jsassack's Profile

We have just about everything, and none is perfect. The microfiber couch, while great for stains, attracts cat hair like crazy. And our cats still try to scratch it. We have slip-covered furniture from ikea. The white slip covers get WAY too dirty looking with the cats, and they're all a pain in the butt to wash and put back on. The tan cover has held up pretty nicely though. Stains easily, but usual dirt is well hidden. White leather chair shows lots of little punctures from their claws. Next I'm going to try a heavily-textured leather where the hair won't stick and hopefully the scratches and such won't show as much with the distressed look.

Like other suggested... put a table or cabinet over it. But I'd got a step further and put the TV on the table/cabinet... that way it seems like the table/cabinet is there for a reason, and you'll be able to do something nice with the mantel.

Last winter when my baby was a newborn someone told me they had seen this sign. I cut a piece of paper into the shape of a stop sign, outlined it in red marker, and then wrote in black marker on the inside "Please wash your hands before you touch me." I laminated it and pinned it to her carseat - sometimes I even pinned it right to her outfit if I was holding her. I got great feedback - the rude people who would have touched her stepped back, and the sane people weren't offended at all-I got tons of comments on what a great idea it was. I actually had one person (my husband classmate who I had never met) come right up to me without saying anything and try to pull her from my arms (after that she wore the sign everywhere!).