Here are my some tips to make the furniture and fabric in your home pet friendly.
TEXTURE AND COLOR FABRICS HIDE FUR
Select sofa and chair fabric with texture or pattern to hide lost fur. As crazy as it sounds, try to pick options that match the colour of your pet. Medium toned grays and creams with flecks of charcoal, brown and black through them are the best for hiding fur. Tweeds and textured herringbones are good for this as well, and look quite stylish today.
NATURAL FIBRES ARE HARDER TO CLEAN
Synthetic fabrics will be much easier to wipe clean should your favorite furry friend have an accident on the furniture. Today’s technology in fabric has made polyesters and nylons look and feel better than ever before. The benefit of these fibers is their non-absorbent qualities, so liquids will not penetrate, giving you time to clean them. Stains and smells can be easier to manage. Also wool, a fiber I generally like, can actually wrap lost fur into its own fiber making the removal of fur almost impossible so rethink this choice.
BUY FURNITURE WITH ZIPPERS
Good quality furniture will have zippers on every pillow including the large seat pillows so buy quality. This is a very important investment to make when you own a pet! This allows you to remove and clean individually soiled sections as required. Covers can even be taken to the dry cleaner for a thorough cleaning if necessary.
CONSIDER LEATHER FURNITURE
Although considerably more expensive, full grain, high quality leather can be a good solution where easy wiping is required. And leather will last a lifetime. I noticed my cat, Matisse, had little interest in being near my leather chairs so he avoided these completely. This is good news as he scratched everything else! If leather is against your principles you can look at excellent vinyl options as an alternative.