White Sofa and Children?

[Maisie]

Am I asking for trouble? Does anyone else have white furniture?

 

[Porridge]

Yes, I think you know you are asking for trouble

 

[Maisie]

Yes I do. But I really want one. I could use throws, or just ban the kids from the living room

 

[Porridge]

No Maisie. The throws would end up on the floor and banning the kids would be like a red flag to a bull. The couch would look like some kind of artist''s first attempt at psychedelic modern art creation within a week!

Now, that said, we have cream leather couches that the dogs jump all over, and they are perfectly clean. What material are we talking?

 

[somethingshiny]

I have very pale beige furniture. I had it scotch guarded and made sure that the pillows are removable for cleaning. I also got an upholstery cleanser that works really well. I''ve avoided most permanent stains although the arms of the couch are definitely getting and staying discolored from DH''s dirty hands. Other than that, there hasn''t been any problems and we''ve had it since right after JT was born (he''s now 4.5).

 

[Maisie]

Date: 5/25/2010 6:30:21 PM
Author: Porridge
No Maisie. The throws would end up on the floor and banning the kids would be like a red flag to a bull. The couch would look like some kind of artist''s first attempt at psychedelic modern art creation within a week!

Now, that said, we have cream leather couches that the dogs jump all over, and they are perfectly clean. What material are we talking?

Lol! Your post made me chuckle. You are right of course, the kids would see it as some sort of challenge..

Sam: ''I sat on the sofa today, and I was eating chocolate''

Lou: ''woohoo! Hi five!''

I was thinking of leather... surely its mostly wipe clean?

Can you feel my desperation here?

 

[Maisie]

Date: 5/25/2010 6:30:46 PM
Author: somethingshiny
I have very pale beige furniture. I had it scotch guarded and made sure that the pillows are removable for cleaning. I also got an upholstery cleanser that works really well. I''ve avoided most permanent stains although the arms of the couch are definitely getting and staying discolored from DH''s dirty hands. Other than that, there hasn''t been any problems and we''ve had it since right after JT was born (he''s now 4.5).

Its funny how its your DH that is making the arms of the sofa dirty and not the little one!!

 

[packrat]

I would SO not recommend white. We're bad about letting the kids eat in the living room, so things get spilled. If they come in the house and are a little dirty, it will get on the couch..JD used to come in after working outside and sit down to relax and even just the slightest bit of dust/dirt would get on the fabric-which was treated but didn't matter. It wasn't full white, it was offwhite w/a stripes but still-ohh and the cats..the cats liked to lay on the back of it, so black cat hairs all over.

ETA, we don't have those couches anymore-we got a brown one and it didn't matter, still managed to look dirty. We're opting for leather next time.

I love the shabby chic look-loooove it, but I have issues w/fingerprints, smudges etc, and they show up so easily on light colored paint, so I can't do it!

 

[Callisto]

Oh man we don''t even have kids in our house (although sometimes I think my roommates have the logic of a 6 year old) and we have canvas colored couches and they are disgusting and not that old. So I can''t imagine what they''d look like with little ones around.

 

[Porridge]

Tee hee!

Leather you say...well, that maaaayyyy be workable...scotch guard, leather polish...I don''t find our couches hard to clean, as I said, but there''s no kiddies in this house. But still...I''m not going to enable you on this one. A couch is not worth losing your mind over!

Here''s an idea; put a white sheet over your existing couch. If, by the end of a week, it is still clean, then you have my blessing to buy that white couch

 

[tigian]

Hi Maisie,
I think white leather is doable, but the big question is how much will you be using the couch? Some people have couches that are only used when guests come over. My DH and I use our couch daily for many hours...reading, laptop, studying, cuddling, etc. About 2 years ago, we bought a cream colored fabric sofa and ottoman...and we had to start covering it because our 2 dogs would lean against the couch (they aren''t allowed on the furniture) and it got so grimy. If I were to do it again, I would have picked either a darker fabric or leather since it is easier to clean.

 

[Maisie]

I am so going to try the white sheet idea!

Fabric is probably a bad idea for a sofa with kids but leather might work. Or I will just have to buy white throws for my existing sofa.

 

[lulu]

White slipcovers-try them first on your current sofa. They can always be thrown in the washing machine.

 

[Clio]

Date: 5/25/2010 8:37:55 PM
Author: lulu
White slipcovers-try them first on your current sofa. They can always be thrown in the washing machine.

Yep, a friend of mine has white slipcovered furniture with twins and three dogs. The key is that they can be thrown in the washer and bleached into submission. She''s had them for years, so something must be working. I don''t think I could handle it, though.

 

[Anastasia]

Maisie,

When you say this sofa is going in the living room, do you mean a formal living room that isn''t used much, or the main room that you do all of your "living" in?

We have a family room and a formal living room. We have three kids. We have an off white striped sofa in the formal living room. It has held up very well, however it RARELY gets used.

If you are talking about a room that you use all of the time, I would say that white leather MAY work, but no way would I do a white fabric sofa in a room used by kids. Even adults will get a white fabric sofa very very dirty very quickly.

 

[movie zombie]

you are a very brave soul to even be considering this.......i wouldn''t want white around me much less children.

mz

 

[Hera]

If you''ll do a slipcover, buy two so you have one on the sofa and the other washing. Research how to buy one and/or wash one so that it doesn''t shrink. I would reconsider if this is your main sofa. Also, white leather can show marks fairly easy so I''m not sure that''s a solution.

 

[PumpkinPie]

I would NOT do it!

 

[Dreamer_D]

We have a light colored tan leather sofa, modern style not 80s like it sounds

It is a treated leather that you can wipe clean and so we wipe it off! No issues with baby and pets so far, but it has only been 2 years I suppose.

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

Oh Maisie! You are a girl after my own heart!

I so so so soooo want a white leather lounge but my husband wont allow it. Between my daughter and the 2 cats i know its not a good idea. But i still want one!!

We have 4 white leather stools along our breakfast bar and the one on the far end is like a pin cushion from the cats using it as a scratching post (

i know!) Finger prints and the like aren''t too bad, there are a few stains but i think that is probably due to the fact they were never treated before they were used (we bought them as shop stock heavily reduced).

 

[Jas12]

well, i say go for it if you like it! I have a white couch and white leather chair and a 2 year old boy. The couch is micro fibre and cleans up so well. I don''t let him eat while on the couch but he plays on it. I am not really a fussy person. I don''t think homes should be pristine (but not dirty either) and i figure the way things change in decorating these days I''ll probably replace my furniture b/c of a change in trend before they are destroyed. So i clean them regularly and they are pretty much stain free but not spotless.

I am building a new house now and the colors are light (cream kitchen, white banister stairs, grey and white furniture) i try to combine my style with practicality and with another kid on the way i''ll probably forever be cleaning finger prints, but that just comes with the territory anyway.

 

[Maisie]

The sofa would be in the family room so it will get a lot of use. I wouldn''t let the kids eat in there but James is a bit of a bad boy and likes to break the rules. The cat isn''t a major scratcher so hopefully she wouldn''t ruin it.

 

[Cehrabehra]

hehe on the white couch... have you seen this website?
2nd one down on page 3 - sharpie on white leather!

 

[Maisie]

Date: 5/28/2010 7:35:21 AM
Author: Cehrabehra
hehe on the white couch... have you seen this website?
2nd one down on page 3 - sharpie on white leather!

Oh. My. Goodness.

I think I would go doo-lally if they were my kids. How can they be so destructive?

 

[packrat]

HAD to log in after seeing that website! Is it sad that I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that my kids aren''t the only ones (especially Trapper) who ruin shit?? We call Trapper "Into Shit Bob".

 

[Maisie]

Date: 5/29/2010 11:25:37 AM
Author: packrat
HAD to log in after seeing that website! Is it sad that I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that my kids aren''t the only ones (especially Trapper) who ruin shit?? We call Trapper ''Into Shit Bob''.

Lol!! My kids are not that bad thank goodness. I really don''t know what I would do if they were. I would spend my days crying!

 

[asscherisme]

Don''t do a white couch!

And regarding that website, projectile poop? Thank goodness I never experienced that with my kids!

 

[Kaleigh]

A white sofa + kids = a recipe for disaster.. Don''t do it.

 

[Maisie]

I will just get a big cream throw that can go in the washing machine.

 

[HappyAnniversary]

What about color transfer from clothing? I nearly ruined a new cream colored leather purse just from having it rub against my denim jeans. I can imagine little bum marks on the couch!!