Sit, Stay, Buy: These 6 Pet-Friendly Couches are a Real Treat

Both you and your fur baby will love this selection of durable, stylish, and pet-friendly couches, sourced from some of my favorite modern furniture brands

a collage of pet-friendly sofas on a colorful background
(Image credit: West Elm, Albany Park, Burrow, Joybird)

Have a furry friend at home? You need a pet-friendly couch. There's no use investing hundreds or even thousands in new seating if it can't withstand a bit of scratching or pawing from an eager dog or cat. Even if you don't own a domesticated animal, a pet-friendly couch is usually upholstered in a performance fabric or treated in such a way that makes it more durable and long-lasting overall, making it a good choice for really anyone.

If you've decided that the best sofa for you and your family is a pet-friendly one, you've come to the right place. Using my knowledge of durable upholstery plus interviews with sofa experts and virtuosos (like Ameer Radwan, owner of SOOT Upholstery Studio), I've compiled a list of six pet-friendly couches that both you and Fido will love. These couches are "pet-friendly" because they're covered in a performance fabric; from a retailer that prides itself on dog/cat-friendly products; wrapped in a textile that is inherently scratch/stain-resistant and easy to clean; or a combination of all three. I will detail my rationale for choosing each sofa in the product description below.

Each pick is a result of either in-depth sofa research or first-person experience, and you'll know which is which as you read. Either way, it's an honest look at some of the top contenders in the space, served to you through the ever-present lens of style. Hey, even humans deserve a treat sometimes!

6 Pet-Friendly Couches for Fido

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What are the best fabrics for pet-friendly couches?

Generally speaking, a pet-friendly couch should be upholstered in a tightly woven performance fabric, as that decreases the likelihood of both claw snags and impenetrable stains. Most of the best places to buy a couch offer performance fabrics in a variety of different finishes, like velvet and chenille, but I'd opt for something like microfiber in this case; it's durable, soft, and tightly woven (but a performance velvet isn't a bad choice either).

Leather is another strong option, as it wears distress well and marks can be buffed out. Something like full aniline leather might require a lot of upkeep, though, so perhaps try a microfiber leather, pigmented leather, or semi-aniline leather instead.

If you can't find a performance fabric or leather couch in your price range, something upholstered in a polyester blend is your next best bet. A blend softens the slightly uncomfortable polyester material, which is otherwise extremely durable, stain-resistant, and easy to clean.

Brigid Kennedy
Writer

Brigid Kennedy is a freelance writer and former style editor for Livingetc.com, where she scoured the internet for the best and most stylish deals on home decor and more. She also served as the website's in-house sofa expert, completely revamping and reworking Livingetc's expansive sofa buying guide by interviewing a total of 17 interior designers and sofa experts at top brands like Article and Benchmade Modern; sitting on upwards of 50 sofas across both Pittsburgh and New York City; extensively polling her friends and family for their own sofa-buying anecdotes and product recommendations; and traveling to Dallas, Texas, to tour the floor of a couch factory. In total, she estimates she has spent 40+ hours (and counting!) reading, writing, and talking about couches with accredited sofa connoisseurs o then pass that knowledge on to you. She describes her personal design style as colorful and clean, and in her free time enjoys reading, watching movies, and curating impossibly niche playlists on Spotify. She recently relocated from Manhattan to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she's decorating and DIYing a new home downtown.