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From Bleach To Boss Tweed: Our New Pottery Barn Couch

So long, white couch. I loved you before I was a dog mama.

This couch has actually had a very long life. It started out in Karen’s formal living room back in the late 1990s. We inherited it when we moved into our first apartment out of college, and it travelled to 3 houses before I had her re-upholstered.

I don’t regret going white because bleach and machine washing kept her looking good for years. Until Gus arrived! I tried everything to get the bottom brown stains out, but nothing seemed to crisp her up, and I couldn’t take off the bottom upholstery to wash. Stanley Steamer gave her a go and I didn’t think it looked a lick better when they left. (I guess I never tried hosing it down outside with bleach, but I wasn’t willing to go that far!)

You can see that the cushions were showing their age as well and were quite saggy. The sofa is a few decades old. But Karen will be the first to tell you that it’s very well made! I loved it for over 10 years, but Thomas and I were ready for something a bit more plush. Something that we could both comfortably fit on without having to sit with our feet on the floor. And something Gus friendly. (Surprisingly Mazen never spilled anything bad on the couch.)

I mentioned a few weeks ago we were couch shopping and looking at Sunbrella fabrics. Since I have a Pottery Barn card (and love those rewards) and we have PB here in Cville and because we felt strongly about actually sitting on a couch before we bought it, we ultimately chose the PB Comfort Roll Arm in the chaise + loveseat combination. I waited for a friends and family discount and we snagged 20% off the purchase one weekend, saving us nearly $1,000 combined with a reward coupon.

Don’t mind the wrinkles. I took these photos just hours after the couch was delivered.

First, we know she’s a big one! Maybe a wee bit too big for this room. But Thomas can stretch out on the chaise while Mazen and I snuggle on the loveseat, so it’s a huge win for our growing family. It’s also a million times more comfortable with huge plush, much deeper cushions. So cozy!!

The fabric is the Performance Sunbrella Boss Tweed in the color Pebble. It’s hard to see, but it has a lovely herringbone pattern that I love. I gave this fabric a good test run on the same and got chocolate and olive oil to come right out. It’s supposed to be one of the best stain-proof fabrics on the market! But I’m still scared to test out the real thing. The bottom is also slip covered, so if it does turn a little brown at the edges, this time I can remove it for cleaning.

I am still swapping the pillows around to find the combo I like the best. Our house accidentally turned ALL GRAY! I thought the couch was a bit more in the tan family, but it arrived looking quite gray, which is fine because it’s my current favorite color. But with darker gray armchairs, gray walls and a light gray couch, we need to really accessorize with some color!

Note the armchair is covered in stain-fighting Sunbrella too! I have had them almost a year and they have yet to show a spot. The matching one was moved upstairs to the master to make a little more room in here.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Claire says

    How does your jute rug hold up to Gus and his nails? I’ve been considering getting one for my living room, but I have a seven year old black lab, and I’m afraid his nails will ruin the rug. Thanks!

    Reply

    • KathEats says

      It’s doing fine – a few spots where it has pulled but I can pull them back down. It does need a good cleaning!

      Reply

  5. Denise Vermillion says

    I will definitely get a different fabric with the next couch! With three small dogs (after having four kids at home at various points in the last five years), it is just worn out. But it’s just me now, so I’m not in any rush to replace it. I think your new couch looks great, and you have a lot of color in your room already!

    Reply

  7. Sarah says

    Such a sweet story! I love that you work so hard to make the most responsible cost-per use decisions and make sure to get your money’s worth by buying quality. Is Karen your mom or thomas’s Mom? I thought mazen’s other grandma was named Eileen?

    Reply

  11. Liz says

    Love the couch! Furniture really is a different beast once you throw a dog in the mix! We have a yellow lab too…and a dark gray linen couch that came with our house and was custom made to fit the room. It is beautiful and we can’t bear to get rid of it and spend money on something else that probably won’t fit the space as well, but MAN does the dog hair get to me!! We don’t even allow our dog on the couch but the sides get covered in hair and I can’t keep up with it! We do have Sunbrella dining chairs though, and those are awesome!! The instructions for ours even said you could use bleach to clean the fabric (and they are not white), though I haven’t gotten up the courage to try that yet 😉

    Reply

  14. Elizabeth says

    Love the new couch and your home decor in general! I have a dog and he thinks the couch is just for him so I understand your dilemma! I think in the future I will buy a leather couch so it is easier to clean. Have a great weekend!

    Reply

  15. Alexa says

    We have nearly the same couch from Pottery Barn, and now I want this cover instead! Our current cover, unfortunately, ripped when we put it back on the last time we washed it. I think it shrunk this time, but I do like that it’s so easily washable with having four kids. Now to afford a new cover with four kids–ha!

    Reply

  16. Brittany says

    I have this couch in this material that I bought last year. The fabric is beautiful and it is comfortable. Be careful not to wash it too frequently because it stops being stain repellent after the first or second wash.wd have had to spray it with the recommended stain repellent a few times now. I have four dogs and their nails can be a problem with the woven material. Be careful to avoid letting it get snagged.

    Reply

  17. Lc says

    I have a couch from PB in this same material. It is so stained. I don’t know if it’s defective or what the issue is. We’ve had the couch a little over a year. Aside from spot treating, do you have recommendations on who will come to clean it? Everyone I’ve called said they won’t clean it because it’s a tweed. Ugh!

    Reply

  20. Henry says

    How deep is the seat cushion from the start of couch to back of the seat. The site says 33″ which the 1800 told me was the case. But the associates in the store says that includes the part that is covered by the back seat cushion.

    Hope that makes sense!

    Reply

  21. Charlene says

    I just ordered the same couch in the same fabric. Also getting ready to paint. What color are you walls? Thanks for your help! 🙂

    Reply

  22. Christine says

    Would love an update on the sofa and fabric you selected! We are looking at a similar one from Pottery Barn, but the only thing holding me back is I’ve heard the Sunbrellas can pill/get a little fuzzy. Are you still happy with the fabric choice and/or is there anything you would do differently? We’re between that one and a performance cotton.

    Reply

    • KathEats says

      It is pilling/fuzzing a little bit. But it gets a LOT of use. Overall I’m still happy with it, but that is a bit of a negative.

      Reply

      • Caitlin Kneram says

        I wondered about this – about to order the same couch in the same fabric, but was reading on other blogs that it pills terribly…

        Reply

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