How to Pick Kid-Friendly Furniture
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Readers, when purchasing new furniture, do you choose family-friendly furniture, or grown-up furniture that better fits your design aesthetics? (Does anyone have suggestions for which brands or companies fit the rare third category, family-friendly furniture that also fits your design aesthetics?) What are your best general tips on how to pick kid-friendly furniture?
{related: the best places to buy furniture (with TONS of Corporette reader comments)}
A while ago, my husband and I had to make a Very Major Decision: We needed a new couch, as my old post-law school Ikea couch was (amazingly, finally) flagging. We wondered whether we should opt for “grown-up furniture” and get something fancyish from Room & Board, or buy something more comfortable and so affordable that we wouldn’t cry if we only got a few years of wear out of it.
We wound up going with a sofa from JCPenney (Fabric Possibilities!) that had been recommended by a friend of mine (I think it cost $600 when new, on sale?), and it’s typical for us — with little boys who spill, jump, crash, and so forth, we just haven’t wanted to put the karmic energy (or even the research) into a couch or other “nice” furniture.
It’s kind of exactly the opposite of where I expected to be at this point in my life — instead of being surrounded by Grown-Up Furniture Like a Classy Lady, I’m surrounded by Budget Furniture for Messy Kids. Couches, chairs, kitchen tables, side tables… I’m not sure if rugs count as “furniture” (probably not) but I’d include those in the mix. Let’s just say I’m saving the Aubussons for the second half of my life.
In terms of my own tips for picking kid-friendly furniture, to me the choices come down to finding something that 1) isn’t toxic to my kid, 2) doesn’t shed or chip or otherwise create stuff that is toxic to my kid, 3) isn’t super hard to clean, 4) doesn’t need to be cleaned the instant it gets dirty (have I told my “smiley face drawn on the white couch… in poop” story on this blog?), and 5) isn’t so near or dear to me that I consider it irreplaceable or a true bummer or financial hardship to replace.
Strangely enough for all of these counts we’ve had better luck with discount stores for grownups than we have had luck with kid-related stores. The reading lamp I bought from a well-known schmancy kids store became a fire hazard pretty quickly… the (top-rated but admittedly Wal-mart quality) crib we bought that both boys gnawed to pieces made me cringe with worry over the toxicity… the robot rug we got for the baby’s nursery shed like mad for weeks, and thank goodness we didn’t have a crawling baby then.
How about you? What kind of home decorating decisions have you made? Do you choose kid-friendly fabrics (pet-friendly fabrics) or do you splurge on nice furniture and then clean it immediately or train your kids to stay away? (Does anyone have white upholstered furniture?)
Stock photo via Stencil.
we have the urban sectional from west elm in the standard dark grey cover. it is excellent for fort building and we allow kids to jump on it. it doesnt need to last a lifetime, 10 years would be nice. 3 years in and it looks perfect.
we also had some fabric chairs that we had reupholstered in an indoor/outdoor fabric. that was more expensive than buying new midrange chairs but i do love them.
for kids room, ive been happy with my purchases from land of nod and oeuf, mixed reviews on our rh teen items.
So what are the nice, adult brands that folks recommend?
We’ve had really great luck with shopping at locally-owned furniture stores. The prices are more than Ikea/JCPenney but less than PB, Ethan Allen, etc. for furniture that feels well made and has held up well. I am skeptical of a lot of the chain furniture stores as being overpriced for the quality. We’re looking to replace our 13.5 year old living room set this spring or summer, and I’d love recommendations.
We have a combination of ikea slipcovered sofas (I like ikea because you can order slipcovers to fit from a lot of different companies), solid wood furniture inherited from my parents/grandparents (some repainted, some not), and ikea solid wood furniture painted with eco-friendly paints. Love the Kura bed.
White slipcovered ikea sofas in the main living space until youngest was 3. Got tired of puling off the slipcovers to bleach so often. Now the white sofa is in the smaller living room/reading room space and grey slipcovered sofas in the main living space.
In my experience, real adult furniture holds up to kids better than discount furniture or PB Kids and its ilk. Solid hardwood with a durable finish will last much better than the soft woods and cheap finishes on PB Kids-level stuff. Leather and high-quality synthetic upholstery are easier to clean and hold up better than supposedly “washable” cotton slipcovers.
Our daughter’s bedroom set is from the kids’ line of a midrange “adult” furniture manufacturer. We bought it at our local independent furniture store for 50% off list price, which ended up being slightly less than we would have paid for a similarly styled set from PB Kids that was of lower quality. 10 years later, it’s still going strong.
We have “grown up” furniture, most of which was purchased pre-kids. Our rugs are of the cheaper variety, though. We designed our living room couch with pet-friendly fabric (greyish-brown microfiber, with a bit of herringbone pattern) and that has translated to kid-friendly as well. All food other than water must be consumed in the the kitchen/dining area, which I think helps contain messes. Having a high-quality couch has worked well for us, as it can stand up to jumping, pillow-fort building, etc., and the cushions maintain their shape, can be shaken out, and cleaned. No sagging from jumping.
Other than the crib and Ikea rocking chair we bought for our first kid, our kids furniture is antique (or maybe vintage is a better word — a lot is from my grandparents) that we have refinished in kid-friendly colors. This has the benefit of getting us solid wood pieces for the same price as kids pottery barn and similar, when including the refinishing costs. My daughter has an antique brass bed, a gift from my dad, that is beautiful but a b*tch to keep polished.
We actually DO have some white upholstered furniture — two off-white silk chairs I inherited from my grandparents, and the kids know that they’re not allowed to touch them. However, I’m thinking of getting them reupholstered since I’m as likely as the kids to stain them eventually!
We just finished furnishing the main living spaces in our house, which we bought just before having our first baby. We bought high-quality furniture (upholstered furniture from Lee Industries, case goods either custom or Restoration Hardware, etc.), but made sure fabrics were reasonably kid-friendly (darker colors for couches, nubby fabrics that show wear less quickly, leather, performance finishes where available). For rugs, we also invested in reasonably high-quality pieces, on the theory that natural fibers like wool, or good indoor-outdoor rugs, would be easiest to clean and look better for a longer period of time.
I credit the faux leather dining chairs we bought from Arhaus for keeping our toddler at the family table during mealtimes–they don’t stain and I can literally take a sponge or washcloth to them as needed. Same for the dining table–it’s a farmhouse table, but with a marine varnish, so completely spongeable. My kid definitely makes a mess, but it was important to us to have a grown-up space that can withstand his (and any future kids) running around, banging on things and the occasional spill. And we’ve trained him to only eat in the kitchen or dining room, but we’ll see how long that lasts.
I’ll also say that the Dash and Albert indoor-outdoor rugs made out of 100% PET are amazing–we’ve had one in our front entry and mudroom for years (in different houses), and they wear like iron while also being super-soft underfoot.
Dark leather and rounded corners are my two tips. Also olefin patterned rugs. My husband and I are both larger people and we swear by Flexsteel for sofas that will hold up to us (and also rambunctious climbing kiddos). I also prefer solid wood where I can find it. Our rugs are mostly from Shaw Living (I think I got them at Kohls), and after 8 years they still look excellent.