Expert advice from Bob Vila, the most trusted name in home improvement, home remodeling, home repair, and DIY.

 

I love white couches in general.

 

I'm pretty sure that every single living room picture that I have ever pinned on Pinterest has white slipcovered couches and/or chairs in it.



Images - Pinterest: Living Rooms

 

So for me personally, the time and effort that it takes to maintain white slipcovered furniture is completely worth it.

 

Other people are nervous about white, but I am the opposite - petrified to get anything but white slipcovers since I know that no matter how dirty they get, I can always wash them, stain remover them, bleach them, etc. Since I have the Ikea Extorp sofa series, if the slipcovers ever do get permanently stained or damaged, I can always pick up another set for just over a hundred dollars. What do you get with a set of new slipcovers? A brand new couch.  

 

What I love about my white set is that I know I won't get sick of a particular pattern or colour, I don't have to worry about colour matching it to anything else, and I can always change the look with some inexpensive throw pillows.

 

We are currently on our second set of white slipcovers for these couches and are probably ready to purchase our third set. We've had these couches for over six years, so a set of slipcovers are lasting an average of two years for our family.



Extorp Series - Ikea

 

The reason that they are lasting us about two years is because I wash them all the time. We LIVE in our house and on our furniture so yes, they get dirty. With two dogs, a baby, and two adults who are always back and forth from renovating, working outside, painting, cooking / baking they get really dirty. To be completely honest, after a few weeks they are kind of gross dirty. But I DON'T MIND. Because I think to myself, if my couches are filthy after 3 or 4 weeks and I'm about to throw them in the washing machine, how completely filthy are other people's non-slipcovered furniture that they are never able to wash!?!?! Now that grosses me out.

 

So, how do I maintain them? Every few days I give them a once over with a lint brush, as dust and dog fluff will inevitably settle all over them. If there are light marks I scrub them with a baby wipe or some dish soap and a rag and the light marks will come off. After a few weeks I strip all of the covers off and wash them in the washing machine. It becomes part of the regular cleaning routine just like stripping your bed, washing all of your linens, and remaking the bed.

 

At the beginning I was ultra paranoid about keeping them spotless but over time I've let that idea of perfection go. Over the last few months we've had Roary shake his head after his ear surgery splattering blood all over the chair, a friend's newborn projectile puke on the couch, another friend's little guy dribble hot chocolate all over the love seat, and of course my little Cooper had to have a master blaster that leaked through his diaper, a onesie, baby joggers, AND a blanket onto one of the cushions. 

 

I'm sure white slipcovered furniture isn't for everyone. But it's been six years and counting and I still love mine.

 

P.S. I'll be sharing a post on how exactly I clean them so that they're spotless after every wash.

 

Another 'white furniture' question - do you regret buying a white chair for your nursery? I am debating buying the same one for ours, but am worried about spit-ups, diaper disasters, and generally keeping it clean.

 

See above for the answer to the keeping-it-clean part!

Sadly, I don't use the chair in the nursery nearly as often as I thought I would. In the early weeks, I would use the chair for some late night feedings, however I found that I would get too sleepy just sitting there (he used to take forever to eat) so I would go downstairs, turn all the lights on, and catch up on some girly movies. Now that Cooper is older, I just bring him in bed with me and feed him there. I keep my iPhone handy and surf Pinterest with the brightness on low so that I don't fall asleep OR wake Alex up. (Hence my ten thousand pins in the middle of the night.)

Everyone, and I mean everyone, told me to get a rocking chair for the nursery but I was adamant that I wouldn't be rocking the baby to sleep every night because I didn't want to have to unbreak that habit later. Plus, I never really liked the rocking motion.

As it turns out, little Coopster FIGHTS SLEEP TO THE DEATH and I end up walking around and rocking him in my arms all.the.time. anyway. As much as I hate to admit that I was wrong, a rocking chair would have been handy.

However, when Cooper gets a bit older, I'm sure we will use the chair often for story time, etc.

All that being said, I wouldn't recommend an upholstered white glider because when you have white, you NEED to be able to throw it in the wash. So the white slipcovered Ikea chair again works great.


Phew. Those were some long-winded answers! If you missed my other Q & A posts, they can be found here: