Read part one of our Ghost Sofa Hack. To recap, we’re trying to recreate the look of the ultra-premium Ghost Sofa on an Ikea Soderhamn corner sofa, because of reasons.
In case you forgot how the original from Ghost Sofa from Gervasoni looks like, here it is again:
This is the sofa frame we cobbled together consisting of 2 Soderhamn corner sofas, sans the original covers and back cushions.
Since we’re pretty experienced in creating custom slipcovers (even if I have to say so myself), I just whipped out my trusty dressmaker’s measuring tape and got to work. What we need here is a sofa frame cover and a zillion throw pillows.
Referring back to the Ghost sofa image again, there is one major difference – the seat cushion. The original Ghost 12 doesn’t have a separate seat cushion (similar to the Ikea Klippan) while the Ikea Soderhamn has 2 square, flat cushions. While I’m tempted to just discard the thin seat cushions to achieve the look, the Soderhamn’s frame does not have any foam or padding in there and would be horrible to sit on, which leaves us with either creating a slipcover that would go over the seat or sacrifice the smooth look for a little comfort and make cushion covers for the seat too.
I eventually opted for the latter because we want a beautiful sofa, but it has to be practical too! Also it turns out that there is the Ghost 13, a sofabed version which has a single flat seat cushion, so we’re forgiven ;) Our fabric of choice is the famously wine-resistant Liege fabric in Eggshell, which is a lovely relaxed white linen-viscose blend.
Once the measurements had been submitted to our tailors, I waited for a couple of weeks of them to be finished off and delivered. Oh the suspense!
White on white and white may be a bit of an overkill, but it’s an absolute dream! The Soderhamn’s wide and deep seating is emphasised now that we aren’t using the original giant cushions, but it still looks fantastic and the linen makes it a perfect place for a nap on a warm afternoon.
In terms of comfort, it’s still pretty much like the original Soderhamn, with hard armrests that you won’t want to put your head on (and physically won’t be able to anyway due to the armrest height), but the deep seat depth gives you so much room to stretch out and lounge around. Currently the cushions are 42x42cm (or 16×16 inches) so if you wanted to try this yourself, you might want to get some that are larger for some height variation.
In terms of style though, I believe we did pretty well in keeping the original Ghost sofa style with the floor-length skirt and inverted or pinched seams emphasizing the clean outline of the sofa frame. I also opted to put two square seat cushions into one giant seat cushion cover hoping for a nice streamlined shape, and it worked! I also chose white linen because of the slight depth of tone that comes from the woven fibers, instead of a flat white fabric.
Price comparison:
2 Soderhamn corner sofas from Ikea: AU$700 or about US$540
Custom slipcover from Comfort Works in Liege Eggshell: US$807 (custom slipcover prices vary depending on the fabric selection and size)
Total cost: US$1347
That works out to about half the price of the Ghost 12, plus there’s the added bonus of the fun in the whole process, right? If you’re not up for it, we also offer slipcovers for the whole Ikea Soderhamn range, or else you can get a completely personalized sofa cover in the same style, just ask us!
Customised Soderhamn slipcovers
For those interested in some off-the-shelf alternatives, here are some from around the interwebs:
1) Basketweave Linen Carlier Slipcover Sofa from Anthropologie
2) Joe Deep Sofa with Arms from MCM House
3) Oasis Sofa from Crate and Barrel (possibly discontinued?)
4) Belgian Track Arm Slipcovered Sofa from Restoration Hardware
So that’s how we did it! We transformed the ever versatile Ikea Soderhamn into a fancy designer sofa, or is it not close enough? Let us know what you think in the comments.
16 Comments on this post
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Zanne
Dec 13, 2022IKEA used to have a part that connects two sections but only uses one of the legs in the connection, so you don’t have that double leg look if you’re not covering to the floor.
don’t know if they still have it, it was a great idea.
Mira
Dec 13, 2022Hey Zanne, that’s a pretty interesting share! Unfortunately we don’t think it would work with the Soderhamn as this uses two corner sections and the number of legs is fixed. Please let us know if you happen to come across the part again :)
Meredith Feniak
May 19, 2022I’d like to do this! Please send me a link to this set! Thank you
Naomi
May 20, 2022Hey Meredith,
You may find this set listed on our Amazon and also on our Etsy shop!
You’ll need 2 x Soderhamn Corner units (having 6 x scatter-back cushions measuring 16″x16″ would of course, totally complete this look).
Be sure to share some photos of the final results – we’d love to see it :-)
Thara Arulswamy
Nov 25, 2021Hi,
I am yet to buy the Sofas. Very excited seeing this beautifully curated sofa which looks plush and so calming.
I have a toddler and a baby around. So would like to know if clamping the two corner sections keeps the sofa sturdy not just to lounge or laze but also when a toddler jumps over it :D.
Also, I would like to know are those sharp sewn edges available in models already offered for Soderhamn or does it come only in Custom covers.
Lastly, I live in Gothenburg Sweden. Do you ship here and can I see a few samples before ordering. Also, shipping time for same.
Regards
Thara
Naomi
Nov 30, 2021Hi Thara, thanks for reaching out!
It is definitely a good idea to use the clamps to fasten both corner-pieces together! This keeps both sides from moving away. It would be advisable to keep all jumping to a minimum of course, as this does affect a sofa’s structure and stability (not to mention the legs!) over time.
As for the “sharp sewn edges”, if you mean the french seams –this is a specialty of our Ghost Hack sofa covers :) If you are interested, you may shoot us an email about this look at info@comfortworks.com.au and one of our friendly agents will get back to you within 1 working day with all the information and steps needed moving forward.
Or, if you want to skip ahead and get samples first, just go on over here (https://comfort-works.com/pages/fabric-samples and feel free to pick up to 8 sample swatches at a time.
Ps* Yes! We do ship to Sweden. You may find our main website at https://comfort-works.com/en/ for more info.
Tani Klein
Oct 8, 2018Hey Chuck can you tell me where you sourced the wooden trunk coffee table things from? I just LOVE this hack, its exactly what I am after, however I need it to be a sofa bed… now how to hack that?!
Hema
Oct 11, 2018Hey there Tani,
We’d actually gotten them from a pile of chopped up trees, brought them back with us and cleaned them up.
You can easily get it done DIY, like we did.
Kylie
Aug 18, 2017I have the Ozdesign Tatler lounge (https://www.ozdesignfurniture.com.au/tatler-3-seater-park-fabric-wheat) but want to transform it to a relaxed nordic-style lounge. I love the the seams and overall look of the ghost or even this Adairs lounge https://www.adairs.com.au/furniture/chairs/home-republic/stockholm-ottoman-silver-6dd12b1a/
Do you think it can be achieved with the Tatler lounge? Have you done anything similar?
Chuck
Aug 21, 2017Hey Kylie,
Do you have a reference photo or link as to the kind of results you wish to achieve with the Tatler lounge? We’ll be able to get a better idea of what we can or can’t do then :）
Hope to hear from you soon!