As a full time RV family we needed a Sofa that would hold up to our demands. The IKEA Holmsund sofa fit every need we had on our check list! It is casual, comfortable and convertible into a bed. The IKEA Holmsund sofa-bed also offers ample storage under the seat and it is easily assembled inside the RV making RV Renovation uber easy!
First, let me say we truly didn’t know how this would turn out. Spoiler… It’s GREAT!!
Some quick background…
When we were in the market for our first RV for full time living, we found one that was completely furnished and we thought it would serve our needs, but that particular RV was not in the cards. The RV dealership we were working with also specialized in RV renovations, basically ‘flipping’ RVs, so we had a unique opportunity to choose the finishes!
We agreed to work on a 2004 Winnebago Adventurer that had good “bones” but needed interior refinishing.
Turned out to be a bad situation for us… but that’s a different story…
We searched high and low for a sofa.
To make the situation more challenging, we had a list of requirement that this sofa had to meet.
It needed to be:
1. Affordable
2. Convert into a bed
3. Offer storage
4. Look casual, comfortable and bungalow’ish.
We, of course, searched all the usual places you would expect like Camping World and we found the sofas and couch’s designed for campers and RV’s are generally very poor quality. Made to be light weight for obvious reasons but this makes them subject to failure and poor longevity.
We looked at residential supply locations but the biggest issue here is the furniture (most of the time) would not fit through the door of the RV. We did find a leather sofa at Sams Club that came partially assembled (the back of the sofa attached separately) but it was not a bed and it did not have the casual look we were hoping for. It also did not offer any storage… so this would not work for us!
Enter the magical small space solutions of IKEA!!
Seriously, the store is amazing for small space design, and with regard to the furniture, everything comes in a box! Items in boxes mean you can get them through the door on the RV!! Yeah sure, you have to put it together but that is a fair trade.
There are several couches and sofas to choose from at IKEA but with our measurements we settled on the Holmsund Sofa.
It fit our space perfectly, has a casual / comfortable look, had storage and a clever bed conversion!
We have a winner!!
Two other very, very nice features about this IKEA Holmsund sofa that make it ideal for an RV:
1. The design allows for seat belts to easily pass through the cushions
2. There are easily accessible areas to bolt it to the floor!
We have now used this Holmsund sofa for about 2 years. It has held up surprisingly well with our heavy use scenario. Our kids slept on it nightly and we sat on it daily. The slip covers are washable but we found covering them with a close matching sheet was an easier solution.
We have made 2 videos about our search and experience with the IKEA Holmsund sofa.
This Video shows the effort we put up to make this purchase, the IKEA options and the packaging.
This Video we provide our review of the Sofa’s and answer the most common questions we’ve received.
Over all I give it 4.5 stars.
I’ve docked a 1/2 a star because I strongly suggest you use glue when assembling these. We did have some wood separation of the arm which occurred from Carter or Ella sitting on the arm but I must say this was a very easy fix. I just dribbled glue where it should have been to begin with and clamped it back together. No more problems.
A frequently asked question we have is about dimensions. I will include those here:
Height including back cushions: 37 3/4 "
Backrest height: 31 1/8 "
Width: 90 1/2 "
Depth: 39 "
Seat depth: 23 5/8 "
Seat height: 17 3/8 "
Bed width: 55 1/8 "
Bed length: 78 3/4 "
Height including back cushions: 37 3/4 "
Backrest height: 31 1/8 "
Width: 90 1/2 "
Depth: 39 "
Seat depth: 23 5/8 "
Seat height: 17 3/8 "
Bed width: 55 1/8 "
Bed length: 78 3/4 "
Also, if your space is tight, you can install the IKEA Holmsund sofa without one or both arms.
So the next time you think about IKEA, don’t think about cheap and possibly lower quality furnishings. Think of IKEA as a RV remodel supply store and you may find happiness is more affordable than you originally thought!