One of the primary issues we face when choosing fabric for our upholstered pieces is, “how is it going to hold up? How many times have I heard…

“Oh, that’s too light. It’s white fabric. It will show the dirt. What happens if someone spills red wine on the furniture?”

Yawn…

“Let’s do beige, Laurel.”

Yawn…

Like you can’t see red wine stains on beige? (no, I don’t say it quite like that)

Okay, let’s do black, then.

Black is worse.

Well, there’s always this solution.

“You’ll Be Delighted Or Your Money Back”

Here’s “Aunt Gert,” (I just made that name up) not looking too delighted. Although, I suspect it has nothing to do with the plastic slip covers.

My husband (wasband) had an aunt in Brooklyn who until the day she died had her entire living room encased in plastic. No kids. (well, grown kids). No pets. Like WHAT was she saving the furniture for? And I can assure you that nary a glass of red wine touched her lips, except for maybe a little Manischewitz at Passover. :]

In more recent years, we have had some pretty good options such as scotchguard and other stain repellents, but over time, they wear off. And some claim that they attract dirt.

Then, there are fabrics that can be washed in the washing machine such as microfiber and other polyester materials. Those are pretty good, but if the stain is set into the fiber, it might be very difficult to get out.

What if we could make a white fabric that acted like a plastic slip cover, but felt like a soft chenille?

Well, They did! And I learned all about it at the recent High Point Market and Design Blogger’s Tour.

This miracle fabric has been available for the commercial industry for nearly two decades. But only recently  introduced in beautiful residential fabrics. The fabric isn’t treated with a topical repellent to whatever hits it.

The repellent qualities are inherent in every fiber of its weave!

How cool is that?

Below, a beautiful Crypton softer than soft lovely pale blue fabric from Thibaut Fabrics.

Crypton

Please watch this short and entertaining video to see how it works. I promise that you’ll be dazzled!

12 days ago at the High Point Market Fall 2015, where I went as a design blogger with nine other design bloggers, one of our stops was at the gorgeous Thibaut showroom. There, we were treated to a live demo of just how this Crypton stuff works.

I couldn’t resist snapping this shot of fellow design bloggers (from left to right– Lynn Byrne, Vicki Bolick, Holly Hollingsworth Phillips and Kimberly Ward immersed in their note-taking)

The first demo was the spillage of the proverbial red wine.

Hard to tell here but it beaded up like my private demo I had 2 days earlier with some coca cola.

Here’s  the wine being gently blotted up with a paper towel.

A quick wipe with a damp cloth and it’s clean!

Okay, for our next demo–

YELLOW HI-LITER!

Really?

Blotting again.

Holy Crap!

The tiny bit left comes out with a very soft toothbrush rubbed very gently with a little mild detergent.

Several pieces in the showroom were upholstered in Crypton.

 

Beautiful Sofa Upholstered in Thibaut’s Crypton Home White Fabric.

Isn’t this gorgeous fabric? It’s soft and supple and amazing!

FYI, Crypton is Environmentally safe. It doesn’t wear off or out, either!

Other trade fabric vendors who carry Crypton, include Robert Allen, Duralee, JF Fabrics and Kravet. Several furniture manufacturers are also using Crypton Home fabrics in their lines. We also saw some beautiful furniture at Century upholstered in Crypton.

A little treat for any of you who watched the old superman TV series as a child.

An extra hour of sleep tonight. Hooray!

xo,