We had an Ikea sofa for almost 10 years and it wore great - I would definitely recommend their sofas for value.

My friend had a very comfy corduroy couch that she confided she bought at Value City furniture. If it were me, I'd go for leather if you had to keep a budget I'd buy used. It's cleans beautifully.

Thanks everyone!

@robotropolis, I was afraid of the back cushions. That's what was the undoing of our current 5yo sectional. My youngest is still not beyond the stage of using the sofa as a fort, or climbing up onto the back cushions to pounce on his much larger brother. So that's a concern.

@tinan, thanks for the feedback! I have a kind of love/hate relationship with Ikea, with most of the hate coming when I try to assemble something! But one of the ways I've been researching sofas is by looking them up on the local CL; it's a very imperfect way to gauge how various items wear. I see a lot of very worn sofas from places like PB. But some of the Ikea models, including the Kivik, seem to be in surprisingly nice shape, which gives me some sense that they must hold up pretty well (although it may be a function of how long people tend to keep them or other factors.)

@houseofsticks, my husband is anti-leather and at our price range, it's probably sensible. I wouldn't do a CL or consignment sofa due to bedbug fears. And while I've never really considered a place like Value City, their website actually intrigued me a bit. There's one 96" long/45"deep model with English arms that appeals to me some.

I'll probably do some recon this weekend, with my lunatic kids in tow. I've pasted 2 prospects below: the first is a nice long Macy's sofa with good online reviews; the price is right but I know my husband will find it too skinny. And it looks a little formal for a room frequently inhabited by demon children.

{{gwi:2144444}}
The second is from a big local furniture place, Belfort. The store itself is huge and carries everything from cheapo to high-end brands. I love everything about this one, but I'm a bit leery of slipcovers in general and I don't know how to gauge the durability of the sofa itself since the branding isn't familiar.

{{gwi:2144445}}

I much prefer the 2nd sofa above just on looks. Maybe if you posted the brand, someone might have info.

Here is a link to another recent discussion of the KIvik sofa.

Here is a link that might be useful: kivik

We have the IKEA Karlstad in our basement. It takes some serious abuse and still looks pretty good. When my kids have sleepovers, they all crash on those sofas and no one complains of being uncomfortable. The cushions get abused all the time and have been used to make forts and serve as bunkers for nerf wars and so far they are holding up well. If you want to go the IKEA route, I can vouch for the durability of the Karlstad. It doesn't have the "slouchy" look you are after, but it is actually pretty comfortable.

I love the look of the sofas you post; however, i shudder to think what the off-white color will look like with two kids (and a husband) in no time; especially at the arm rests. IKEA would give you slipcovers that are washable and replaceable.

Thanks for more feedback.

@lkplatow, I like the Karlstad, I actually like all the Ikea sofas. They seem reasonably comfortable and there are some good fabric options. Sadly though after more hunting, I think they are all - including the Kivik - just not big enough for what I'm trying to achieve.

@nosoccermom, you're entirely right. They are darker than my bad cell phone photos, but they are both light beigey in tone. The Belfort's one had slipcovers that were supposedly machine washable, but I had the sense the sales people there are in the habit of telling you what you want to hear.

So I did some more power shopping today and came up with 1 realization and 2 additional options. The realization, as I said above, is that the Ikea models, even the Kivik, are just too short. I suspect a batch of boys would use the full 90" length of the Kivik without any issue, but when I sat in it today I realized my tall husband would be like a weird giant, with his head on one armrest and feet on the other. So that's out (wish I could change my post title!)

So I went a few extra miles on the Beltway to go to Value City. It's definitely not my speed for the most part - giant recliner faux leather sofas etc - although I noticed a ton of items that were explicit knock-offs of the CB/PB/Rest Hardware look (literally - if you are pining for the Big Sur table from Crate & Barrel, their copy seemed pretty nice!)

They have a sofa that is right in every way: length, width, color (a true taupe, I'm the weirdo who just redid her galley kitchen with greige/taupe cabinets.) It's a great price. It's advertised as made in the USA (a company called Kroehlers, ostensibly in NC). It's even got nice turned legs that will make it easy to sweep up all the legos that will find their way underneath it. BUT.... I have no illusions that the construction or the fabric or the foam/springs/whatever is as solid as some of my other options.

{{gwi:2144446}}

Alternatively I might be able to talk my husband into spend a few hundred more per sofa for a similarly sized one at Macys. I don't really love it, but it fits all the requirements.

{{gwi:2144447}}

Finally, here's the room where the 2 sofas will go - I took apart our current sectional to get a feeling of how it would work. The TV would be on the wall opposite the picture window.

{{gwi:2136552}}