As with any major purchase for the home, big decisions need to be made about its suitability and longevity. Buying a sofa is an expensive purchase and you need to ensure that you have made the right choice. After all, a sofa will last you in excess of five years so maximising its longevity is important.
Of course, as a parent making a sound purchase can prove more difficult. With sticky fingers roaming around the house (and with children’s inability to comprehend the cost!) it is imperative that the choice you make, when choosing your new sofa, is suitable for your family.
Children don’t care how much the new sofa cost; all they want to do is play, get messy and generally be kids. So, when choosing your sofa it is important to ensure that you maximise the life of it by making a sound judgement call.
The textile choices are vast when sofa-shopping. With kids, the best kinds of textiles to choose from are fabric or leather. This guide will give you the positives and negatives of each.
Fabric Sofas
The Benefits:
With many sumptuous fabrics, it is easy to spend months deciding which fabric sofa is right for you. As a rule, fabric sofas tend to be much more comfortable than their leather counterparts. Fabric sofas tend to have detachable cushions. With kids around, detachable cushions are a Godsend as the detachable cushion covers can be washed regularly (depending on how messy your kids are!)
The Negatives:
While fabric sofas are incredibly comfortable, they are problematic when cleaning. Should one too many spills occur on your fabric sofa, the look and overall appearance will be diminished with stains. The lifespan of a fabric sofa is typically only five years, so depending on your household budget, it may not be a sound, financial investment, should you need something to last significantly longer.
With thanks to Morgue File for this image
Leather Sofas
The Benefits:
Leather sofas look amazing. It is without doubt that leather sofas epitomise class, particularly Chesterfield Sofas. The benefits of a leather sofa, as a parent, are that sticky marks and spills can be easily wiped clean. Smells are not easily absorbed into the leather, meaning that they smell fresher much longer. The ‘stink resistance’ that a leather sofa has is highly beneficial for parents with young babies! Furthermore, the lifespan of a leather sofa is significantly longer than that of its fabric counterpart.
The Negatives:
When the kids, or the grown-ups, are playing around the sofa scratches are imminent. Especially with tiny feet and tiny toenails that can potentially scratch the leather of the sofa. Whilst this may seem very minor negative point of purchasing a leather sofa, scratches are irreparable and, therefore, the quality appearance of the leather sofa is diminished immediately.
As with any household, mother knows best. Whatever sofa you choose, will look amazing in your noisy, child filled home. While kids can drive you crazy and cause unholy amounts of mess, it is mess you wouldn’t be without.
Happy sofa shopping!
