My neighbor has the best taste. She has a gorgeous pale blue sofa, with perfectly-chosen throw pillows that tie the room together. The funny thing is you’d never see this beautiful sofa if you visited, because it’s always hiding under a drab brown blanket. The brown perfectly matches Buster.
Who’s Buster you ask? Well, he’s her Labrador retriever.
If you’re one of the almost 90 million people in the United States who own dogs, you might have experienced what I call the “dog vs.sofa dilemma.” It's also estimated that 85.8 million cats are owned in the United States so you may instead be asking yourself, “cat or couch?”
We know you want that beautiful stylish living room, but you also want to snuggle in front of the TV with your four-legged best friend. Do you buy the new sofa and cover it immediately so your pet’s muddy paws don’t destroy it? Or, do you stick with the already stained one and let him have free reign of the place? You may think you don’t have any other options, but guess what? You do!
Furniture lines now offer a variety of pieces constructed with high quality, affordable stain-resistant fabrics. These performance fabrics give furniture the ability to withstand living with a pet. Let’s look at three ways life improves with a stain-resistant fabric for pets.
Stop pinning to the “Hacks for Removing Stains” Pinterest board.
Stain-resistant fabrics are easy to clean. Forget the instructions that tell you to mix this obscure 1960’s recipe ingredient with baking soda, scrub for 30 minutes and set cushions in the sun for half a day. With performance fabrics that are stain and water resistant, spills bead up and sit on top of the fabric. Just blot gently with a cloth to remove. I know it seems like magic, but it’s really years of performance textile technology now available to consumers.
- Never again ask, “Does the house smell like 20 cats live here?”
There are now stain-resistant fabrics on the market that offer complete barrier protection. Barrier protection is important because when the inevitable pet “accident” happens, it doesn’t soak into your cushions causing smells and damage that can’t be removed. When you remove the mess from the surface, it’s taken care of – no fear of a lingering, growing smell creeping back to haunt you.
Start actually living in your living room.
“That’s our living room, but we don’t really use it.” Sound familiar? Yep, I’ve both said it and heard it too many times to count.
Pet hair, drool, dirty paws, house training accidents – all valid reasons that people often choose to keep their “good furniture” in a separate room from where they actually spend most of their time with family and pets. But what’s the use of having good things if you can’t enjoy them? Stain-resistant fabrics for furniture come in an array of stylish options, from the latest fashion trends to timeless designs that never go out of style. They’re available in soft and comfortable textures and at affordable price points. That’s right, it’s possible to have style, comfort, and easily clean up after your pet!
