Ask Alyson: Can I put a white sofa or sectional in a vacation home / airbnb?

I hear this question a ton on message boards, and directly from clients. The answer is: yes! (with a big huge *but* must meet some other requirements… I love to nerd out on this so will provide the technical backup as collapsable content (just click!), but give you the short and sweet version as a list. There’s a few do’s and don’ts to buying light color, cream, or white upholstery, and despite popular belief; kids have nothing to do with it. Whether or not you are marketing to renters with children doesn’t impact my thought process; if it’s a rental you're likely to have drunk adults that are in my experience way worse than kids.

Some decorators will ONLY work with leather, but they probably don’t have credentials to understand the science behind actual interior design and you can totally get that beautiful white upholstery (if you get the right one!).

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6 traits to look for when buying a light colored furniture piece

(click to read the technical backup to each trait)

Performance Textiles

I still don’t always trust it 100% unless I can read the fiber content, but this is a good indicator that you might be able to pull it off.

Solution Dyed Nylon

This ones tricky as a lot of residential grade furniture doesn’t necessarily disclose what the fiber content is, but if you do some sleuthing you may be able to find it.

Fabric Cleaning Code W

W stands for water or water based cleaners. These may be used to clean this textile, and are by far the easiest fabrics to care for up there with those BC textiles.

Fabric Cleaning Code BC

BC stands for Bleachable; this is mostly made from a fiber (likely nylon) and your cleaning team can use diluted bleach no problem. You’d be surprised what you can bleach these days safely and it still have a “luxurious hand” as we say in the field. Technology is amazing!

25,000 Wyzenback “Double Rubs” or higher

This means that a machine in a lab tested the fabric, and has lasted a rub forward, and backward (double rub). So situations where people in jeans sit down frequently will be fine in a controlled setting like this. (To give you a point of reference, when I did first class lounges we wouldn’t look at anything below 35,000).

Crypton Textiles and/or Coatings

Anything Crypton has been treated and is extremely durable, and it's nothing like our grandparents scotch guarded stuff that feels like plastic. Crypton can be added to a textile and it maintain what we in the industry call that “luxurious hand”. I’ve used Crypton textiles in commercial settings, senior living, as well as private residences for years and they perform great and look beautiful.

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What to absolutely avoid at all costs when buying a light colored furniture piece

(click to read the technical backup to each trait)

Fabric Cleaning Code X

Avoid anything marked cleaning code “X” should be avoided unless it is strictly a private residence without children or pets and in a low traffic area. X indicates no water based cleaners, or solvent cleaners, or a combination of the two can be used. The only acceptable cleaning is dry vacuuming and a light brush.

Linen

I cannot say this enough. Avoid linen unless strictly private residence with no kids, no pets, and limited entertaining. As a single lady in Brooklyn in NYC and an all white apartment with no kids, cats, pets, or even a boyfriend I still wouldn’t get linen because I’m clumsy as all hell.

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Still not sure? There is a lot of grey area, and you still might have questions. What about velvet? A boucle? Jacord? What if the retailer or website doesn't list the textile or fabric content? But it's leather so that's a sure thing right? Suede? All of the answers to these depend greatly on other variables, so feel free to reach out for a virtual consultation to go over the products you are interested in, but of course, we are always eager to take on whole room designs.

So that sums up my course for Textiles 101. If you need a recommendation for a specific brand or product, or just a virtual consultation to have me personally check your product, simply reach out and we’ll get you booked for a consultation: hello@palmandpinedesign.co.

Thanks for reading this #AskAlyson post!

- Alyson Richards, NCIDQ

Certified Interior Designer + Interior Architect