Such lovely white furniture!! I have cats and a dog. I do not think it would last long for me. Wish I could do it.

My couch in the library (where we watch movies, too) has a butter colored background. Hehheh.

Lol Cyn

Polly929, you could just turn the handprints into a design statement

Not a white sofa household here, although we have one! The odd bird was inherited from my in-laws. They purchased a very nice Italian Provincial couch from an high-end store in the 50's. My MIL had it covered with plastic in the formal living room and didn't let any grandkid near it.

We confine all eating and drinking (at least, most of it) to the kitchen and dining room. Our DS was already in middle school when the Italian Provincial beauty moved into our decidedly casual living room.

The sofa style was lovely, but the upholstery... First of all, one of our cats peed on it right away. Probably because of the lingering smell from my in-laws' yorkies. I washed all the white pillow covers and they shrunk. The pillows became much slimmer.

My DH likes to lounge on the sofa when watching TV, usually in jeans and dark shirts. My DS had his friends sleeping on it during his sleepover parties. Our cats consider it one of their best napping spots. Although I cover the seat pillows with a throw, the throw keeps sliding off all the time.

The result is that I have a couch that looks unclean most of the time. Not stained or heavily soiled, just a faint grayish-yellowish tone along the edges. I have washed pillow covers many times and treated the rest with upholstery shampoo, but the freshly washed look doesn't last.

The dominance of white sofas in decor magazines baffles me. When I shopped for a second couch on CL, half of the offerings were white or cream. The last thing I wanted was more white upholstery! It took me quite a while to find a couch that looked soil proof.The one we bought has a tweed pattern (green/gray/blue/burgundy). So much easier on my eyes than the white couch.

Love the white sofa in your sunroom Sparklebread! Perfect in every way! I've read that Sunbrella fabric is great for clean-ups. We have a rattan sofa, loveseat and chair in or sunroom in a wild Sunbrella fabric. It is indestructible!

jterrilynn, very pretty room. Is this your new home that you remodeled? The sofas look brand new.

Thank you Viola! This is the new house and I am still remodelingâ¦probably will never be done. These sofas are new. I had a same color in last house but I sold it all on craigslist because the arm style didnâÂÂt really work in this house. The last sofa was also a little bulky and high for this open plan with 8' ceilings.

I'm one of those people that loves the color white/cream. As a result, every room in our all-adobe home is painted a light cream. The matelassé coverlet and our bedskirt in our MBR are both a cream color. The tumbled marble backsplash in our kitchen and the stucco cooktop hood are both cream. And, we have had two white (actually cream colored) linen-look sofas in our living room for the past 21 years and love them. I ordered them when we first moved into this house. At that time we had one 9 year old son. Three months after we moved in I found out that I was pregnant with DD! We use our living room all the time, but I do have to mention that it does not have a tv in there. We use our family room for tv watching, which for many years had brown leather furniture in there. Which is great for kids and dogs. We've recently replaced that sofa with a new dark red leather sofa.
But, getting back to our 2 white sofas. The kids were always welcome in there, although our Dobermans are not. We entertain in there, we read and listen to music in there. It's used every day. I have the sofas cleaned once every year or so. It'll soon be time to replace them or have them recovered. I'll definitely be going with 2 more white sofas.
Lynn

This post was edited by lynninnewmexico on Mon, Oct 20, 14 at 9:55

I have a cream sofa in my family room. But - my kids are grown and don't live with us anymore. Its just the 2 of us and 2 cats, and we are pretty neat. Would I have cream with children in the house ? No way! What I like about cream is that it is easy to accessorize with any colors you want, light pastel colors for spring/summer, deep jewel tones for winter/fall.

Leather. Or is that cheating?

I love the look, but I know it wouldn't be worth the hassle to me. Isn't it really a paint to remove the covers? I wear a lot of dark jeans and I've had a few pairs transfer the indigo dye. I'm not that great at removing stains. Heck even my white dishrags aren't perfect white. I thinking about buying leather the next time around - not white!

We do! For years we had darker toned sofas. I was really denying myself what I like best. I love pinks, turquoise, aqua, robins egg blue, etc. So a couple of years ago we were in the market for a new sofa in the great room. It is a cream color (I always favor cream/ivory over stark white) and it is textured. I knew I could work with other items to make the room not look too feminine. One plus is (IMHO) wood floors and our wood antique pieces look good with light colored walls and the cream sofa. I have two chairs in the room that are in the cream family - one patterned and one solid (linen). Hubby has a brown leather chair in the room. There is plenty of darker wood and texture in the room. Accents of turquoise, aqua. At this time (cooler weather), I have pillows that are a floral mix of brown, turquoise, some deep pink and other colors. Adjoining dining room has accents of turquoise/aqua and cream. Going out to the sunroom, we had a loveseat and chair (wicker) cushions slipped in ivory. Actually used bleached drop cloths for the fabric. Turned out fabu and they wear like iron. That room is used like a den. The cushion slips can be washed and bleached. I too love color and I love fabrics - I'm able to add that in accessories and able to change the room if I want by merely changing accessories. LOVE!

PS - jjam love that room - especially the animal print chair!

I bought our slipcovered sofa off CL three years ago.
It was off white and I planned to replace the cover with a more practical color when the already threadbare-in-places original wore out. The seat covers finally got to the point where they were no longer repairable last spring and I ended up purchasing a replacement slipcover that is also off white.
I really like the bright fresh look of the off white in my room, and there is no fading with multiple washings like there would be with a darker color.
I expected the light color to be very impractical living in the county with our various fluffy family members and a DH that likes to nap on the sofa on a regular basis, but it hasn't been. I don't think I'd be able to live with white/off white if it wasn't slipcovered, though, being washable makes it doable in my world.

We visited my husband's boss at a beach house that had white sofas. Watched my kids like a hawk. Yet my oldest got off the sofa and left a navy blue mark where his shoe was slightly wet and faded dye on it. I wanted to die. Then my husband accidently ran off with his bosses keys - an hour and half drive a way. From then on we only visited at the company picnics!

I never use plain white color sofa for my living room, I always use white color in combination like you can say that in the combination of black and white, red and white, white with coffee color etc. To manage the white sofa world you have to be very careful about the dust and cleaning of this sofa.

Well, yes you do have to be careful with white. I never had one when my kids were at home. And nosoccermom's suggestion of a leather sofa is a great one, if you want white, it wipes clean and is a good alternative. I would love to have leather, but unfortunately, with 2 cats in the house, leather would be a bad idea. My leather computer chair is full of tiny holes, from where the cats pick at it to get my attention when I am sitting in it. If I didn't have cats, I would have definitely gotten a cream leather sofa.

No problem with our white/cream sofa getting dirty. :)

I do too. It's leather, so very easy to clean. Just a damp paper towel and bam, back to new.

I love white sofas! I have bought new furniture 4 times since 1983. My first was a white sofa and love seat that where custom made along with a green club chair. I still have the green club chair but we sold the sofa and loveseat on CL 3 years ago for $150 for the set. My most recent furniture also custom made are white-light beige linen looking and I love them. I do pay the extra for the furniture protection.

My westie loves to get on the back of the sofa when we are gone. I think she has a party when we leave! She never gets on the backs when we are home of course she is allowed on the furniture seats just not the back.

rtwilliams - That's very funny!

We have never allowed our pets on the back of the couch, but for some reason, my DH has let this pup on the furniture. It's not a good idea, as we have plans to order a couch and love seat very similar to yours in the near future. I will not want the dog on them.

Newhomebuilder - But your puppy is so cute! We had allowed our westie on the back of the old sofa because she liked looking out the window and I knew we would be getting a new one when we moved. Teaching her to stay OFF the back of the sofa cushions has been a challenge. She is smart and doesn't dare when we are home!

Thank you! We were actually looking for a Westie when this thing came up on CL. We couldn't resist. LOL

My brother and his wife have always had Westie's. They are very intelligent and so pretty.

My Nola is cute and also very smart.

Rt, that is the funniest thing! My beagle does that too, when I am not home, on some furniture and it is adorable.
In my childhood, we had a fat dachshund who would sleep on the upholstered rocker when the family was gone. I never saw him on the chair, but it would be rocking when we got home ( out to dinner, for instance) and covered with hair. He lived to 18 and I loved him so much.

DH and I are retirement age, no children, no pets. Fifteen years ago I would have laughed at the idea of owning a white sofa, but when we bought our current house, along came a very nice second-hand sectional with a modern vibe that fit the entertaining area perfectly. It is 11 ft by 9 ft. I visited the store to look at it 5 times over a 2-month period before giving in. DH took these pictures when I was struggling to arrange throw pillows (please feel free to offer suggestions!). This room gets full sun in the first half of the day and is very bright, hence vertical blinds that control the light much better than the drapes and horizontal blinds we tried. Tacky but practical. I apologize if any sensibilities have been lacerated by the sight of a gap between couch and rug.

Our Tibetan Spaniel, Chloe, loves to walk,sit, snooze, etc. on the backs of our sofas, too! Her breeder told us that this is because Tibbies were originally bred by Tibetan monks as lap dogs and to walk the walls of those isolated monasteries and sound an alarm when approaching visitors were spotted. Tibetan Mastiffs, which are huge compared to 10-12 pound Tibbies were more for protection, I imagine.
Anyhoo, we like to think that Chloe's sofa-back walking harkens back to her not-so-distant Tibetan ancestors.
Lynn

Oh, Lynne, what a cutie she is. Just beautiful.

Oh,I have always loved Tibetan Spaniels!

I've got two Boston Terriers that trash my orange chenille sofa on a daily basis. Are you familiar with " parkour"? Well they parkour all over that thing, chasing each other. And then when they get tired, one of them is a major digger/ nester of pillows and blankets I actually found some orange chenille crypton fabric that is a close match to my sofa- on my to do list is to reupholster the cushions. A white sofa would never work here, though I love the look. Yeah, I suppose I could have better behaved/trained dogs, but life is short and they are happy.

I'm considering a near-white or light beige sofa, either in Sunbrella fabric (about as bullet-proof as you can get, it seems) or in the Jumper herringbone fabric that is available in 143 colors. I would love further input on white/light sofas. Life the OP said in her first post, white/cream/light beige sofas are everywhere and they are so beautiful and offer so many color and design options for the rest of the room. Thanks for your input. Please post pictures if you live in a white/light sofa world. : )

We ordered a white sofa for our new to us house in Arizona. Pure white ceramic tiles, large format, are being installed as we speak, so to speak. Paint is BM Super White, no yellow and icy cold. This is our retirement house, no kids or pets but I imagine that guests will eat in that room as it is our main (kind of only) place for entertaining, except for outside.

A big but, what was I thinking when I ordered a white sectional with a very social 2 year old for our Illinois house. She is 25 now, loves it, and it is lived in. It makes me happy to remember all the kids lounging there with their feet draped over their friends' feet, like puppies. Pomegranates splash and it is a bit trashed and we totally don't care. Uncharacteristic for me.

I love ours. It's a 10 year old Lee Industries sectional - from their coverall series. It is a slipcover - but each cushion has it's own slip. I love that I can wash it. It has worn really well - with boys who were 5 & 7 when we purchased it.

Highly recommend Lee. They have some of the best fabrics out there. I have a dark rust cover for this as well (the original slipcover) but we prefer the white.

WS: I'm so grateful to hear that you have no regrets about your first white sofa. It sounds like it passed the ever-so-important toddler test with flying colors!

jpmom: I went to a Wisteria Outlet this afternoon and there were two Lee Industries sofas on the floor, originally around $3,000 a piece, but half off since they were on display at the showroom. They were also slipcovered, very nicely done.

Love your living room, so cozy and inviting!

Where is your Wisteria Outlet? I love Lee furniture. We bought our first Lee chair 22 years ago - and still have it!

I didn't realize Wisteria carried Lee. (I love their website)

Crate and Barrel has some Lee pieces as well.

Our FR is on the small side - the sectional came with us to this house. Had to make it work. It's the most comfortable couch ever.

And if I ever did another slipcover - I'd do it in white again!

I have a white sofa, I LOVE it. Mine is slipcovered, so I can launder it. But I haven't yet.

Another white sofa lover here... Mine are also slipcovered so can be washed easily enough. Love being able to change up the look so easily with different accent cushions.

Our three dogs are inside / outside dogs and jump on, sleep on and play on our sofas and chairs. No white for us. We have all our upholstered furniture steam cleaned several times a year but i would not want to have to keep white looking pristine.

I now truly hate my white furniture (Ikea Ektorp). I cannot understand how people can simply launder their slipcovers. Our dog had wet feet but didn't look dirty. I didn't have time to dry them, was in a rush. He rarely sleeps on the furniture but jumps on it. Well, he jumped on it and left dirt all over them. I have washed, soaked in bleached, used stain remover, etc. and it still looks bad. This happens fairly often. The stains are NEVER easy to remove. Last time my husband had to scrub with a sponge. I need a new solution. They are not comfortable anyway!

Anele, I just dyed mine for the same reason. My sectional was from JC Penney and a new slipcover was no longer available (discontinued). I took a chance but I'm really happy with the result.

I throw Oxiclean or bleach in my washer with my slip covers.

We did have a white love seat that seemed to do well for 15 years, but it was in a study that was off limits to the kids and the pet was an indoor, white-haired cat :-)

I have an ikea ektorp chair in white. I love the chair. It does get used and dingy. I hJust bought a 2nd set of covers. Bleach seems to take the dinginess out but it is a PITA to take everything off and wash- the worst is getting the chair cover back on again.

I have some slipcovered furniture. I am also very lazy. I now realize the chances of me taking off and laundering slipcovers > 1 time every five years are nil. That stuff is a pain to get off and on! And ironing, WTH. I don't even iron my clothes, I'm not ironing my furniture!

Interesting thread for me because I am trying to decide whether to go dark maroon/wine or light cream for my sofa with the slipcover. I finally narrowed it down to the microfiber one, because that one looked the most classic. I think brown would look too drab, but I'm torn because my carpet is white (HATE that), and the walls are builder's white, and with a white sofa that end of the room will either be a light blob or dark blob. I have two wonderful throws that I plan to use over the couch decoratively, so either way I can add some interest to the blob.

My white sofas came in a few weeks ago and we are very pleased with the look. So fresh. However, I've had a lot of re-education to do with my children regarding old habits and how we need to treat white sofas. I recently bought white fleece blankets that practically live on the sofas so that when my kids lay down, they have to spread out the blanket underneath them. I also bought a dust-buster to vacuum them regularly. It's worth it, I love them.

I like my upholstered pieces to be neutral and light, so of course, off white! But the only way to go is to have a washable, bleachable slipcover. My off white slipcovered sofa and two club chairs are from Crate & Barrel and they're great. I don't find the slips difficult to get on or off at all and they fit snugly and have no zippers. I have washed them three times in a little over two years. I have no kids, but I live in that room. However, I once read a post from someone who had white slips, from Ikea I think, and a couple of small kids. She was bragging that they looked great and she only had to wash them once a week! That's too much work even if they jump off the furniture and into the washer themselves!

I have a white couch and ottoman. We have no pets and they are in the receiving room and primarily used by guests and once in a while I hide in there to read.

We have a white leather sofa; it came with my SO over 20 years ago. It was expensive at the time, but it's not a favorite of mine as it's too deep for my short legs. It's beginning to show its age, but frankly, I don't think he'll ever part with it.

I have a white loveseat and two white chairs in my living room. I also have a 5-year professional cleaning warranty. Arhaus. They upholstery survived the renovation dust, but I covered them over if I left the house as i didn't trust the crew not to move things with their dirty hands!

I allow my dog on all my furniture, but my poodle is trained to "wipe her feet" when she comes in from outdoors. On command, she stands on the doormat until I take a hand towel and wipe any water, dirt or mud off of her feet.

Another resident of white sofa world here. I have a white sofa and chair. They are in the living room and don't get used frequently. I've had them for 20 years without a mishap. Both have a stain resistant treatment. The biggest problem I have is that they are out of style and look dated. They were purchased when the overstuffed white sofas were the rage. I have to say that the sofa is incredibly comfortable, so I am not in a hurry to replace it.