changing your home so you love it

« Back to Home

Selecting Pet-Friendly Upholistry Fabric For Your Home's Furniture

Posted on

Sharing your family's home with pets is wonderful, but animals can very easily stain and damage upholstery fabric on furniture. To keep your home's furniture looking clean and fresh even when you don't have time to vacuum, you should be very selective about the type and color of upholstery fabric you choose for your furniture. Here is some information to help you choose the right upholstery fabric:

Pet-Friendly Upholstery Fabric Materials

There are three types of upholstery fabric that work extremely well on furniture in homes with pets: denim, leather, and synthetic fiber. Denim is a sturdy material that isn't easily damaged by your pet's nails or other messes. It is a nice soft material that works well in family rooms and dens for a casual look. 

Both leather and distressed leather both work well for use around pets. Leather furniture has many benefits, including:

  • odor resistance
  • easy cleaning
  • nail damage resistance

As an added benefit, leather does not breathe like other fibers, so dogs and cats don't like to lie on leather furniture because it makes them too hot.

If you are looking at dyed or painted leather, you should opt for the leather that has been dyed. Painted leather can scratch and show wear from pet nails.

Finally, synthetic materials such as microfiber and ultrasuede are also durable and pet-friendly. By design, synthetic fibers are very tightly woven and resist holes and snags that are caused by pet nails. They also prevent pet hair from becoming woven between the fibers. Synthetic materials are also easy to clean.

Note: The following upholstery fabrics are not advised for use with pets due to their delicate nature:

  • chenille
  • linen
  • silk
  • tweed
  • velvet
  • wool

Pet-Friendly Upholstery Fabric Colors

Since you cannot follow your pets around the house with a vacuum cleaner 24/7, selecting upholstery fabric colors that do not show animal fur is always a wise choice. Thankfully, the interior design trend of decorating with black and white has passed. Black and other very dark colors have a tendency to show both fur and dog slobber stains. White is never a good idea in a home with pets because it is so easily stained and shows every speck of dirt.

Some fashionable colors that mask animal fur and dirt are:

  • muted blues
  • sage greens
  • tan

In addition, selecting upholstery fabric with patterns helps to distract the eye away from any hair and dirt. For more tips, contact an upholstery company like Nugent's Interiors & Upholstery Co.


Share