Best Family-Friendly Fabrics for the Sofa

With today’s multi-purpose living spaces and on-the-go lifestyles, modern families are taking their homes, and especially, their furniture to task. Family meals have moved from dining table to coffee table and from dining chair to sofa. Family time at home is often spent on the sofa — be it playing video games, watching TV and movies, or browsing through web through handheld devices and laptops.

Acting as the centerpiece and most oft-used furniture in our living spaces, the sofa has got to stand up to rigorous daily use by kids, pets and parents alike. When choosing an upholstered sofa or a custom made slipcover for it, one of the most important considerations is the fabric it will be covered in — it’s got to be durable, easy-to-clean and low maintenance. Here at Comfort Works, we thought maybe we could share our top picks of modern family-friendly sofa fabrics.

Leather

It’s not a type of fabric per se, but it’s stil to be taken into consideration whenever you’re thinking of getting a new sofa or even just a replacement slipcover. Just like fabrics, you should never leave your leather couch in the sun as its colour can still fade over time. Highly-versatile and durable, real leather patinas tend to age beautifully through prolonged usage, making it one of the most family-friendly of sofa materials. It can be easily cleaned and rarely holds odors the way cloth fabrics do. As it ages, pure leather becomes softer and more comfortable. However, softer leathers are more prone to cuts and scratches from sharp objects or pet claws.

Vinyl

Bycast Leathers

More affordable, yet as durable as leather, vinyl can stand up to the abuse of daily use by kids and pets. It isn’t as comfortable as fabric or leather, but it is easy to clean and totally stain resistant. Vinyl is available in many colors, but are most often found in black, brown and white. At Comfort Works, our leather is actually a bycast leather very similar to Vinyl so if you’re looking for something like leather, durable and super easy to clean – let us know or even get some free fabric samples.

Acrylics

Engineered fabrics, such as solution-dyed acrylics, have been an increasingly popular choice in indoor spaces. Once used strictly for outdoor use, these fade and spill-resistant fabrics now mimic the look of natural fiber fabrics, but are more durable and long-lasting. They come in a wide range of styles and colors ideal for indoor decors. We’ve actually been thinking of getting some of these fabrics so if there’s a colour you want us to add do leave it in the comments section below!

Cotton/Poly Synthetic Blends

Kino Heavy Duty Fabrics

While 100% Cotton is not the best choice for oft-used sofas due to wrinkling and staining, a cotton/polyester blended fabric boasts the durability required for active households. It’s an attractive choice for those on a budget, as it is economical with an overall look of quality.

Our Kino Heavy duty fabrics are made of 100% polyester, making it fully synthetic, fully machine-washable and the toughest fabric we have available that can survive up to 53,000 cycles on the Martindale/Abrasion tests.

Nomad Blend & Nautical Stripes

Next in line are the Nomad blends and the Nautical Stripes – essentially these fabrics are the loveliest and more unique fabrics offered due to the way the fabrics are interwoven together. Durable, comfortable and also very machine-washable, the downside to having these fabrics might be the occasional pills but these can be easily removed with a handy facial razor/shaver. Once the excess fibres are removed, your sofa slipcover is pretty much good as new.

Rouge Velvets and Linens

One of our favourite fabrics that we have are the Rouge velvets, which is also 100% polyester like the Kino. But how is it so soft and comfy you ask? It’s just woven differently – as simple as that.

With the linens, we actually have 2 types – the Lino and the Liege. The main difference is that the Liege carries an extra trait – water and stain resistance making it slightly more premium, but more family-friendly. So if you’re looking for that luxurious look yet don’t wish to send your covers to dry cleaners so often, the Liege fabrics we have might just be your saviour.

When in doubt, order some fabric samples here!

Think we missed out something? Let us know in the comments below!