New white leather sofa, meet black sharpie

[Anonymous]

I am sorry, but a white leather sofa? EWW! You are either foreign or just trashy and deserve the sharpie disaster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hire an artist to do a fabulous abstract design?

Also, take lots of pictures so that later (many years later) you may all laugh about what must be a very gut-wrenching situation.

My thoughts, exactly. Either that or buy another pack of Sharpies and finish the job by covering the entire thing in black.

Definitely take pictures!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with PP, at least someone could be nice to you!!!!!! Shame on those other posters for berating you. It was an accident. Now I am sure those other posters NEVER did anything that was an accident. I did a little googling for you and found, rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover. Also, they said spraying Coppertone SPF 30 continuous spray on the lines took it away. I hope these help you. Good luck!

OK I was one of them that was "unsympathetic" towards OP. So let me elaborate. These are the people I feel sorry for this morning:

A child in Ethiopia not having enough food to eat.
Single mothers in homeless shelters.
People who have lost a loved one (Elizabeth Edwards's children for example).
People who can't afford health insurance for their kids despite of working their asses off.

There are the people I don't feel sorry for:

People who have more money than sense.

[Anonymous]

Not sure if these work - but I don't think would harm your sofa:

Spray hairspray on marks & see if that will work. It often does on fabrics, not sure about leather.

I read that rubbing sunscreen on the marks will work - again, unsure about leather - see if it will wipe off

[Anonymous]

OP, so sorry but come on, white leather + toddler? That's about the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

[Anonymous]

this has to be a joke.

[Anonymous]

OP, if it can be fixed METRO LEATHER can do it. I too have a nice leather sofa (though not white). The biggest mistake we made was NOT getting the insurance the store had to offer on damage.

Our child has colored on our sofa and our cat has thrown up on it. Being fine leather, it absorbs stains (unlike the cheap "pleather" stuff). I have metro leather come out once a year and re-dye the marks and they make it looke PERFECT again each year. This would be free if I had bought the damn insurance...what would $300 have been to a 10K sofa??
It costs $175 for Metro to come out and do repairs. Not sure what they can do with white, but they have worked miracles on my sofa. http://www.metroleather.com/

[Anonymous]

Nail polish remover will take care of it, but you might need to refinish the leather.

FYI, even 'washable' markers will stain, so um...slipcover for a while? i love great mid-century-modern furniture but until the kids are older, I'm not bothering to invest in anything that I care about. It's just a fact of having kids.

[Anonymous]

OP, call a leather specialist BEFORE you do anything DIY. You don't want to risk that hairspray, Magic Eraser, etc., do more damage than good at this point. Our friends had success having red wine removed from a beige leather couch, but it did cost them a pretty penny.

Alternatively, you could do this:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/look/look-childrens-graffiti-couch-part-2-079027

[Anonymous]

Here's the more elegant version:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/house-home-roundup/kidcentric-townhouse-in-the-east-village-the-new-york-times-71008--055815

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with PP, at least someone could be nice to you!!!!!! Shame on those other posters for berating you. It was an accident. Now I am sure those other posters NEVER did anything that was an accident. I did a little googling for you and found, rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover. Also, they said spraying Coppertone SPF 30 continuous spray on the lines took it away. I hope these help you. Good luck!

OK I was one of them that was "unsympathetic" towards OP. So let me elaborate. These are the people I feel sorry for this morning:

A child in Ethiopia not having enough food to eat.
Single mothers in homeless shelters.
People who have lost a loved one (Elizabeth Edwards's children for example).
People who can't afford health insurance for their kids despite of working their asses off.

There are the people I don't feel sorry for:

People who have more money than sense.

This is the op. Yes, perhaps it was a stupid purchase. And yes, I feel sorry the the same things you do. I wasn't asking for sympthay. Just a few suggestions. I don't have a lot of money, and clearly I don't have a lot of sense.

[Anonymous]

Hey OP,

I have no suggestions for you, but I am sympathetic to your plight. UGH!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if it can be fixed METRO LEATHER can do it. I too have a nice leather sofa (though not white). The biggest mistake we made was NOT getting the insurance the store had to offer on damage.

Our child has colored on our sofa and our cat has thrown up on it. Being fine leather, it absorbs stains (unlike the cheap "pleather" stuff). I have metro leather come out once a year and re-dye the marks and they make it looke PERFECT again each year. This would be free if I had bought the damn insurance...what would $300 have been to a 10K sofa??
It costs $175 for Metro to come out and do repairs. Not sure what they can do with white, but they have worked miracles on my sofa. http://www.metroleather.com/

Seriously!?! A $10,000 sofa that you pay $175/yr to keep up? This makes no sense. What a waste. Just because you have the money to do it, doesn't mean you should.

OP - Talk to a specialist, but keep in mind that they're going to want your $175 so they'll probably tell you that there are no DIY tricks. I used a magic eraser on my patent pumps recently (black, got white scuffs) and it worked great. There are very few things the magic eraser hasn't fixed for me. I wouldn't use it on a sleek surface since it has tiny abrasive surfaces, but you can try it out somewhere inconspicuous first to test it. Also, stain devils has worked great on fabrics. I had sharipe marks on my fabric sofa and I used the "ink" specific stain devil and it worked really well.

[Anonymous]

"This is the op. Yes, perhaps it was a stupid purchase. And yes, I feel sorry the the same things you do. I wasn't asking for sympthay. Just a few suggestions. I don't have a lot of money, and clearly I don't have a lot of sense. "

Then why purchase a REALLY expensive white leather couch?

[Anonymous]

Not sure about leather, but the Sharpie website recommends Amodex for stains

http://www.amodexink.com/stain-removal.html