Over the years, I’ve become a big fan of furniture that is both pretty and practical. A couch can be both. But the oversized, dark brown, faux leather sofa and loveseat recliners in my beach condo were all function and no form.
When my husband and I bought a beach condo six months ago as an investment property, the fact that it came fully furnished was a mixed blessing. It was ready to rent on day one, but none of the furnishings was something I would have picked.
Until the place started generating a little money, I didn’t want to sink more into it. Still, I didn’t stop thinking about how I wanted the place to ultimately look with a lighter, seashore vibe and a palette of sand, ivory and pale aqua.
The big brown faux leather sofas were not part of that vision. Plus, at 40-inches high, they blocked the ocean view. To their credit, however, they did their job. They stood up to sunscreen, sweat, sand, wet bathing suits and anything else a renter could throw at them.
My mission became to find a sofa that would do all that and also look pretty.
I pictured a two-piece sectional, ideally 10 feet by 7 feet, with a back height around 36 inches, enough to lean back on but not so high it blocks the view. I wanted a performance fabric in my light color palette, and I wanted it to be on sale and in stock. That’s all.
This required patience and persistence. I watched online marketplaces and went to model-home-furniture sales, estate sales and discount furniture showrooms. And I walked away when sectionals met only some of my criteria. Months passed. We lived with the brown sofas.
These workhorse faux leather sofas weren’t the right vibe for this beach condo but were perfect for a home with active kids and shedding dogs. (Courtesy Marni Jameson)
Then, on Mother’s Day, I went sectional shopping. Three stores later, I saw it: a pale aqua sectional, exactly the right size and configuration, and the floor sample was half price. I nervously checked the fabric: Crypton.
Some things are too good to be true but are true nevertheless.
I flashed back 15 years, when I needed to recover a chair my dogs had ruined. I’d heard about Crypton, a soil-repelling fabric that was pretty much indestructible. So I decided to test the fabric. The company sent samples, which felt surprisingly soft. When I scribbled on them with marker and spilled cooking oil, coffee and red wine, water and dish soap bounced the stains right out. The fabric dried without a water ring. Had it not been for this experience, no way would I have bought a light-colored sofa for a rental unit.
Back at the condo, I listed the sofa and loveseat recliners on Facebook Marketplace. The set sold in 12 hours for $350. The buyer came and brought a flat-bed trailer and two strong family members with her.
“They’re perfect!” she said. She had two young kids and two dogs, including a golden retriever rescue puppy. She’d had a sectional she loved that was only a few years old, but the puppy had chewed it up, and it was a dog-fur magnet. “I’m such a clean freak,” she said. “All the fur was driving me nuts. Nothing will stick to these!”
She was right about that. Later, she texted me a picture of the sofa and loveseat perfectly at home in her family room with her kids and dogs. My sectional arrived the next day and also fell perfectly into place.
Like I said, some things are too good to be true but are still true.
When choosing a workhorse piece of furniture for a well-used living area, you can have both style and function. It comes down to the material. Here’s how to choose:
Know what you want: Before you start shopping, know the look you want, how you want the piece to perform, and its threats (kids, pets, sun exposure, grime). Determine the sofa’s ideal size and your budget. This way you won’t cave in and “make do” when you find a piece on sale that doesn’t check all the boxes.
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Opt for synthetics: Over the past 15 years, synthetic performance fabrics have replaced natural fabrics, such as silk, linen and cotton, in homes. Fabrics like Sunbrella, once used strictly on outdoor furniture or in commercial settings, and Crypton are among them. This is partly because they’ve gotten much softer and wear so well.
Ask about rubs: This industry term measures a fabric’s durability. A machine rubs fabric to see when it begins to break down. Anything over 15,000 double rubs is considered heavy duty. The wear rating on my new sofa is 100,000 double rubs.
Be patient: One decorating lesson I have learned the hard way is before you start redecorating, get to know the place first.
As summer approaches with its sunscreen, swimsuits and sangria, we’ll be ready.
Marni Jameson’s latest book is “Rightsize Today to Create Your Best Life Tomorrow.” Reach her at marni@marnijameson.com.