The KARLANDA sofa series met all the needs of a living room: it came as an armchair, a footstool that could also be used as a table, as a two or three seater sofa, a chaise longue and a bench. It was also comfortable, and came in 13 cover options and two different kinds of legs. IKEA described the possibilities of KARLANDA as being virtually infinite.
Designer Tord Björklund had thought about comfort and had fitted KARLANDA with zigzag springs, moulded polyether seat cushions and back cushions filled with land-fowl feather and polyether. Both the seat and back cushions were reversible, which meant the sofa or armchair could be kept nice and fresh for longer. Tord had previously designed for example the ÄNGBY and TOMELILLA sofas for IKEA. He trained at the Interior Design Academy in Copenhagen, and was employed at IKEA in 1980. He stayed with the company until 1995 before going freelance.
KARLANDA was a big seller and was in the catalogue for six years. After that, the construction could be improved as new techniques and materials came along. The updated model was called KARLSTAD and launched in 2008, with even more functions and combinations. It is still in the range in 2021.
