When shopping for upholstery material, we like to keep every family member in mind, including our animals. They make up an important part of our homes, and it’s important that they feel comfortable while also selecting the best couch materials for dogs.
If you’re reading this, you’re likely big dog lovers like us and don’t mind sharing the sofa with your furry friend. We love having them cuddle up to watch a movie. But what does the upholstery look like after they leave?
Let’s look into how to properly select the best couch materials for dogs. Our pets can leave hair, dirt, dust, and stains on our furniture, so selecting a material that makes it easier to enjoy quality time with them on the couch is important.
So what should you look for when it comes time to select your upholstery?
- Durability
- Cleanability
- Scratch Resistant
- Stain Resistant
- Tear Resistant
Which material best supports animals on upholstery: leather or fabric?
In our experience, the best thing to use when you’re inviting animals onto your furniture is leather. There is a wide variety of leather types, and some perform better than others in regards to the product details shared above. Before selecting a material, we recommend familiarizing yourself with the specifications to see if it will work for you.
Leather Is Better
There’s no denying that leather performs the best against the wear and tear of animals. Not only is it easy to wipe clean, but it doesn’t hold onto animal fur and odor like fabric can. We recommend you look into both genuine and faux leather when you’re ready to specify upholstery for your next project.
Genuine Leather is going to be the most reliable option if you’re concerned about your animals damaging your furniture.
Faux Leather has the same properties that make standard leather easy to clean but doesn’t necessarily hold up against scratching and tears as well. This is still a popular choice among many animal lovers that don’t like using animal products such as genuine leather in their interior design projects.
Performance Leather is a designation given to leather that has been tested to hold up against color transfer, stains, tears, and rubbing. This is a top choice of individuals with large dogs or multiple animals because it withstands the test of time.
Selecting a leather type is easy once you understand how they perform and can support your design goals. The perk of this category is that leather is frequently designed to look aged or worn. This works well for our furry friends, so small marks or scratches won’t make a big difference in the appearance of the material over time.
At Kovi, we have a variety of faux, genuine, and performance leather materials to choose from. It’s important to us to categorize these materials for you to make shopping for your next project incredibly simple. You can look through our dog-friendly performance leather and faux leather materials here.
We have a few favorite Performance Grade materials we’d recommend you browse before picking up a sample or yardage:
- K9783 CHOCOLATE – Brown, Recycled Leather, Stain Resistant
- K8662 CASHEW – Beige, Recycled Leather & Vinyl, Stain Resistant
- K9731 FOREST – Green, Recycled Leather & Vinyl, Stain Resistant
Making Fabric Work
We understand that leather isn’t for everyone. We made a point to pull together our top fabric recommendations for the animal lovers out there that prefer the look and feel of textiles. The important thing to look for when selecting a textile is cleanability and durability. This translates into selecting materials that are Performance Fabric or Crypton.
Just because you choose a high-quality textile doesn’t mean you need to compromise in design. You can browse our entire dog-friendly textile collection here. If you’re looking for a recommendation, these are our current favorites:
- K9568 Peacock – Turquoise blue, Tweed, Crypton, Performance Grade
- M3796 Cloud – Sage green & sand, Polyester, Crypton
- E9128 Bungalow – Orange & brown, Jacquard, Crypton
- K9561 Dusty Plum – Pink, Chenille, Crypton, Performance Grade
- E3154 Sassy Plum – Purple, Polyester, Crypton
We understand that textiles have a different style that many animal lovers are attracted to, so it’s important to us to provide options! Leather materials might be a bit stronger, but with some love and care, your fabric sofa will hold up for a long time.
Q & A
Question: Does faux leather perform as well as genuine leather?
Answer: While some similarities exist, faux leather does not perform the same as genuine leather. If you have a few particular concerns when specifying a material, we encourage you to read the product details. Performance can vary quite a bit, even between different leather types, so it’s worth checking out before picking up a sample or purchasing yardage.
Question: Is leather or fabric more comfortable for dogs to lay on?
Answer: We have found that most dogs don’t mind the feel of either leather or fabric. If you live in a warmer climate, leather might be more comfortable as it is cool to the touch. On the other hand, it might be less comfortable if you live somewhere where it’s cold the majority of the year.
Question: How long will leather upholstery last with dogs?
Answer: Performance leather is designed to last the entire lifetime of a piece of furniture. Of course, this is assuming the dog isn’t continually scratching or tearing the material. Everyday wear and tear will hold up for a long period of time.
Question: Can dogs puncture leather with their claws?
Answer: While this is highly unlikely, it is not impossible for your animal to puncture a leather sofa. If you’re looking into faux leather, keep in mind that it is a manufactured material and not always as durable as the real thing. Take some time to review the specifications for each material you’re looking into to ensure it’s strong enough for your project.
Question: How do you care for your leather sofa if you have a dog?
Answer: Having an idea of what type of leather you have or its performance level helps a lot. This is why you see so many animal lovers selecting their materials. If you find that you’re not sure what type of material you have, take a look at your sofa for any stains, scratches, or tears. If your leather is holding up, we recommend you use a leather cleaning solution seasonally or once a month (depending on the frequency of use) to care for the leather. If your leather is worn down, we recommend reupholstering with performance leather that can keep up with your furry friend.
Selecting The Best Couch Materials For Dogs
While we are firm believers that leather will hold up best for your pet, we felt that it was essential to provide options for the best couch materials for dogs. The design of your home is such a personal choice, and we appreciate the love and care you’re putting into your space. Not to mention, including your four-legged friends in the process is pretty darn cute.
Once you’ve reupholstered your sofa with a pet-friendly textile, we’d love to see a photo of them enjoying their new upgrade! Animals make up such an important part of our lives. It would be a shame if they couldn’t cuddle up on the sofa too!