Can pet-friendly furniture and great style co-exist in your home? Absolutely! You may have to give up dreams of a velvet sofa or loose-weave area rug, but there are still plenty of great-looking fabrics and materials – even leather! – that are surprisingly forgiving when it comes to scratches, pet hair, odors and random accidents.
Here's what to look for if you’re in the market for new furniture that won’t get wrecked by your fur babies.
Choose Pet-friendly Upholstery Fabrics
Fabrics with high polyester, acrylic, or other synthetic material content should be your first line of defense for everyday spots. Most of these fabrics can be cleaned with an over-the-counter carpet or fabric cleaner instead of calling in the professionals. Just wipe with a damp cloth to clean, and remove pet hair with a dry microfiber cloth, pet sponge, lint brush or tape.Convenient, but not sexy enough for your living room, you say? Read on.
Outdoor Fabrics
At Baer’s, we’re big fans of Sunbrella fabrics. The colorfast acrylic fabric was made to repel spots, spills and soil, but comes in beautiful colors and patterns that look and feel like high-end velvet or linen! Added bonus: you can take your cushions outside to clean with a hose.Microfiber
Smooth and soft as suede, microfibers, including microsuede, are a tight weave of polyester fibers which are as much as 1/100th the diameter of a human hair (finer than silk!). This is a dream fabric for pet owners, because that soft, luxurious surface repels allergens and odors. Liquid spills bead up and sit on the surface, giving you time to blot them up before they soak in. Soil can be cleaned with a little dishwashing soap, and tears and pulls are nearly non-existent.Leather
Real leather furniture is four times more durable than fabric. It will last for 20 years, so go ahead and splurge. Protected leather such as "corrected grain" or "top grain" – which is treated with a resin coating - is the most common type of leather upholstery, because it’s easy to clean, odor and scratch-resistant. Of course, distressed leather is the most forgiving. If you like the look, that may be your best bet of all.Just make sure you are getting the real thing, or your furniture isn’t going to withstand your furry friends. Faux leather will fall apart faster than you think.
Custom Upholstery
Since you are investing in a new look, comfort, and more, you can design pet friendly couches with custom upholstery. At Baer’s, we have hundreds of options to customize your choice piece of furniture. You can outfit your entire living room with custom upholstery for a fresh, pet-friendly new look.Camouflage Non-friendly Fabrics with Patters & Colors
If you have your heart set on a certain sofa that doesn't come in a pet-friendly fabric, you have options. Try choosing a geometric or floral pattern or darker color – an earth tone, gray or green – can camouflage daily spots and shedding. Try matching the color to your dog or cat’s coat. Treat sofas, chair and pillows with Scotchgard to make messes easier to wipe up.Cover Your Couch in Style
If you’ve been draping your furniture with throws to cover pet stains and keep them at bay, consider a slipcover instead. Today’s slipcovers are durable, easy to wash and come in a wide variety of patterns and colors. You can give the sofa you already love a fresh look every year or so and have the fun of updating your living room to match without the expense of buying all new things.Baer’s offers a full collection of Sunbrella furniture, microfiber and leather furniture for pet-owners that will preserve the style you love and keep you and your four-legged family members happy for many years to come.
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