Park Your Butt, But Choose Wisely- Part 1- Leathers, Chemicals, & Performance Fabrics
Leathers, Chemicals, and Performance Fabrics
I sometimes feel like Goldilocks: I want all white furniture, but I have dogs. I thought leather would be a good solution, but my family doesn’t like it. I turned to performance fabrics, but then we had to worry about off-gassing. What’s a girl to do?
I live at the beach and in my own home, I’m a minimalist. When choosing our paint colors, my husband’s question was “what color of white are we going with today?” Here’s a problem: Have I ever told you that Fred the Frenchie drools..in black…all over the furniture. So I opted for profound amounts of off-white performance fabrics everywhere. When Mr. Muddy paws jumps on the built-in seating, I wipe it right off. Perfect for my home.
I also know this solution may not be for all my clients. Chemicals such as flame retardants, stain proofing, and glues used to create “bonded” leathers each have their advantages. Still, some may also “off-gas” chemicals that can cause allergic reactions, endocrine issues, and other health concerns. That’s why we offer non-treated and even organic fabrics for our clients as an alternative to treated fabrics. And there can be a happy place for natural fibers too. Wool for example, is a great option because even though it’s natural, it’s more easily cleanable than, say, 100 % cotton.
Let’s talk about leather. I think leather is hot. It’s sophisticated, it’s durable, and as far as I am concerned, it’s a must-have at least for an accent, in many of my designs. True leather is made from hides (as opposed to bonded leather), and thus by its nature, it does not contain polyurethane, formaldehyde, and the like, since it’s basically just the side of a cow. I often use it in accents, as an entire sofa made from leather is thousands more than one made from fiber. Leather can be cleaned with a good leather cleaner, but very acidic items (lemons, dog urine, etc) can really ruin it. Oh, and my daughter hates sitting on it. No idea why. Different folks.
Buyers beware, much of the leather on the market today (probably including the seats of your car), is not a full hide of leather, but rather small pieces of leather glued together. The industry term for this is bonded leather, and a lot of furniture stores are less than upfront about the fact that their “leather” sofas are really bonded leather. If you are wondering why it matters, for those of us, including myself, who have allergies to common products such as polyurethanes and formaldehyde, this bonded leather can be highly allergenic. These chemicals are in many of the items we touch daily, including our clothing, but for those of us with sensitive skin, we really need to stay away. Thus it is important to know when purchasing a leather sofa or other item if it is truly a cowhide or if it is bonded pieces. A good designer should be able to tell you which lines of furniture carry real hides.
Fabrics: Cotton can be organic, and should be labeled as such if indeed it is organically grown. Not all cotton is organic. It’s very comfortable but not very stain resistant. Polyesters and other man-made fibers are more stain resistant. Wool is very stain resistant but can be itchy. I love wool rugs because, while not bulletproof, they are definitely easier to clean. Viscose is appropriate for window treatments, but not for any area that can get wet. I’ll explain more about these, as well as some info on stain repellency and performance fabrics in Part 2.