IKEA Morabo Sofa Review – Firsthand, Non-Sponsored

The Morabo sofa is a polyurethane foam-based sofa that is somewhat firm compared to sofas that are super soft that you sink into.

Most people find it to be of good quality for the price in terms of sturdiness, quality of the leather, and durability.

This firsthand review goes into all the details on the quality and how it’s holding up after 6 months in a house with three dogs.

Non-Toxic Furniture Review: This is part of the non-toxic furniture review series. Though the MORABO is not the most non-toxic sofa out there (my article on non-toxic sofas goes over the top-of-the-line options), IKEA has been a leading company in getting rid of flame retardants, PFAS, and chrome in leather. This sofa is reviewed by a mildly chemically sensitive reader. The sofa does have some off-gassing from the foam, leather treatments, glues, and engineered woods.

Fragrance: IKEA stores sell or use fragranced items, but online orders for delivery ship from central warehouses not their store locations.

The 10 most affordable non-toxic sofas can be found here if you want to compare IKEA to other brands.

This article contains affiliate links, upon purchase I earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Overview

Cost:

It comes in a chair, loveseat, 3 seater, and sectional sofa.

The sectional sofa in leather being reviewed here is $1,849 in the US.

Colors and materials:

The MORABO sofa comes in both fabric options and real leather. IKEA’s leather is all chrome-free making it a relatively non-toxic leather option.

The fabric options are currently – Grey, Dark Blue, and Light Green.

The leather options are Golden Brown, Black, and Grey.

Swatches:

Ask one of the colleagues in the store for swatches.

Feet:

The feet come in metal or wood.

The feet can be left wooden (as pictured in this review) or they come with leather covers. I preferred to leave them wooden. 

Review of Morabo Leather Sofa

How long have you had the Morabo Sofa? 

We’ve had it for 6 months (since December 2023).

Which other sofas did you consider and why did you choose this one in the end?

We considered the FINNALA sofa from IKEA as well because it looked a little bit softer but it was just out of our budget (it costs $2,399 for the leather section compared to $1,849 for the MORABO leather sectional).

We casually browsed online for a sofa that had more non-toxic certifications but all of them were so far outside of our price range.

We really wanted something leather because we have dogs and our last fabric-covered couch did not hold up well with them.

I had a coworker who furnishes commercial office and lobby spaces recommend this specific couch because she said it was very sturdy, so we ended up going with this one and we love it! 

Was it easy to assemble?

Very easy to assemble.

My husband helped because it was bulky and a bit heavy but it only had a few pieces that needed to be bolted together, and then we just had to screw on the legs and Velcro on the cushions.

One of the easiest furniture assemblies I’ve done because it wasn’t in a ton of pieces. 

Is it comfortable?

It’s upper-midrange (6 or 7 out of 10) for comfort.

It’s more comfortable than our Wayfair fabric couch that we had before, but I’ve also sat on some very soft leather couches that were more comfortable than this one.

Have the cushions compacted?

One review of the fabric option said that the cushions used for a year and a half have a little less bounce to them and another said it is finally getting worn down (after 8 years, 2 moves, and 1 cat).

Another person said at about the 10-month mark, the cushions are noticeably sagging and losing support, especially on the chaise section.

I have been very happy with how it’s holding up so far.

I have not noticed any sagging or compression in the cushions after 6 months.

The only wear I’ve noticed so far is that on the arms, you can see a slight bulge (photo below) where the wood ends and the cushion starts.

This could be because we’ve sat on the arms multiple times (just like my parents told me not to as a kid, they were right!) and I’m sure they’re not designed to be sat on. 

Could you nap on it?

Yes, you can and I have!

I originally didn’t want a couch with a lounge but it’s actually so nice for kicking your legs up during a movie or napping. 

There are lots of reviews that say it is nap-friendly. 

Does it seem sturdy?

Yes, it feels very sturdy.

I don’t usually think of Ikea furniture as super well-made but this one is a shining moment for them.

It definitely feels like real house furniture, not dorm room furniture. 

Other reviewers also found it to be sturdy.

The back cushions are velcroed on, are the bottom cushions velcroed as well?

The bottom cushions are velcroed on as well and we have not noticed any of them coming out of place on their own, even with dogs jumping on and off of it. 

Do you have any pets and has there been any damage from them?

One review said “We’ve had this couch for about 5 years now and it’s held up very well – not a single tear in the leather even though sometimes our cat likes to get naughty and start putting her claws in it.”

Another reviewer said “We also have two dogs that regularly jump up and relax…even though one has long nails, we have yet to see any kind of scratch marks.”

However, another said “This sofa has been in our house less than two months and there are holes in one of the arms from our cats.”

We have three dogs – a large dog, a small dog, and a large puppy.

We do try to keep it covered with a blanket if they’re lying on it (which doesn’t always happen) but I’ve been shocked at how well it’s holding up.

I’ve had to stop the puppy from scratching it on purpose, and he treats it like a vaulting board, and the other two dogs don’t scratch on purpose but do jump on and off, scratch themselves, etc. and it still doesn’t have any scratch marks on it that I’ve noticed.

It’s easy to vacuum their hair off of it (unlike our old fabric couch) and if they get it dirty it’s easy to clean with a damp cloth.

Note: our dogs are indoor dogs so they’re not filthy, I don’t know how it would hold up to heavy soiling or regularly muddy pets. 

Does the leather seem like good quality?

In the reviews, some people were impressed with the quality of the leather and others were disappointed.

The leather seems like good quality.

There are no noticeable wrinkles in the leather.

Is it easy to clean? Has it been stained from anything? 

We haven’t spilled anything like red wine or coffee on it but we have dropped food, including greasy food, on it and it’s easily wiped off with no staining (we wipe it promptly).

One of our dogs has epilepsy so he has had an accident (pee) on it once and vomited on it another time, we dried it up promptly and did our best to make sure it didn’t get into the seams.

Neither accident has left any visible staining or odor of any kind.

The cushion covers can come off though if you’re worried about something soaking all the way to the cushion and needing to be dried out.

Could you remove the legs if you had to move it? 

Yes, the legs unscrew easily.

Did it have a new furniture offgassing odor?

The odor was mild to none.

The MORABO Sofa is available online through IKEA US, as well as in other countries with IKEA locations. It goes for $1849 at the time of writing.

NOTES:

• The MORABO sofa from IKEA is the newer version of the LANDSKRONA. The main difference is that the MORABO is about 3 cm wider, deeper, and taller. 
• Fragrance: IKEA stores sell or use fragranced items, but online orders for delivery ship from central warehouses not their store locations.

Related Reviews:

Medley Non-Toxic Sofa Review

Most Affordable Non-Toxic Sofas

IKEA Non-Toxic Rugs

Affordable Non-Toxic Furniture

Corinne Segura is an InterNACHI-certified Healthy Homes Inspector with certifications in Building Biology, Healthier Materials and Sustainable Buildings, and more. She has 10 years of experience helping others create healthy homes. You can book a consult here.