With little ones romping all over the place and leaving a seemingly endless and indelible trail of dirt, juice, milk, drool, Dorito dust and who knows what else behind them, choosing the right couch can become a limiting and even exasperating chore. When in doubt, though, there’s a magic word that almost never fails: microfiber.
Microfiber is known the world over for its elasticity, its tenacity and its ability to wick moisture away from itself, resisting stains like the Hulk himself resists injury. Although purists should note it’s a synthetic material, its lab-tested history dictates its strength in kid-filled environments.
Its moisture-resistant traits are particularly helpful when there are four-footed “kids” at play, too; a few swipes of a hand covered in a damp rubber glove can whisk away pet fur as quickly and efficiently — if not more so — as a lint roller. Â Easy to clean and easy to sink into, the oversized Verona sectional sofa above is from AMC Sofa for about $2000.
Color choice is also important when it comes to choosing a family-friendly sofa; generally speaking, a saturated neutral like a deep tan, brown or grey is always a good choice, given its ability to hide stains and blend well into a number of various color palettes without clashing.
Textured surfaces, like the tufted couches shown above (from Furnishing America, $198)Â and below (Furniture Store NYC, $569), are also helpful in tricking the eye from looking for imperfections across a broad, uninterrupted space.
And when in doubt: deep, bold colors are also an intelligent option as long as you’re willing to commit. This deep scarlet couch from La-Z-Boy, for example, covers all manner of sins with its gem-colored hue, and the craftsmanship for which its maker is known will likely help it withstand all sorts of abuse from the kiddos.
Although some of life’s little accidents are just plain unpreventable, most are at least somewhat solvable, and having the right foundation is usually half the battle.
Photo credits: AMC Sofa, Furnishing America, Furniture Store NYCÂ and La-Z-Boy
