What Sofa Upholstery Is Best When You Have Pets: Pros and Cons of Materials

Many people understand that the upholstery material for a sofa is a matter of personal choice. There are many types of upholstery, but not all of them are suitable for owners of household pets. Each material has its own fans due to its properties and appearance. In this article, we will review the most popular upholstery fabrics, their pros and cons.

Velvet Upholstery

Velvet is a soft, gentle material with a plush appearance. It is also quite elegant and blends well with sofas of almost any style. Furniture made from this material adds a lot of sophistication and luxury to the interior. Nevertheless, it also works well as a scratching post for your cat.

Velvet upholstery can be found in almost any color, its palette is unlimited, but the most fashionable colors are beige and gray tones. High-quality velvet is very resistant to wear. Pay attention to whether the material was treated with special compounds during production, so that it is not afraid of mechanical damage, water, and dirt.

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Flock or Micro-Velvet

For owners of household pets, this anti-damage material is an excellent alternative. Flock is very similar to velvet but differs in higher durability and strength. Moreover, the material is treated with water- and dirt-repellent compounds during production, making it easy to maintain and not prone to tearing. Even your cat won't be able to damage such a material.

Linen Upholstery

Natural linen is characterized by a soft structure and high resistance to creasing, which is considered an advantage by many fans of cozy and soft sofas. To increase the strength of linen, cotton, wool, or polyester is often added. Linen upholstery for a sofa offers high resistance to wear, does not accumulate static electricity, and has antibacterial and anti-allergenic properties.

As for color, natural linen tones are usually used, such as soft gray, but there is a trend toward bright linen upholstery now. Unfortunately, scratches from claws are not rare for this material.

View sofas from the Portofino collection (as in the photo)

Faux Suede

An excellent combination of decorative properties of sofa upholstery and anti-damage features. It is easy to clean, looks vibrant and luxurious in the interior, and does not fade over time. If it was additionally treated with Teflon protection, this upholstery is not afraid of even water.

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Leather Upholstery

Properly processed leather is a very durable material that you can confidently use to upholster your sofa. Leather has one feature — over time and with aging, it develops a better appearance. Generally, it is a very rigid material, but when appropriate tanning techniques are used, leather becomes surprisingly soft and warm.

There are no color restrictions in its use: leather is painted both in muted, soft tones and in expressive, bold colors. However, it should be remembered that quality leather is a relatively expensive luxury that requires proper and regular care.

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Relax

This upholstery material can serve as an alternative to leather. Fans of leather furniture will appreciate its anti-damage properties and easy maintenance. Thanks to the unique composition of the material, scratches and marks can be easily hidden in seconds.

Depending on the structure of the top layer, relax can come in different forms, namely:

• with a suede-like surface;
• imitation of natural leather with textured embossing;
• imitation of velvet;
• joey — a material with high pile, resembling flock;
• luxury — the most expensive and high-tech fabric.

Tips

1. The main tip for choosing a sofa is to avoid wooden elements in the furniture design.
2. Pay attention to the upholstery color. It should match as closely as possible with the color of your pet's fur. Otherwise, the fur will be very noticeable on the furniture and ruin the overall impression.
3. If anti-cat upholstery is only planned, but the sofa should always be in perfect condition, there is also a solution. Purchase special products in pet stores with lemon or orange scent. Cats don't like citrus smells and will avoid such furniture.