White leather dining bench/chairs -- bad idea in house with toddlers??

[Anonymous]

Title says it all. Our 3 yo has already destroyed the cloth-upholstered dining bench in our dining room (and we are expecting a new baby this fall!). Thinking about replacing our old dining bench with this one, in the hope that leather will be easier to wipe off. But now wondering if the ivory color is a terrible idea. Any thoughts/experience?

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/lowe-ivory-leather-bench/s667887

[Anonymous]

I'm curious how your toddler destroyed the upholstery. With scissors?
This is what Ikea is for. Cheap furniture that you don't care if it gets destroyed.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80268641/

[Anonymous]

In general, leather is good for kids. But beware ballpoint pen or marker on white--hard to get off.

[Anonymous]

White???

Can you recover the old one for now?

[Anonymous]

Also, beware that scratches are pretty noticable on light colored leathers. We have a light grey one and while I've gotten the marker off of it, scratches from playing with toys trucks on it, wrestling with teh dog on it, etc are pretty visible.

I've found that microfiber, including in light colors is quite stain resistant and wears like iron.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all -- hmm, maybe IKEA is the way to go for now. Re PP's question, it was a combination of things. much of it was not deliberate destruction -- eg, eating and wiping her hands on the bench instead of on a napkin, dropping food on the bench, etc. She has also taken markers and crayons to the bench, however. And not entirely her fault, but a Sean opened up on the bench, and she has started to pull the stuffing out of it. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:White???

Can you recover the old one for now?

No unfortunately -- reupholstering will be more expensive than buying a new one. And I think the chairs are soon going the way of the bench, so we may have to replace everything...

[Anonymous]

As the mom of a 3-year-old and a newborn, I forgive your temporary insanity.

IKEA all the way, dear! (I got dark leather stuff from them and it's great.)

We can have our grown-up furniture in like 10 years...I hope

[Anonymous]

I would go with a faux leather.

Our dining room chairs are more than 60 years old and what I assume is faux leather (although I suppose it could be real, I've never examined them closely) is going strong.

The only downside of leather and faux leather is that they can get a bit warm and sweat-inducing in the summer months.

[Anonymous]

See this thread regarding an expensive white leather sofa and a sharpie. One of my all to e favorites.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/139341.page#1221195

[Anonymous]

The white leather sofa thread was pretty hilarious. I plead guilty to temporary insanity by reason of pregnancy -- baby's due in a few weeks so it must be the hormones. Am checking out some melamine chairs at IKEA now.