The best sofa fabrics for children and pets

Family life is the happiest test a sofa can have. A common rule is to look for five qualities:

• A touch your family loves. Smooth, ribbed and looped fabrics each bring their own comfort, so choose the feel everyone reaches for.
• High abrasion resistance. A common rule for family use is over 30,000 Martindale cycles.
• Low pilling. A grade of 4 or more on the 1 to 5 scale keeps the seats looking neat.
• Easy cleaning. A W or WS cleaning code means most spills can be treated with water and a little mild detergent.
• A relaxed colour. Mid tones keep dust and small marks discreet; pure white and very dark shades love a quick, regular blot or dust.

What sits under the fabric matters too. Children love to climb and bounce, so a common rule for any family sofa is to look for a sturdy build and a seat that springs back to shape.

This reflects how each fabric family usually behaves. Within a family, the grades make the difference, so always ask for the Martindale and pilling results. In our range, Brioche and Snoozo are in fine corduroy and Nuage is in bouclé. For a big family, the wide Doudou corner and the fully modular Comfo, whose modules and ottomans you can rearrange as the family grows, give everyone room to stretch out on deep seats.

Cats love a soft place to knead, stretch and curl up in the sun, and they often choose one favourite spot on the sofa. A throw on that spot and a cat tree close by give them everything they love, and keep any fabric neat.

Dogs love to jump up, turn in circles and settle into the cushions, and they bring in whatever is on their paws, which in the UAE often means fine sand. A little daily care keeps hair and sand in hand, whatever the fabric and whatever the coat.

• Brush your pet's coat a few times a week, so less hair reaches the sofa.
• Put a cat tree right next to the sofa, where your cat already likes to stretch.
• Keep a towel by the door to wipe paws after walks and beach trips.
• Give your dog its own throw on the sofa, and wash it every week.

On a smooth weave, most hair sits on the surface and comes off with a vacuum brush nozzle, a lint roller or a sweep of the hand. On corduroy, hair lifts out when you stroke along the ribs with a slightly damp rubber glove, then vacuum the little rolls of hair. On bouclé, a lint roller first, then the vacuum, lifts it beautifully from the loops.

Colour is your best friend here. A shade close to your pet's coat keeps hair discreet: a pale sofa for a white cat, a deep green or navy one for a dark dog. Choose that way and you will vacuum for dust, not for hair.

Shedding seasons matter too. Many dogs and cats shed more heavily a couple of times a year, and indoor pets in air-conditioned homes can shed a little all year round. In those weeks, a quick daily pass with a lint roller or a damp rubber glove on the favourite seat keeps it fresh between full vacuums.

• Spills. Blot straight away with a white cloth, from the outside in. Juice and milk come out far more easily in the first minutes than the next day.
• Crumbs. They gather in the seams. A quick pass with the crevice tool a few times a week keeps the seams fresh.
• Felt tips and pens. Washable markers usually come out with water and a drop of mild detergent. Ballpoint ink often responds to a little rubbing alcohol on a cotton bud, after a test on a hidden spot. Our stain removal guide goes step by step.
• Jumping. Bouncing is part of family life on any sofa. A seat height of around 44 to 46 cm is easy for children to climb onto and for adults to get up from.

Comfort matters with children too. A Classic seat, the medium feel you sit on and get up from easily, suits a busy family sofa; Cocoon is softer, made for sinking in on long film nights. Both cost the same on every sofa, so choose by how your family sits.

The most relaxed sofas sit between very light and very dark. Pale colours bring brightness and love a quick blot; very dark colours bring depth and love a quick dust. Warm mid tones sit in between and blend beautifully with the fine beige dust of the region.

In our range, the soft mid tones are the easiest all-rounders: Grey and Olive on Doudou, Biscuit and Olive on Comfo. Terracotta and Apricot hide sand-coloured dust and warm spills, and Forest, Navy, Dark Navy, Indigo and the deeper Olive of Nuage suit a dark-coated dog. Cloud, Ecru, Chalk and Ivory are bright and beautiful, and a quick blot keeps them fresh. Our guide to sofa colours that live well with dust compares them in detail.

1. Shoes off and sandy feet brushed before climbing on.
2. Food at the table, or on a tray, especially with young children.
3. A washable throw where the dog or the children sit most.
4. A quick vacuum twice a week in a home with pets.
5. Sitting, lounging and lying on the seat, while the arms stay for leaning on.
6. Spills dealt with at once, with a white cloth that lives in a kitchen drawer for that job.

These habits work beautifully even when relaxed. Even half of them, kept most days, will show in how lovely your sofa looks in five years.