What Makes a Sofa Pet-Friendly?
Living with pets changes everything about your sofa. The fur, the occasional scratches, the muddy paws after a walk—it all adds up. If your couch is where both your family and your pet love to relax, you need it to be more than just good-looking. You need it to last.
That’s why the term “pet-friendly sofa” can feel confusing. It’s not about finding a couch that never shows any wear. It’s about choosing one that’s easy to live with, simple to clean, and made to handle the real, happy chaos that pets bring into our homes.
Let’s talk about what actually works. We’ll go through the practical features that make a sofa truly fit for life with your furry friend.
1. Choose the Right Materials
Choosing the right material is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for a sofa in a home with pets. Here in Singapore and Malaysia—where it’s warm, often humid, and where our living rooms get used all day long—that choice really shows over time.
Leather is easy to wipe clean, which is a plus, but it can also show scratches permanently, especially with lively pets around. Even treated leathers can mark quite visibly. That’s why many pet owners find a high-performance, pet-friendly fabric to be a more practical choice in the long run. What makes these fabrics work so well? It boils down to two practical qualities: water & scratch resistance, and easy cleaning.
1.Stain & Scratch Resistance:
Fabric with tight and dense weave creates a smooth surface that claws tend to glide over, rather than catch onto. You’ll notice less snagging, pilling, and surface wear, even with daily use. Many of these fabrics also come with a water-resistant finish, so small spills bead up instead of soaking straight in, giving you those extra moments to wipe them away.
2.Easy Cleaning
Because the weave is so tight, dirt and pet hair don’t get trapped deep down—a quick vacuum or pass with a lint roller is often enough for day-to-day upkeep. And if you do need to spot-clean, these materials tend to respond well, as long as you follow the care instructions.
Natural fabrics like linen or cotton blended are beautiful, but in a busy home with pets, they often show wear and stains much faster. Performance fabrics succeed because they directly address these two daily challenges: keeping messes at bay and making cleanup effortless.
If you’d like to see how these practical, pet-friendly fabrics look in real homes, have a look at our collection—it’s a helpful place to start for colours and inspiration that suit life with your furry family.
2. Choose a Sofa with Removable Covers
Great fabric handles the day-to-day. But what about a few years down the line, when your sofa needs a deep clean, or you just fancy a change? This is where removable covers prove their worth, offering a flexibility that fixed upholstery can't match.
The immediate benefit is how it simplifies cleaning and upkeep. When accidents happen or your sofa needs a refresh, you can remove the covers for a proper wash. This is the most effective way to maintain a fresh, odour-free space—particularly useful in our local climate.
Beyond cleaning, it’s also about long-term value. If a single cover gets damaged, you can often replace just that piece. Years later, ordering a new set of covers can completely update your sofa’s look for a fraction of the cost of a new one, extending its life without the waste.
You’ll typically find two designs: sofas where every cover is removable (seats, back, arms), and those with removable seat cushions only. Both solve the core cleaning problem. The choice isn’t about function, but about preference: do you want the option to refresh every section individually, or is focusing on the cushions (which see the most wear) sufficient for your home?
If you’d like to see examples of how these different designs work in practice, our removable cover sofa collection is a good place to start. It can help you visualize the options and see which style might suit your home best.
3. Consider the Sofa Leg Height
Beyond the fabric and covers, it's also worth thinking about how high your sofa sits off the floor.
Higher legs make it easier to clean underneath—ideal if you use a robot vacuum or clean there regularly. The downside is that this open space can attract more dust and hair, and some pets may be tempted to hide—or even scratch or chew—underneath, which can lead to wear over time.
Lower legs or a closed base significantly reduce the open space underneath. While fine dust can still settle there, it generally stays tidier and prevents pets from accessing the area altogether. Cleaning will need to be done manually with a slim vacuum attachment or a duster, but it’s often less frequent since less accumulates.
Neither option is inherently better—it comes down to your lifestyle. Choose higher legs if easy cleaning access is your priority, or lower legs if you prefer a cleaner look with less daily maintenance and want to keep pets from going under the sofa.
Wrapping It Up
When choosing a sofa for a home with pets, begin with the right fabric. Here in Singapore and Malaysia, where life at home is often full and busy, a tightly woven, scratch-resistant material makes everyday cleaning simpler and helps prevent visible wear over time.
Removable, washable covers offer practical flexibility—whether you’re giving the sofa a thorough clean or just want to keep it looking and feeling fresh in our local climate.
It’s also worth considering the sofa’s leg height. Lower legs or a solid base can help reduce the space where dust and pet hair collect, and prevent pets from getting underneath. Higher legs, on the other hand, may allow easier access for robot vacuums or manual cleaning below.
These choices won’t eliminate cleaning completely, but they do make upkeep far more manageable—so you spend less time worrying about the sofa, and more time enjoying life at home with your pet.
Last updated on: 26th January 2026