I have a 2-year old and a light-colored couch...and it has been fine. However, we are pretty strict about not eating in the LR. There are some smudges here and there, but I just clean them when I see them! Hasn't been a big deal yet...

OMG this is too funny -- I was going to post a similar but opposite question!!

I have a taupe/linen color sectional (slipcover) and by god it's very messy even though I wash it constantly. The minute I wash the cover it got dirty again. If it wasn't slipcovered, it probably looks very nasty by now. :-( DS age 1 just color a whole seat cushion w/ marker (took him 15 sec to do so).

We have 2 chocolate armchairs that hardly show any dirt.

I'm getting new sofas and have the same dilemma. I want light beige color sofas to go w/ my beachy look but I'm very afraid that it would get dirty & messed up. :-( The alternative is to get 2 chocolate sofas but I am afraid it's too dark. I probably end up doing this for practical purpose.

If you really like lighter sofa, microfiber is a good alternative. My headboard is made of microfiber ultrasuede & once DD drew markers on it. I wash it all off w/ just soap & water. We have a banquet seat in kitchen nook that's cover w/ microfiber velvet. It's very easy to clean as well.

I read that fiber w/ high synthetic content is easier to clean but natural fiber like cotton, linen is a beast to maintain.

Yes, but I'm very strict about keeping food in the kitchen. Regardless of the kids, light colored sofas in busy households can get grungy over time. I'd definitely pick something with some texture or a small pattern if I had to do it over again.

I have a white couch and a 6 year old who eats on the couch. He also used to have reflux and well...accidents happen...seemingly very frequently on the white couch. The couch is made of a very durable fabric and I have washed the cushion covers a bazillion times and they are holding up well. The part of the couch that can't go in the washing machine is in sad shape. I use a soapy cloth to spot clean, but I really have to rent a steam cleaner to get it done properly.

It was scotchguarded when it was new, but that was about 10 yrs ago. I also think that scotchguard has it's limitations.

My suggestion would be to get something that's slipcovered so that you can throw it in the washing machine.

Just my personal opinion, but if you want to do living in your living room, your couch is going to get dirty. And worn. No matter what the color. If you want a showpiece living room, then you can restrict what is done in there to preserve the furnishings and it will forever look great. Growing up, we had a living room that was saved for special occasions or company or something...not sure, but the room wasn't lived in. After many years of never using the space, my father decided to let us kids actually use that room like a normal family. The couch was destroyed after about a decade of being used. He has no regrets. It's not like we were out of control animals, it's just that we had 5 kids in the house, and friends over, and well ... these things happen. You gotta have pop and popcorn when watching movies. Etc. Dad was ready for a new look by the time the couch was destroyed anyway :O)

Slipcovers are the way to go, imo.

Too funny! When we built this house 15 years ago, we had one kid, our son who was then nine. We bought two cream colored linen sofas for the living room and a brown leather one for the family room. We moved in over Memorial Day weekend and the day after Labor Day I discovered that I was pregnant with DD! I was initially worried about the light sofas, but we did have a strict rule about the kids not eating or drinking in the living room. DD was great about that and never did. What she did do, however, was decide that the cream colored sofas were too plain and decorated both of them with ballpoint pen drawings one afternoon when she was almost four! Thank heavens a professional cleaning company could get it all out. My parents, though, thought it was hysterically funny and well deserved. Apparently, when I was her same age, I'd decorated their "boring" walls with many red lipstick "paintings" that I "framed" with Mom's eyebrow pencils. I was supposed to be napping with my mother and baby sister, but got inspired, I guess.
Did I mention that DD's inherited my decorating gene ;^P (LOL!)
Lynn

Also advise getting a slipcover. I love our new light slipcover, but have to admit I've been searching for a chocolate brown linen to make a new cover. I'm washing our cover for the first time since we've had it (about 9 months), but I am not really a fan of keeping at our kids about keeping away from the sofa (we don't have a formal living room. This is where we do all of our living).

I, too, want a light couch - a white slipcover to be specific - and I am also very worried about the wear and tear with children (and a messy husband!). If you are thinking about slipcovers you can usually order swatches from the company that you can use as stain testers. I am most likely going with Nantuckit because of a material they have called Outdura - it's a cotton twill. I rubbed chocolate, katsup & mud on the material and it literally just rinsed off. I was amazed. The color selection isn't great in the Outdura fabrics but I am going with one called Incline Bleach White and I know they also have a nice ivory, as well.

I would definitely suggest stain testing whatever fabric you decide on before committing to an entire sofa.

Here is a link that might be useful: Outdura fabrics

To make matters worse, DH and I really like the tight back sofas..so no back cushions to throw in the washing machine. We have a beige microfiber recliner and it does get quite messy from time to time. This is the only room in the house for the kids to play in so the sofa is going to get used quite a bit. Does anyone have a red couch? I'm curious as to the stain factor on red...but I will say our brown microfiber couch has served us well. The bottom cushion covers do zip off and I've washed them a couple times and they still look great. I've thought about slipcovers but don't want to deal with constantly tucking and retucking. My kids are well know to build obstacle courses using teh couch cushions! I am also looking at a deep sage green color.
I'll post pics after the floors are refinished this weekend!

My uncle slipcovered his white sofa & loveseat w/ PLASTIC slipcovers !! :-)

That couch stills look perfectly white after 20 years -- the plastic cover got quite yellow - however. :-)

" But DH is thinking I'm crazy to invest in a light colored couch which the kids will probably ruin. Does anyone here have little messy kids and a light colored couch. How do you deal with stains?"

The CHILDREN don't need to be small to make a mess. When my DH and I were on our way to our cruise vacation, our 27 year old called to tell me that she had spilled orange soda all over our beige ottoman. Have a great time!!!

DD had tried to get the soda out, to no avail. Thankfully, the soda did not get on the sofa. I remembered that the top of the ottoman cushion came off the base and had a zippered cover. I told my CHILD to take the cover off and machine wash, but not dry. Told her to put the cover on the porch and air dry. It worked and looks better than the couch, which gets very dirty from everyday use.

OMG newhomebuilder... not to hijack this post but I love that wall color you have. Our kitchens are very similar, but my wall color does not look right with the crown moulding. Mine is a light yellow. Would love to change it to yours. It looks beautiful! Everyone keeps telling us to just change the crown moulding color to the wood color of the cabinets, and then it will look good. You've proven THATS not necessary, THANK GOD! PLEASE tell me your color name/brand. TIA!!!

But back to the post at hand :-) I would love to also buy a "slipcover sofa" at some point in time... my kids are 4 and 6. I have a Target brand slipcover on mine and it won't stay on! It's so frustrating!

We currently have our FR couches in a light Butter colored twill . We also have a 3 1/2 yo and a 15m old. Glad that it's slipcovered! We wash those probably 3 times a year because of all the stains my kids put on it(it could probably use more washings!). We have a no eat rule in the FR(we always eat in the Kitchen) but invariably the 3 yo "forgets" to wash her hands after eating or the 15 month old would spit up on the couch(especially when she was younger). We just moved into our new house and are planning on a new sofa/loveseat and we plan on having a light colored one. I lobbied real hard to DH for leather because I am tired of washing the slipcovers(they are a pain to get back on).

My nantuckit sectional with ivory outdura slipcovers will be delivered on Friday! I have 2 small children so most people think I'm nuts to get a cream colored sofa. But I'm excited about it. Of course, only time will tell. :)

mom2zandt - The color is BM Decatur Buff. :)

I have a green chenille sofa and a dark blue sofa, and two kids, 4 and 1 1/2. Both sofas are spotty and grungy. I can't imagine how gross they would be in lighter colors. I was considering swapping them out for a durable leather, but then I could see pen holes poked in them and scratches galore. I think there are no perfect fabrics when you're living with small children who actually get to use the furniture.

my two cents...get a darker sofa and then you're not stressing about the furniture, you're enjoying your kids & being together and not giving them heck for making the couch dirty.....Mine are 17,14 and 12 and they still make a mess...

{{!gwi}}

I have a 4 1/2 years old and a 3 yrs old boy. They have wrecked my cushions however the couch is fine. I bought it a couple of years before my oldest was born. I have a rule. Eating and drinking at the table.

Joanne

Nadine,
We have a light sandy/creamy colored leather sofa that we got from IKEA. Our kids are almost 5 and 3, and we've had the sofa about 3 years now. It has held up really well and looks almost new.

My kids eat dinner in the kitchen but they are allowed snacks on the sofa, and the sippy cups of milk (that we still can't break the habit of!) somehow end up on the sofa.

Any juice/milk/"other" stains have all cleaned up really well with a leather cleaner. No scratches so far. I'd recommend going with leather for cleanability. IKEA's prices are great, and while i know their sofa quality is not exactly heirloom standard (!), this should last long enough to get us out of the messiest stage.

I agree with fillagirl--if you have kids, get the darker sofa so that you won't have to worry all the time about it getting soiled. We are currently finishing our bonus room to be a media room/play room, so it will be a room for fun for adults and kids. We have 2 boys, 7 and 1, full time, plus my step-sons, 12 and 14 EOW. It is going to be "the only room in the house" that you actually CAN eat and drink on the furniture. I really loved the ultrasuede sofas but finally decided to go with a durable, family-friendly leather sectional. We have a leather sofa in our great room that has served us well. I have a cream slipcovered sofa in my sunroom and no matter how much I wash it, I can't get the stains out (mostly from our KITTY!) Anyway, I am relieved to have gone with the leather for our media room. Now we won't have to worry about spills (on the furniture at least, the carpet will be a different story!) :-) Good Luck!

Leather....white or cream or oatmeal colored leather. I have removed ball point pen, chocolate, red wine and general dirty kid grunge....
While my kids are grown, I have 6 grand sons...and one grand daughter who visit often.
Linda C

One thing no one has mentioned is having furniture with material that has a pattern. I have beige furniture in the living room and even I don't feel totally comfortable sitting on it for fear of it getting dirty. Fortunately we have a TV room that has a huge couch in darker colors with a pattern and my husband, Yorkie, huge Maine Coon cat and I happily share that. There are gorgeous patterns out there and that would be my choice if I had children (other than my furry ones).

Ingrid