Because my lil guys have literally KILLED my furniture. LOL Well are in the process of finishing destroying them! LOL Oh and we are only talking about the sofa and antique loveseats! LOL So I am looking for some type of furniture that will endure 2 boys and their nasty habits! LOL
We have a leather ottoman...seriously I was never a Leather fan...but DH got it. And they have SCRATCHED this thing, drew on it, spilled water, milk, juice...you name it...So I was kinda thinking that rough aged leather furniture might be a good way to go! Something that if they scratch, won't show up too bad. Gosh...still don't know but I think leather might be better than any fabric! LOL
So I am just browsing away for now. Trying to see how this would go in my shabby chic home! LOL What type of Ashwell pillows would go okay with brown leather? Still don't know and I'd probably and eventually have to have pink or sage walls to bring in some flower stuff to go with! :) Not sure! LOL But here's what I saw so far that looks like it could endure the mini construction site we got going over at our cottage! LOL If anyone has some roughed up leather furniture along with lil kiddies, please let me know how it endures the rough tough! LOL
Totally laughing, because with 3 and 6 year old boys I have pretty much gone all leather. I am really picky about how my furniture looks and leather is always ok. One of my kids even wrote on my white leather sectional and it came off with ink away. Someday I will go back to really cool fabrics, but for now fun pillows on leather will have to do. Good luck...I totally understand, due to what I often refer to as thing1 and thing2...lol!
Posted by: Gina | July 20, 2006 at 02:17 PM
Loving these! I see now what you were talking about! So inspiring as I'm deciding what to do as well! OH, MAN--you should see the number the kids have done to our furniture!! LOL! Yes, we're in waiting too! Oh--I totally see shabby pillows on those shabby couches! It would work!
Posted by: Jen Harr | July 20, 2006 at 06:47 PM
What yummy chicness! I love those fun tufted ones. They look just spectacular!
Posted by: Kim | July 20, 2006 at 08:48 PM
Hey SMJ...we also have leather furniture in our family room...we were going for that rich looking library feel...LOL, my children have poured everything known to man on it, pp'd on it, jabbed it with pens, jumped on it, scratched it...it looks rough man! :D
I even purchased lots of the Coach leather cleaner to freshen it up and it is just a lost cause and will probaby go down in the basement when we finish it...you can always slipcover it if you want!
Good luck with your search! Marie :D
Posted by: Marie | July 20, 2006 at 09:14 PM
No Jenn I think that brown leather looks much to classic! Why not pale pink leather? :):)
Posted by: Julia | July 21, 2006 at 12:51 AM
You know what? I think it would make a very interesting combination! I like the idea and definitely want to see the end result. I'm sure you'll find a way to incorporate it in your shabby chic decor. Ciao.
Posted by: erica | July 21, 2006 at 02:47 AM
Jenn, have you thought of slipcovered furniture? I am sure thats a dumb ?, LOL but I have the thick and heavy denim slipcovers and OMG, they stand up to 4 kids, 2 cats, and a dog, LOL. I don't let the kiddos eat in the den though so maybe that makes a difference. I absolutely LOVE denim with shabby fabrics, it makes my mouth water, LOL. I take them off (each piece has it's own slipcover which is a must, lol)and throw them in the wash and it's like having a new sofa again. I compare it to a good pair of jeans, LOL. I do however love to mix the vintage leathers with the shabby fabrics so I think the aged/ bomber jacket (i think its called) would look so cool. Just a thought and good luck!
Posted by: Bekah | July 21, 2006 at 05:07 AM
Well we just bought a microfiber sleeper sofa and now I'm HOPING it will last a while. I also have two dogs that "own" the couch most of the time so the microfiber was for their fur and me not having to pick it out of a fabric anymore. I'm not a big fan of leather for me personally, so I didn't even look into it really. So we just spent a TON of $$$ on a sleeper sofa (to replace our guest bedroom) and I sure hope it lasts a while. We'll see...my second one coming is a boy too, so I'm in for it for sure!
Posted by: Sprauncey1 | July 21, 2006 at 01:58 PM
Haha that was the reason I DIDN'T go with leather on our last couch purchase....I hated the idea of spending all that money and having it get ruined anyway! NEXT couch in four or five years....THAT one can be leather. I hope. LOL. As far as color, we were looking at a gorgeous distressed leather sectional wowsa that was a sort of gold color. So it doesn't have to be brown. I am so glad we went with fabric now too from a design point because then EVERYTHING in our front room would have been a solid lol- boring.
Posted by: Dianne | July 21, 2006 at 02:51 PM
I have my sofa slipcovered with natural canvas. I just toss the zip-off covers in the wash with a little bleach and they're as good as new! So perfect with shabby chic! The only problem is that my three boys have gone through stages where they like to stab the furniture with scissors, screwdrivers, pens, whatever. The bleach causes the tiny holes to fray and become big holes, so I will be replacing mine soon. Much cheaper than replacing a hole-ridden leather sofa though.
Posted by: Ferrill | July 21, 2006 at 07:19 PM
:):) Pale Pink Leather Jenn, Nothing else would go with your Shabby Chic interior :):) Or maybe Pale Blue :)Thank you for your reply by mail!!
Posted by: Julia | July 22, 2006 at 02:35 AM
Miss Jen,
I have a question about my lateral file drawer. Man, it's just the ugliest thing - silver, bulky, yuck. But, it works and I need some place to put my files. I was toying with the idea of sanding it and trying to do something shabby-esh to it. have you ever seen this done? do you have any suggestions? thanks - Lauren
Posted by: Lauren | July 22, 2006 at 07:38 AM
Hey Jenn - Been a while since I stopped by. Loving everything of course. We bough an expensive lounge suite just weeks before lochie was born. (DH choice I am not a fan).. I have covers on it and I bought him a bean bag. We just said.. treat the furniture nicely and from day one he has been ok (so far!) He did draw on the kitchen (but was 18mths) and we left out the pen! Now he is bigger he is fine.. he knows the deal. I was more comfortable with the family room lounge (which is now in my office) it comes from IKEA and has a fitted cover - which i can undo and wash... and it converts to a bed with a flip of some cushions so we can vege out. It would also be a long ottoman if we wanted to. Would accommodate shabby anything..LOL. Spare covers are cheap and you could relax.. knowing it will move on to a new job when the kids are bigger :)
As for the filing cabinent. I bought one at auction. Sanded it back, sprayed it and glued huge (funky) roses all over it. I only just moved it on... 7 years later.. $5 and some paint - was a good investment.
Posted by: Lanne | July 22, 2006 at 08:19 PM
I can SO relate, Jenn! Our fabric furniture that is 1 year old is completely destroyed from the girls and the dog. It makes me sick to even look at it - blech! We have 13 year old leather furniture in our tv room that has STILL held up after all these years. It isn't rought, but it is textured. It's started to show tiny splits in some spots, but not really noticeable at all. Tom wants leather in every room in the house and I've been fighting him, but I don't know how anything else could hold up. I'll be watching to see how you make yours pretty!
Posted by: Heather | July 23, 2006 at 05:36 AM
I just stumbled across your blog searching for some advice on this particular problem.. While I love shabby chic - I just recently got married and my husband has nice, expensive danish modern and black leather furniture. We've compromised on selling most of it to redecorate the majority of the rooms together, but the family room at the far end of the house is going to continue to have his big black couch and chair in it. I'm at a loss for how to gracefully blend this with my stuff. Any suggestions?
Sigh. What a battle this has turned out to be!
Posted by: holli | November 18, 2006 at 09:04 AM