke to thought you'd had them past the return period and were trying to bring them back as uncomfortable after the valid return period was up? I have personally been in line at the returns in Ikea and seen people bring whole rooms of furniture back --they all got full refunds as long as they had the receipt (I saw one lady try to do it without the receipt - no go.) Also, they prefer you bring it back assembled, as they just put it in their as-is room and resell it at a discount. So you wouldn't need to take them all apart.

Not sure how far away IKEA is, but I would just rent one of those $19.99 Uhauls or one of the delivery trucks from Lowes/HD and cart all the pieces back there -- it may cost you $100 max in truck rental and gas, but you sound really unhappy and not having to live with a mistake in your primary gathering room for the next 5+ years is easily worth the $100, IMO.

Good luck!

I can't believe how disappointing this must be anele!

That's interesting info about designers replacing the cushions of IKEA furniture. I will def. keep that in mind because the slips for IKEA furniture are so inexpensive.

Like Anele one of the things that has attracted me to the Ektorp was it's smaller scale. My rooms are tiny, tiny, tiny and the sofa we came w/ is giant, giant, giant, giant!

Having read anele displeasure w/ the comfort did give me pause but I was still going to purchase anyways but w/ a bit of hesitation about it not being as perfect as I thought it would be. The idea that I could have custom cushions made is very appealing to me should the comfort factorbe off for us.

Anele - I priced having custom back cushions done for our current sofa. They are 2 large loose cushions and are flat as pancakes after 11+ yrs. The upholsterer quoted $130 total that included 2 types of stuffing (dacron was one) to make them slightly squishy. I knwo that there were a few other places that don't charge as much as the place that I went for my quote.

Thank you so much for your ideas and support!!!!

Yesterday I tried trading the cushions from our old sofa w/ Ektrop ones and it did not seem to make much of a difference, but who knows. DH says that our old couch is on the line of going the opposite way of the Ektorp-- getting to be saggy and unsupportive, so maybe it's the worn-out springs that I like (ha, ha!)?

In any case, I looked up all of the different fillers you recommended online. Any idea of how much one cushion might need? I saw two options: foam sold by the length (and then I'd cut it, so I can measure this) or stuffing by the pound-- this is what I have no idea about.
roarah, I may sell if they do not work out. We actually live within 20 minutes of TWO IKEAS, believe it or not, so for most people around here, the drive is easy.

flyleft, in other words, I better have my kids stop jumping on them? :) I do not know if I could add anything now since the slipcover would not fit, I don't think.

bestyears, this is what's in it now (c/p from the IKEA site): Seat cushions filled with high resilient polyurethane foam and polyester fiber wadding provide comfortable support for your body when seated and easily regain their shape when you rise.
- Reversible back cushions filled with polyester fibers

I would love to hear where to get the big down pillows. That sounds heavenly!

daisy, how exactly did you do this? Did you buy the pillows and cut them open and make a new case, or did you put multiple pillows in? I found one on the IKEA site (not sure I will trust them again) that sells 20X 20 pillows for $7 and says it is filled w/waterfowl feathers. TY for the info on the slipcover-- it does seem like a huge job, esp. since I'd have 4 pieces.

ttodd: I will have to look again at them. The back cushions are not foam, and the bottom is a combo-- I will examine more thoroughly, but I wonder if this would work!

val, yes, this sounds like a good idea! The PG is not affecting me that way yet (only 18 weeks) but it will within a few months. I have looked up some chairs on CL and I do like the ones that rock but are upholstered. (Maybe I could actually manage to slipcover one chair!)

nancy, I will check out that thread! Thank you!

dee, that is interesting about the decorators. I am curious as to why they'd get the Ektorp to begin with-- by the time you add in nice cushions, wouldn't it be as $ as a better sofa, or do they like the low price of the slipcover? TY for the comment about my room. My mom, who is not into decorating said, "Does it look good? If so, you will get used to it!" I hope so!

Thank you again, everyone!!!

Oops-- missed some posts!

melly and lkplatow: RE: the refund, I told the person that I'd bought it only a few days ago. The receipt does specify that the item must be unused in its original packaging! One time we bought a computer table (very small-- folding) and set it up, wanted to return it. Well, just because it was OPEN, they deducted 30% off from it. We had all of the original packaging (inner and outer), too! There was absolutely no damage. Annoying.

The person who I talked to about the Ektorp said it is the store's discretion as to how much they will give you back. I wonder if policies have changed?

ttodd, you may like it-- I think it is very individual. Like I said, my husband thinks they are fine. Some posts I've read say that after 6 months they are much better. The price of new cushions would be cost prohibitive now . . .if it is around $60 per cushion (and I'd need 6 alone for the sofa), I probably could have bought a better sofa for that amount. Still less than PB, though. (Of course, I DID just find a PB set, 3 yrs old and barely used for $700 for both pieces!) Is there any chance you'd want a USED Ektorp? This was the route I was going to go-- even found a set close by-- but DH said no. I think this would be good to at least go try them, because it might be broken in already or too uncomfortable and you'd know that then (unless you'd get new cushions anyway). The only downside with used is that if there is no receipt, there is no warranty.

Oh anele I forgot to tell you!

I got 2 leather chairs from Bomaby Co. when we were closing. They were really stiff but for $80 for both I HAD to buy them. Besides - our middle kiddo was eating the stuffing out of the other chairs that I had.

I was sort of regretting my decision after a few days of getting them because they were so hard. I even posted about it here. But over time they magically seemed to get broken in and they are so very comfortable now! It didn't seem to take too terribly long either. Probably the 3 kids using them as a jungle gym in the beginning!

Anele, I've done the down pillows 2 ways. At first I just took out the cushions that were inside the slipcovers and replaced with 3 or 4 down pillows. Our sofa is pretty big, so I think I used two 20x20 and maybe one or two smaller down pillows on the sides (our back cushions aren't perfectly rectangular, they sort arch over the arm of the sofa so I stuffed small ones in the arch). You'd think it would look all lumpy, but it didn't.

I really liked this, but my husband wanted a bit more support, so eventually I bought a fairly thin but sturdy piece of foam and cut it to fit the cushions. I put that in the middle and squished the down pillows in and around the foam. This helps to keep it looking better too.

Good luck!

My sister's Ektorps are 4 years old. They too were hard and uncomfortable. They are pretty broken in now, and pretty comfy though. I hope this gives you hope for them.

Also I bought 2 Bergere chairs from O and the cushions were really hard. I opened them up and saw the foam was 4 layers glued together. I took out one of the layers of foam, and put a feather down pad in them I found at homegoods. It was meant for a twin bed topper, and I cut it in half and hot glued them shut (I can't sew). They are soooo much more comfy now. And for $150 per chair, totally worth the price.

I recently bought a $1000 chair and ottoman that seemed great at the store, but when I sat on it at home, I found it very uncomfortable -- angle and hardness. Well, that was 6 months ago. Now I love it and can fall asleep in it.

One thing that had not occurred to me was to try to angle the cushions differently. I had tried to bring out the bottom ones to get more depth, but it looked weird and did not help as much. So, it finally dawned on me (I am a slow learner-- I am thinking that this would have occurred to all of you on day #1 if you had the sofas in your house!) to try angling the back cushions. BIG difference. Now they do not hit me so oddly-- realized that this is how my old sofa is, too. Still not the comfiest but a big improvement. Duh to me! I eventually may put some down padding back there, too, all along the back of the sofa behind the cushions.

ttodd: That makes me feel much better about your chairs! There is hope! LOL about your toddler! I definitely do not stop the kids from climbing on them now!

daisy, that sounds like a plan-- I could try it on the chair first and see how it works!

polly and wendy, that makes me feel so much better-- does give me hope! I was just reading some couch reviews on Macy re: sofas much more expensive than mine, and some people had the same complaint . . .comfy in the store and rock-hard at home. I do have hope now!

Oh good! If it's helping to angle the back pillows, maybe you would be comfortable with a bed pillow behind your back. It makes a big difference to me. Then you could maybe have the furniture back pillows straight and just use the bed pillow behind you to get comfortable. Your kids would probably love them on the floor too when you're not using it.

Maybe try putting your feet up on a small ottoman too. I almost always have to do that. Target has some decent ones right now, very inexpensive, that have storage inside and don't take up much room. I just picked up a steel gray one and it's great.

Here is a link that might be useful: target ottoman

I landed on this post, because my Ektorp set was delivered today and I feel the same way! Why is it so hard, and the angle seems different. The seat part used to be straight and the back cushions used to be more upright. Also the arm parts used to be a bit taller as well. It's also a HUGE disapointment of not having duck feathers in the cushions anymore.
I used to have the perfect Ektorp set, comfy and wonderful still after 5 years..but our house burned down in Oct. 2015 and it took them forever to rebuild it. Now, finally putting in the last touches, I ordered my beloved Ektorp set again (Sofa, Love seat and chair) I am HUGELY disappointed. And our Ikea is 2 hrs away, so not an easy return.
So..now having read your post and all comments..and seeing it was written in 2011, I am wondering..How is it now? about 6 years later?
Did they turn more comfortable or did you end up getting a different one or altering the cusihons?
I'm super curious and would appreciate any reply.
Thank you so much.

I'm so, so, so sorry about your house, Carola! That awful!

Sad to say, no. My Ektorp never got better. We still have it... in our living room, and no one likes it. But, we have a dog and soon a puppy, if it works out... my husband says, why bother at this point?

If anyone wants to sit on a comfy couch, they go down to the couch we bought 12 years ago from a run-of-the-mill furniture store. It was more $ than the Ektorp (most furniture is) but far more comfortable.

Also, now they no longer sell the all-white covers for the cheap price. It's off-white... I don't think all cotton, either. Not as easy to keep clean since it's no longer white.

I'm not sure what kind of sofa I'll get to replace the Ektorp when the time comes. Even though our dog barely sits on the sofa, I don't want a sofa with fabric I have to babysit with people, either. Leather is not an option.

If you only got it a few days ago--take it back. Trying to get into all the elaborate, VERY time consuming and complicated options discussed (new pillows, replacing filling, getting kids to abuse cushions!) all sounds like far far too much time and effort for something you don't like and that isn't comfortable. I know very well that the Ektorp is heavy and very tough to maneuver; we just bought one for my daughter's new apartment. However it really is worth it to take it back to IKEA immediately and resolve the refund as well as you can, then move on. Keep in mind IKEA is not a fly by night operation so tell the return staff and/or manager your situation and hopefully they will work with you. Not to mention you certainly aren't the only person who's ever bought a couch and then didn't like it. They won't be shocked that it's been opened...how the heck else would you know it was the wrong purchase? ;)

Then take your time and find a couch you like and that is comfortable. And last but far from least, sorry for this bad experience. I've certainly BTDT with furniture and I know well that sick feeling of having spent a lot of money on the wrong major piece that is now sitting in front of me making me feel like a fool. But I also know that in the greater scheme of life, getting rid of that wrong major piece is probably the best choice. Good luck!

I bought one for my daughter a month ago because Ikea was having a special and it was only $250. I told her if she hated it she could sell it on CL for about the same amount of money.

Anele---did it get better? It's 2017 and I'm wondering what you think of it now

If someone is looking for a much better sofa then the Ektorp try this one. I purchased it for our home and honestly was going to get the Ektorp for a vacation rental but after sitting in it opted out. This one I have been very happy with. It keeps its shape and I can sleep on it. The back cushions are down so it’s not just foam. I tried out the Pottery Barn basic sofa and to me this feels the same. It’s very well made and the cover does come off so it can be washed. I haven’t tried to wash it yet but it’s holding up well. This is the link to the Joss And Main site. We purchased it before Thanksgiving and it was on sale but it’s dropped even more since then. Thinking of maybe buying another eventually for our Vacation rental since it is so nice. I wanted the Ektorp because I could wash the slipcovers but I don’t want to risk bad reviews from guests. It’s not worth saving the few hundred dollars. Here is a picture at Christmas time of our sofa.