This post was most recently updated on September 23rd, 2019
Hey, you guys! If you missed my post yesterday, I gave my thoughts on the our IKEA sofa and loveseat in our new cottage. Check out my review of our IKEA Vimle sofa and loveseat. It might be a great choice for you if you’re in the market for an affordable sofa with clean lines. Today, I promised to give you some feedback on the IKEA Farlov armchair. We purchased a pair of them a few months ago for our cottage living room. (Note: These are not sponsored posts.)
IKEA Farlov Armchair: Benefits
Firstly, these chairs are gorgeous. I think they are the perfect ‘modern cottage’ style chair. They have a relaxed, cottage-y feel because of the slip-cover, but they are still sleek with nice clean, modern lines. That’s not an easy combination to find. It’s slip-covered cousin, the IKEA Ektorp chair, is highly popular, but isn’t nearly as streamlined as the IKEA Farlov armchair. Plus, because of their straight arms, the Farlov armchairs line up beautifully in a pair.
Secondly, the IKEA Farlov armchair is comfortable. In our cottage, these chairs face a beautiful view of the water through bank of windows. I knew we’d be spending lots of time in them so they had to be comfy, not just eye candy.
They are definitely chairs you could sit in for hours with a good book. If you like a deep chair, these are a great choice. But, you will definitely need a foot stool if you don’t plan on curling up with your feet in the chair. Otherwise, your feet might need to dangle lol. They do come with a matching lumbar pillow, probably because of their depth.
I chose navy blue fabric for our IKEA Vimle sofa, or as IKEA calls it, “Orrsta black-blue”. So, for contrast, I thought white fabric -“Flodafors White” – would be a great choice for the chairs. Oh, I know what you’re thinking. “White? Are you mad?” Yep. That’s exactly what my husband asked. He never questions any of my choices, but I know he was a bit confused about this one.
But the great thing about the IKEA Farlov chair is that it is slip-covered. That means it’s pretty durable because you can pull off the slip-cover if it gets a bit dirty and just wash it! I’m sure a darker colour or leather might have been more practical in a cottage. But, I’m willing to wash the Farlov slipcovers now and again to get the look I want. And, if I ever get tired of the white fabric, I can order a slip-cover in another colour and easily switch it.
Finally, the IKEA Farlov armchair is a great deal. In Canada, it’s about $500 CAD (so it’s less than that in USD), which is more than reasonable for a large, heavy chair like this.
IKEA Farlov Armchair: Minor Drawbacks
These chairs are the bomb. But there’s a few things you might want to consider.
First, because the IKEA Farlov armchair is so deep, make sure you have the space for them. They might look streamlined, but they are actually quite big and heavy. They are deeper than they are wide; you’ll need almost 40 inches of depth. Then, if you add the IKEA Farlov footstool, you’ll need at least a couple more feet. That’s one of the reasons I chose not to buy the Farlov footstools. Instead, I opted for a smaller pouf-style footstool to save space.
The other minor drawback is, ugh, assembly. But, let’s face it, if you are considering IKEA, you already know that assembly will be required. Still, it’s a bit of a bummer. I’m all about instant gratification, so having to spend a couple of hours putting something together before I can enjoy it is a bit of a lunchbag letdown. That said, the assembly of these chairs isn’t too bad. The pieces are heavy, so it’s wise to have another person help you. For example, there’s one step where you have to kind of slide the arm of the chair down into a notch on the body. I tried doing this myself. It wasn’t a good idea, lol. (Cue the swearing and wine.)
Overall, I think the IKEA Farlov armchair is a great choice, especially if you love modern cottage or coastal cottage style as much as I do.
If you are in the market for this chair, I hope this initial review was helpful. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments!
Have the best day,
Kerri