Get all the details about purchasing a Pottery Barn Sofa to help make your decision easier. We’re talking comfort, style and design elements for a Pottery Barn Slipcovered Sofa versus our Ikea model!
Purchasing a Pottery Barn Sofa
We’ve all been there. Choosing a new sofa can be so stressful. We measure, we look at fabric samples, we tape out the shape on the floor for scale and measure again.
We search every local showroom floor, hoping to find the one. It has to be the right style, the right materials, and the right price.
It’s no easy task, friends… and after all that debating, that’s how I ended up choosing our Pottery Barn sofa.
When we were searching for new sofas for our living room, we knew that we wanted clean, simple lines in an updated traditional style. Above all, I wanted something that would work well for our family- it needed to be comfortable, look good, and hold up to the messes that can come along with three kids.
It’s a question I receive all the time… “Julie, how do you live with such a white house, with white sofas?” The answer lies in one of my best housekeeping tips… I like to see the dirt, so I can clean the dirt. A slipcovered sofa allows me to do just that!
Psst… learn more about my secrets for designing and maintaining a clean home.
When you can see the dirt, you can clean the dirt. Living with a white slipcovered sofa is actually the ultimate housekeeping hack!
Get more of my best tips for how to design and maintain a clean house right here. You can also see more of this sofa in action in our living room tour.
Pottery Barn Slipcovered Sofa Styles
With that cleaning concept in mind, we chose the York Slope Arm– a Pottery Barn slipcovered sofa that can be cleaned whenever we want, right in the washing machine.
That’s right, I simply throw it in the wash when necessary. Even better? If you want to take your stain protection up a notch, consider one of the Sunbrella High Performance Pottery Barn slipcovers.
Pottery Barn sells several classic slipcovered couch styles. We wanted the traditional look of a full slipcover, with no legs showing. Here’s a few of my favorites, and the ones that we considered when we chose the York Slope Arm.
- Comfort Roll/Square Arm– these are so affordable and cute! Not quite as sleek/elegant as the York, so that’s why it won out.
- Basic Roll Arm- this is the classic Pottery Barn slipcovered sofa. In my opinion, it will never go out of style… however, it’s very close to the Ikea sofa we have at the lake.
- Pottery Barn English Arm Slipcovered Sofa– I do love this style, but it wasn’t quite as transitional as we wanted. While I am very traditional, my husband likes a touch more modern.
- The SoMa Hawthorne– this one is similar to the English Arm, and while it is beautiful, it felt just a touch too traditional for us.
Why did the York win out? We loved the sleek, slightly modern line of the sloped arm, and the depth was perfect for us. Because we are minimalists, the design needed to be simple and compliment the rest of our home.
The down-wrapped cushions add a little luxury and it’s so comfortable, even for Netflix binges. In fact, I work on my laptop from this sofa for many hours of the day!
A Pottery Barn Couch vs. an Ikea Couch
As you can see in the video that goes along with this post, we own the Ikea Ektorp sofas at our lake cottage. We’ve had them for a few years and while they’re holding up so well, there are a few distinct differences when comparing the Pottery Barn couch to the Ikea options.
- While the Ektorp is just fine to sit in for a while, it’s simply not quite as comfortable as our Pottery Barn sofa. This works fine for us at the lake because we spend much of our time there outdoors!
- The look of the York is a little more luxurious- that down wrapping makes a world of difference in the look and feel of the sofa.
- I love that the Pottery Barn slipcovered sofas are available in so many fabric options, and they offer free swatches. Ikea is certainly more limited when it comes to slipcovers and covers!
Obviously, we all know that you get what you pay for, and quality comes at a steeper price. The Ikea sofa completely suits our needs for the lake and I am super happy with it, especially considering the price point!
However, for long-term lounging and a little more luxurious, high-end feel, the Pottery Barn slipcovered sofa wins out!
Cleaning Your Pottery Barn Slipcovers
Here’s what I love about slipcovers. When we get a spill on our Pottery Barn couch (ahem, red wine… raises guilty hand!) we can simply remove the cover on that cushion and treat the stain accordingly.
I very rarely need to remove the larger pieces for cleaning- but even when we do, it’s not a big deal. I love knowing that it’s one area of our home that we can keep truly clean with very little effort.
Yes, buying a dark colored or patterned sofa is an easy way to hide the dirt- but that’s exactly what you’re doing. Trapping and hiding the dirt can create some pretty icky build-up over time.
Why not recognize the mess and treat it as you’re able? We treat slipcover stains as we would any other laundry stains- research the type of stain and what treats it best, and we’ve had great luck.
We’ve had everything from markers to red wine on our Pottery Barn slipcovers, and the results are always great!
Where to Buy Pottery Barn Slipcovers
You can buy slipcovers directly from Pottery Barn, of course. Slipcovers (for the York and so many more) are available in an incredible range of fabrics and you can replace or simply switch out your look at any time.
However, there are several manufacturers of slipcovers that can fit a variety of their frames. I’ve heard great things about the Comfort Works slipcovers, but we have never tried them. If you’ve bought one of these Pottery Barn slipcovers, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
A Pottery Barn Slipcovered Sofa: Our Purchase Details
We have the York slope arm sofa and a loveseat as well. Sofa details:
- York Slope Arm Slipcovered Sofa
- Depth: 38.5
- Length: 80.5
- Fabric: Performance Twill, Cream
- Double Cushions- although I love that single bench cushion too!
My best tip when you’re considering this purchase? Wait for a sale! Pottery Barn almost always runs a sale for anywhere from 20-30% off your purchase. This can save you a significant amount of money!
We’re also very lucky to have a Pottery Barn outlet here in St. Louis, and I’ve seen some incredibly beautiful sofas in there at bargain prices. It’s worth the drive if you have one nearby!
What are your thoughts? Do you own a slipcovered sofa? Are you team slipcover, or are you more into traditional upholstery? I’d love to hear from you!
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Julie, What is the exact slipcover fabric and color on your couch. I see this says cream, but then thought I saw somewhere that you replaced the cream cover with an ivory color. Also, I can’t find “Performance Twill, Cream” on the Pottery Barn website.
Love your living room. I am ordering this couch as soon as I hear from you. Don’t want to order the wrong fabric/color or I’ll be stuck with it for a long time. Some of them look very yellow to me.
Thanks!
Laureen
Hi! It’s Twill Cream, not performance. Enjoy!
I’m curious: what is under the slipcover? A blank white thin fabric or what? Also: how hard are the slipcovers to get back on after washing? Is there shrinkage?
Just white fabric. Not bad at all! There is an ever so slight shrinkage, but they loosen up if you give them a quick steam on the sofa.
Hi! Where did you get that teal chair in the corner of your pics at the lake house? Thanks!
You’ll never believe it – Amazon! It’s at a fraction of the price of the almost identical chair from Serena and Lily!
How do you feel that the performance twill combats stains, holds up, and washes? I am looking at purchasing the same PB sofa X2 in performance twill stone instead of cream but I have a 9 month old, a dog and a husband so want to make sure it can stand up to all of my destructive forces. Do you feel you can combat some spills and potential stains without washing? Have you noticed and shrinkage when you do wash?
The pro of performance fabric is that it often wipes clean with water. It does get a little tighter after washing, so we steam ours a bit to loosen it.
I was wondering what fabric you chose for your pottery barn couches? so pretty!
Twill, enjoy!
Wow. 30 years. That is good to hear. I’ve been looking at the York as well as similar RH style. I sat on both at a store recently and they seemed stiff to me, even though down wrapped. Kind of “crunchy” (from the feathers maybe?), so I was second-guessing myself on that until I read your review. I love the look (and idea) of a slipcovered sofa (also like to see and clean the dirt!)–although it is a little bit more casual look than upholstery. And with the performance fabrics, I’ve been wondering if that would be as good as a slipcover. I’m also a little worried about getting the main slipcover on and off. I had a white slipcovered sofa about 20 years ago and it was a struggle (may have shrunk a little in washing) and I’m retired now (not as agile and touchy back). I also like the look of the bench seat, but wonder about how that may hold up long term. Why did you choose 2 cushions vs. bench? I’m a little late to this discussion, but would love any input… Thanks!
I think multiple cushions break down less. We had a bench on our previous sofa and it started to sink in the middle. I hope that helps!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us! Beautiful homes!
Thank you, Patty! Happy New Year!
Do you find that the regular (not deep) York sofa is deep enough to be comfy? It had one of the shortest inside seat depths of all of their sofas. If you give it a thumbs up, I’m ready to order. Thanks!
I do! Sitting on it as we speak! ?
We have been wanting to purchase a sofa with slipcovers for sometime, but weren’t sure if they were really washable. I especially appreciate the comparison between the IKEA and Pottery Barn sofas. This post is extremely helpful, Julie, thanks!
Hi Jane! I’m so glad to hear that! I’ve been meaning to write these posts for a long time- I always appreciate helpful reviews with pros and cons. Glad you found it helpful- have a beautiful week!
I don’t have either the Ikea or PB slip covered sofas so I can’t attest to the pros and cons. I’m sure your comparison will help others make their decision on Pottery Barn versus IKEA.
I prefer an upholstered sofa. I have a light taupe leather sofa & love seat with two fabric chairs. I love my leather furniture. It’s a classic style (roll arm/camel back) but the light coloured leather gives it a bit more transitional look. It has feather inserts so it’s very comfortable. It’s easy to wipe down. I’ve even had marker on the arm which came off easily. I treat the leather with a cleaner twice a year. I plan on changing out the area rug and chairs this year to get a fresh new look. Unless my taste change it will probably last forever. Not sure I want that!?
Hi Joanna! I completely understand what you mean about leather upholstery- it’s pretty indestructible! I love the look of soft, worn leather over time though. Thanks so much for your insight!
Julie
Totally agree about the merits of a PB sofa. I BOUGHT my PB classic rolled arm sectional with down cushions 30 years ago! I bought 3 sets of slip covers, too. So glad I did! It’s still in great shape after many sleepovers with several little boys, spills, dogs…you name it. However, I really want a white sectional so I’ll be buying a new one.
Wow, that’s really impressive! They’re so timeless!