First week with the Karlstad. Boxes everywhere, Allen key in hand, and my hallway looked like a furniture bomb went off. The assembly? Fine. The real fight? The one decision I made in hour one: which side gets the chaise.
You might think it's obvious. It's not. I flipped mine after two days because I measured the TV angle, not the traffic path. The Karlstad chaise locks you in. You don't rotate it like a lazy Susan. So before you undo those allen bolts, do this: walk the route from the kitchen to the balcony, sit where your guests will sit, and check the ceiling light. That's your decision.
The one decision: chaise side, not covers
Everyone talks about the slipcover. Don't. The slipcover comes off for washing, but the chaise side is what makes or breaks the room. If you put the chaise on the same wall as the TV, you'll be turning your neck every movie. If it blocks the door, you'll learn to hate it. Measure the clearance, not just the wall length. I'm talking 30 inches minimum to walk past without doing the sideways shuffle.
And while you're at it, measure the doorway during delivery day. The Karlstad comes in a few boxes, but the chaise box is long. If your door is under 28 inches wide, you might have to angle it. We did. Barely.
First week: what actually needs attention
The cushions are flat out of the box. Don't panic. They puff up after two days — foam, not feathers. But if you want a firmer back, flip the back cushions. The zipper is on the bottom. Took me five minutes to figure that out.
The cover? It's washable, but don't machine wash it right away. The fabric will shrink by two percent. I learned that the hard way on a throw blanket. Spot clean first. The cover is removability 's big selling point, but it's not a pro move for week one.
Also, the legs. They screw in, but mine didn't align perfectly on one corner. I thought I had a stripped thread. Nope. Wood frame tolerance. Back out and re-thread slowly. Annoying, not broken.
Who should skip the Karlstad
If you want a deep seat—I mean sit-cross-legged deep—this isn't it. The Karlstad is more sitting-up chair deep. My brother, who's 6'2", said it felt like a bench. And if you have kids who treat a sofa like a trampoline, the foam won't survive a year. I'd point you to a sturdier frame, like something from the IKEA Manstad Sofa: What I'd Pay (and Skip) in 2025 guide. If you need a pull-out bed, the chaise version eats up space; the Sofa with Chaise and Pull Out Bed: The Mistake That Costs You a Door post covers that trap. But for a dedicated chaise lounge, the Owen chaise sectional might be worth a look: Owen Chaise Sectional Sofa: First-Week Setup and the One Measurement.
The Karlstad served me well for a year until I moved. The room changed, and the chaise side was suddenly wrong. That's when I realized the chaise side isn't just a preference — it's a commitment.