I Dare You To Spill Red Wine On This Beautiful White Fabric

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.

shaped-to-fit-plastic-furniture-covers-plastic-slipcovers

“You’ll Be Delighted Or Your Money Back”

1960's woman smoking a cigarette on a sectional with a plastic slipcover

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.

beautiful Crypton fabrics at Thibaut

 

superman-crypton

Crypton

 

YouTube video

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.

taking-notes-at-thibaut-crypton-demo-design-bloggers-tour-high-point-market-fall-2015

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)

spilling-red-wine-on-crypton-fabric--design-bloggers-tour-high-point-market-fall-2015

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.

coke-spilled-on-crypton-fabric

blotting-red-wind-crypton

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

all-clean-after-red-wine-spill

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

Okay, for our next demo–

YELLOW HI-LITER!

yellow-hi-lighter-on-crypton-fabric

Really?

super-man-flying

blotting-up-hilighter-crypton-thibaut

Blotting again.

hi-lighter-on-paper-towel-crypton-clean-up

Holy Crap!

cleaning-with-a-light-brush-crypton

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

hi-lighter-completely-gone-crypton

Several pieces in the showroom were upholstered in Crypton.

thibaut-chair-upholstered-in-crypton-high-point-market

 

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

thibaut-sofa-upholstered-in-crypton-high-point-furniture-market-miracle-fabric

thibaut-sofa-upholstered-in-crypton-high-point-furniture-market-miracle-fabric copy

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!

super-man-protecting-sofa

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.

YouTube video

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,

Laurel

26 Responses

  1. I know I’m a little bit late commenting on this post (which I love btw) but I thought I wanted to share this funny story with you. I have a client who seems to be either afraid of dirt or OCD about it. (I can’t figure out which). We ordered 2 beautiful sofas for her family room in an upscale very costly ultra suede fabric in a greige tone. It wasn’t Crypton but seemed to have the “beading” qualities of Crypton. That wasn’t good enough for her so she had it sprayed with Fibreshield, which cost about $400. That wasn’t good enough for her so she purchased 2 throws at Costco (I call then “shmatas”). Well you can only imagine what that looked like. So I found this Crypton fabric that was a dead ringer in colour and had 2 throws made that tucked into the ends and were very neat looking. (Another $400) She was very happy. Then the unbelievable happened. She (unbeknownst to her) spilled wine on her new Crypton throw and then fell asleep on it. Well wouldn’t you know, it got ground into the fabric and she couldn’t get it out. It never penetrated right through (can you imagine if it had) and eventually she worked really really really hard and it finally came clean. So now, she’s not a believer in Crypton and she’s back to putting her Costco throws on top of the Crypton throws that sit on top of her beautiful ultra suede sofas. It can only happen to her I say!

    1. Hi Susan,

      I call them shmatas too! Love that word!

      I guess anything will stain if you leave it there long enough.

      But…. Did you know? Ultra suede is MACHINE WASHABLE! She can zip off them cushion covers and throw it in the washing machine. Gentle cycle, and air dry or on fluff. The rest can be cleaned with detergent, but I wouldn’t soak it, of course.

      After all, ultra suede is plastic.

  2. My sister in law’s couch was upholstered exactly like the example. It was white. My brother was fifteen years older, so that was really another generation.

    I just got my Sunbrella white Hickory Chair sofa last week. It does the same. Beads up liquid. I don’t want to try yellow marker on the sample I have!! But the whole thing is bleachable!!

    I am thrilled with my sofa.

  3. Oh. My. This sounds amazing, and that fabric looks gorgeous! Here’s my n00b question: having read your sofa post and figuring out where I can find and see those sofas – do any of those suppliers (CR Laine, for ex), upholster in Crypton or is this the sort of thing where I reupholster with it? Or something else entirely that is beyond my level?

    1. Hi Cathlin,

      Those are very good questions. CR Laine does have fabrics (about 700) that one can use for the upholstery. OR, you can do COM, customer’s own material.

      Now, here’s the thing. If you’re buying CR Laine from a store, they may not be able to offer the COM you want. For instance, the one I use comes from Thibaut. Most furniture stores do not carry designer fabrics like Thibaut. This is another great reason to use a designer who has access to all of this stuff.

      If you can get your hands on the fabric on your own, will the store use it? They should but it depends on their policies.

      CR Laine has a few fabrics that are made from Crypton but they weren’t right for my job. The ones from Thibaut which is Crypton Home are the best, IMO.

  4. I always enjoy your blog so much! You share great information in a delightful humorous way. Very excited about this new fabric and the opportunities I may have to try it, especially as a red wine drinker…The plastic covers and “Aunt Gert ” just kill this southern girl. We have them down here too! It took me years to convince my mother in law to take the plastic off her lamps shades. Looking forward as always to your next post. I appreciate all the effort!

  5. One quick question: how does this fabric hold up against over-dyed jeans? Spills, I can handle, but the subtle color-transfer from my cheap jeans has dimmed my upholstery.

    1. Great question Karen! They said that any mild detergent like a little Dawn liquid soap diluted with water should do the trick. but in addition, they make their own brand of cleaners. Here’s the link. http://crypton.com/contract/cleaners-and-extractors/

      BTW, I had the same problem with my jeans from Banana Republic. Very dark blue. Love the way they look and the fit is great. Horrified that it rubbed all over my green and white desk chair and was impossible to get it all out! Now, after about 25 washings, they are okay.

  6. This fabric sounds like the answer to my prayers! I would be interested to know if it contains any harmful chemicals. I so hope not because I want to use it when I get my sofa upholstered.

    Thanks again Laurel for another great informative post.

  7. Laurel, I have a club chair upholstered in a taupe herringbone Crypton fabric purchased from Jo Ann Fabrics. We have dogs and this fabric is absolutely the answer to dog hair, muddy dog feet, doggy smell (too long between grooming appointments!) Did I mention the fabric is absolutely beautiful? My only regret concerns my choice of upholsterer. I’d suggest using someone with lots of experience because the Crypton fabric might be difficult to manage in the hands of a novice upholsterer. I shoulda spent the extra bucks!

    1. Hi Ann,

      I have several samples of the fabric and there is nothing in the weave that a good upholsterer would have any issues with at all. Quite the contrary. As you can see from the images, it upholsters beautifully.

      It sounds like you had someone who was just a lousy upholsterer, no matter what, or he gave the job to an incompetent assistant. Something like that.

      Good to know, however, that the fabric performs so well!

    1. Hi Lisa,

      Good question? I was going to say, I don’t think so, but then I looked it up and they do but it’s for contract (commercial) use.

      http://crypton.com/contract/carpet/

      I don’t seem any images on the link, however, so have no idea what it looks like or if it would be appropriate for a residential application.

      Quite frankly, they need to make the entire house out of this stuff. haha!

  8. Love the white sofa! I fell in love with one and waited 6 months before buying because all my friends thought I was crazy. But it has slipcovers that wash like a dream and so far all the stains have come out. In fact, it looks better than before it was washed the first time. Beige? Yuck.

  9. I actually have a tear in my eye. I have three children. Have you ever scrubbed spaghettios off dining room upholstery? I HAVE.

    1. Haha! Oh, Celeste. I’ve scraped off peanut and jelly, ice cream sandwiches (dumb, dumb, dumb baby sitter let my 2-yr-old eat one on the brand new linen velvet sofa), several glasses of chocolate milk, not to mention dirt tracked in from outside. No, not dirt. That crap that’s a combo of dirt and salt that sits outside for months in the winter.

      1. Hi Laurel,
        I wanted to thank you and let you know I am having my six Henrdon 1940s chairs reupholstered and this was the fabric I chose, I was delighted when the shop suggested the same brand you did, I’m leaning toward the pistachio. My heart wants pistachio, the part of me that is listing the house is looking at like…camel. Pistachio is winning though,
        Thanks again,
        Celeste

  10. Hi, Laurel….I’m not an interior designer or decorator, and am really past the time I will be doing much in the way of decorating or buying furniture for my little 700 sq ft condo. But I love your blog, your wonderful ideas and fabulous sense of humor. The picture of Aunt Gert and the plastic covered sofa cracked me up! We used to call that style “Bronx Renascence”! I have a white ( Pottery Barn) sofa and white club type chair I confiscated from my mom’s home,……had it reupholstered in white canvas twill to match the sofa. ( not room for much else what with my electronic drums and keyboard.) And though the white does get dirty, I can wash the sofa covers and if they start looking too too shabby, I’ll just have new ones made. ( the rest of my very casual decor is whte walls with lots of original art, tile and sea grass flooring with some Persian rugs here and there. It’s not fancy, but I love it more than any place I’ve every lived. Thanks so much for writing your blog! You are the best! Sincerely, Suzanne in San Diego

    1. Hi Suzanne, How kind you are! I search high and low for priceless images like that one! What’s funny about Gert is that her ciggy butt could easily melt the plastic into the sofa. hahahahaha! Would love to see that one!

      Your home sounds wonderful!

      1. Yes, about Gertrude smoking and the ash falling on to the plastic. Gert’s settled in there not just perched for a photo! Get up Gert! I love all these little visual touches you sprinkle into your posts. Crypton fabric looks fabulous and the upholstered chair is gorgeous! Thanks for passing on your knowledge.

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Hi, I’m Laurel, and Laurel Home is the website and blog for Laurel Bern Interiors.
I’ve been creating new-traditional interiors since 1988. The blog is where I share all.

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