Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Momma Said There'd Be Days Like This...

This post is for all the Moms out there. I know you come to blogs to see fabulous interiors, but what about a little peek at reality? Can you guess what you are looking at?I will give you a hint....
That's right, it is a picture taken just the other day of this sofa y'all loved from this post. Little fingers mistook it for an art canvas and used markers to create this masterpiece...
The fabric is under stain warranty so this story should have a happy ending (I always recommend any stain treatments that come with a warranty). Has this happened to you? For those of you who asked the sofa is the Rockford from Rowe...
In other mom related news (no, I am not pregnant) my blogger friend Averill is expecting a little one and asked me to guest blog on Odi et Amo with a post for expectant mothers. And while we do not have kids yet, I am working on my 15th nursery so I do know a thing or two about those bundles of joy...
Please stop by and check it out!

Okay let's hear it, we have all been there! Red wine on the sofa, markers on the carpet, dog chewing the pillow, cat scratching the chair, nail polish on the coffee table- I would love to hear if you have had a moment like the picture above!

Thank you E.H. for letting me share!!!!

46 comments:

Melissa @ Veranda Interiors said...

I have had wonderful art work similar to that done on walls, countertops, and furnishing too...no matter how hard I try and put the pens out of reach the little hands in this house always seem to find them.

Hamptontoes said...

Oh no! That is terrible. I do have a post for this week about keeping a white cloth under each upholstered seat in case of spills to immediately dab it up, but this situation requires another direction!

Brooke @ Blueprint Bliss said...

oh my gosh! i might as well get myself ready for days like this!

mapleleavessycamoretrees said...

Oh my word. My mouth is still open. My oldest "angel" took a marker to the wall but that was something the Magic Eraser took care of. This--I think I would just cry. But at least there's a happy ending!

Lauren said...

Oh my goodness! Did you have a breakdown? Hope you have a happy end result!

Unknown said...

Yes, this has happened to me several time. This past time was a month ago. My daughter took a teal crazyon and scribbled all over the back of my sofa which is a Clayton Marcus that was our first furniture purchase as newlyweds. Luckily, I tried Woolite with Oxyclean in the blue bottle and it got it off in just minutes. My dad let me in on how great it works. I thought it wouldn't come off when I saw it but now you'd never know. We often joke that our advice to engaged folks is wait to buy nice furniture or make sure it's something you can live with when it gets messed up.

Chassity (Look Linger Love) said...

Oh goodness! And heading over now.

laxsupermom said...

When my older son was a just a little guy, he did something similar. I was in the bathroom for less than 3 minutes total and in that time he had grabbed a bottle of nail polish and proceeded to paint lines across everything. The tv, the leather sofa, walls, floors, a dresser, and coffee table. The child was just so fast.

It gets better...and then they start counting down the days til they can drive. ;P

Unknown said...

Love all these stories! Mine is barrowed from Lindsey.
Their living room used to be a wonderful, deep cranberry but they painted it khaki and precious Ford took the fresh paint and his cue from seeing mom and dad paint ALLLLL day as meaning it was time for him to pitch in w/ his favorite green crayon and jazz things up a bit! I will send before and after pics, its AWESOME. He's a true talent, an artist SAVANT!

Interior Design Musings said...

When my oldest was three he cut all the trim off my pillows in our family room (and I promise, I did not leave him alone for very long!). As for the markers, they are like handguns, they should be kept under lock and key! BTW, that picture makes my stomach hurt!! M.

Danielle Oakey Interiors said...

oh my! no words! hope it all works out.

Lindsey said...

Oh no! This would make you want to cry but great they have a warranty.
My angel also took a blue pen to our freshly painted bedroom door and trim while dad was "napping on the job". Thankfully, I have learned that Mrs. Meyers countertop cleaner works on TONS of things!
Love the room, great job MMM!

Luciane at HomeBunch.com said...

OMG!!!

You're so right!!!!!!


I have leather sofas where the kids stay and that's great for that. It's very practical.

Great tips!!! :-)


xo



Luciane at HomeBunch.com

AntiqueChase said...

I hope I can get my eyebrows off the ceiling... oh my... I would have cried!! Hoping for a happy ending! Keep us posted!

JMW said...

My jaw dropped when I saw this pic thank God it's under warranty! I can TOTALLY relate, though. The week we bought our new sofa, my son was playing "grocery store" and dropped a large bottle of olive oil on the floor. It splashed on a bottom portion of the sofa. I was cross, to say the least. We've also had crayons on the walls and rugs. I continue to bring home scrap paper from work to try to emphasize "paper only." :)

Laura Bear said...

OH my, thank goodness for warranties!

When we first purchased our solid cherry coffee table I set a cotton ball down with nail polish remover on it. Took the varnish clean off. quelle horreur. No stain warranty with that! :P

Andrea said...

How about a dog that cut himself and then bled all over the newly installed WHITE carpet! Or the dogs that ate the skirt of a newly upholstered sofa :) And of course these things always happen just days before a major holiday or party.

Cheers to stain guards and warranty's...or insurance as I call it ;) I can only imagine the look on your clients face. Do I see an artist in the future?

Anonymous said...

ohhhh goodness! I thought life with a dog was troublesome

Ms. Bake-it said...

My eyes nearly bugged out of my head when I saw that picture! Glad there is a warranty. My boys went through a destructive phase for a while when they were little and boy was I glad when it finally passed!

~ Tracy

Karen said...

Thank the Lord for warranties! I remember once shortly after buying a new sofa my niece decided to use it as a napkin after eating a brownie. Her little hand print was streaming across the cushions. It's funny now, then, not so much.

bluehydrangea said...

I just gasped!! Been there!! So glad you can fix it but that poor mama!!

Swan Family said...

I found your blog a little while ago and have fell in love with it! I can relate to your post.
http://thefourswans.blogspot.com/2009/09/speechless.html

The link above is from my blog. My son took a blue marker and decided to do a little "art" on our white ottoman! So I feel your pain. Amen for warranties! Good Luck!

Anonymous said...

If you haven't tried 'Spot Shot',
you should. Literally takes
out anything. Must get the
areosol one, not the carpet
foam stuff. You won't be sorry.
Anyway, whatcha gonna do, ruin it?
:)

Julie said...

I think my heart just stopped.

Rachel said...

Okay, I thought that with all of our dogs, I would be totally ready for whatever kids would throw my way... However, after seeing this all I can say is that I'm glad we have slipcovers on our furniture!!! LOL!!! This leaves me speechless.

The only other time I can compare to is when I came home and found out that I had a 75 pound dog that was sick to his stomach - and the proof was all over my SISAL rug!!!! Anyone who tries to tell you that sisal can be cleaned is flat out lying. I cleaned it as best I could (which was, by far, one of the worst and grossest experiences of my life), but ended up with big spots. Luckily I work for a carpet/rug place and was able to get a new one pretty quickly.

But, yeah, with the dogs, I've had a piece of my wall scratched/chewed/dug off, the bottom rails of my kitchen chairs chewed on, and all my lower windowsills nearly destroyed. Oh, and how can I forget all the countless magazines, high school yearbooks, and CD's/DVD's that have been chewed and shredded???

Great post!!

Rachel said...

Okay, I thought that with all of our dogs, I would be totally ready for whatever kids would throw my way... However, after seeing this all I can say is that I'm glad we have slipcovers on our furniture!!! LOL!!! This leaves me speechless.

The only other time I can compare to is when I came home and found out that I had a 75 pound dog that was sick to his stomach - and the proof was all over my SISAL rug!!!! Anyone who tries to tell you that sisal can be cleaned is flat out lying. I cleaned it as best I could (which was, by far, one of the worst and grossest experiences of my life), but ended up with big spots. Luckily I work for a carpet/rug place and was able to get a new one pretty quickly.

But, yeah, with the dogs, I've had a piece of my wall scratched/chewed/dug off, the bottom rails of my kitchen chairs chewed on, and all my lower windowsills nearly destroyed. Oh, and how can I forget all the countless magazines, high school yearbooks, and CD's/DVD's that have been chewed and shredded???

Great post!!

Shelley Herek said...

I......would.....DIE! I would fall down and die. Yes I have two small children, and know things like this happen and would deal with it accordingly, but I would still die first.

Awesome post. I want to see after clean up pics!

Unknown said...

Ouch! That had to hurt!!! So so sorry! Well, yes, we've been there too. My husband and I are were just reminiscing about our now 6 year old, who at age 4, decided to use gum to stick all of his dvds to our new flat screen t.v. Let's just say.....gum was banned for a while and the tv is still not completely gum-free!

Hope it's recovered in a jiffy! But, good for you for having a sense of humor. It will become funnier in the years to come, I promise!

Anonymous said...

My oldest son drew a life sized Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle on the light beige living room carpet with a purple marker. I was able to get it out but only bought washable markers after that. He also drew on the refrigerator with a bright yellow paint pen. A lot of elbow grease and nail polish remover removed most of it.

traci zeller designs said...

OH MY. Been there, done that ... although I've never had an upholstery crisis. Warranties can be a great thing for families with small children!

Anonymous said...

OH no!!!!!!!! The EXACT thing happened to me on the SECOND day I had my sofa. My 2 year old ( at the time) decided to take my eyeliner to it. Thank God for slipcovers!!!!!

Jennifer

Transistor Art said...

oh my god!!i don't want my sofa be colorfull from little fingers!!great tips well done!!

Suzanne Anas Jurich said...

Oh my goodness, this made me gasp and then check to make sure my son wasn't getting into trouble.

How come little ones don't do this to dark furniture??

hi-d said...

Oh no...think of it as modern art! That is quite funny...but glad it's under the warranty!

Janell @ House of Fifty said...

Oh my...I can only imagine the response when this was discovered!! Great looking sofa, I hope it can be cleaned up!
Janell

Jennifer said...

oh mercy!!!! I have Sharpies hidden all over the house ... better start rounding them up!

Laurie Fulkerson said...

Oh we are the "queens" of marker stories! I have not 1, not 2, but 3 marker stories. First, it began very similar to the sofa pictured. I did not have a warranty (because it was recently "recovered"), 2nd it was on the cabinets in my bonus room above the garage. Do you remember that room I just LOVE??!! Anyway, my oldest had gotten a sharpie and written her carpool # on every cabinet door in there. And yes there are a lot of cabinets! And 3rd, my youngest had gotten a pen and wrote all over the backseat of my brand new car a few years ago. So I HIGHLY recommend you switching to all pencils when you have children!

Cristin // Simplified Bee said...

Wow... us mom's with little ones are right there with you! You will have to keep us posted.

xo,
cristin

kayce hughes said...

I can relate! We have 7 very artistic children.

Mary said...

This is a true test of unconditional love for our children.

Bravehearted Beauty {formerly LLH Designs} said...

Years ago I thought I'd grow up and get some chairs upholstered instead of sticking with slipcovers, but during the weeks I was trying to select a fabric, one child threw up on the couch and the other colored on it. Slipcovers for sure. And I have never looked back!

Glad they have a warranty. I didn't know you could get such a thing!

Day Old News said...

I die!!! TG you had a fix for them.

Emily A. Clark said...

Oh yikes! This post almost took my breath away.

I guess I should count my blessings that our sofa has only been chap-sticked to death once.

3 Peanuts said...

OH NO!!!! I have been VERY lucky with my 3 peanuts and not experienced this ...yet! BUT I have had adult guests spill red wine on my cream sofa and chairs. Luckily, they are the BEST slip-covered pieces from Quatrine and they went in the wash immediately and came out perfect each time:) I simply adore Quatrine.

Lee said...

My boys are 26 and 32 and this makes me WEAK. I don't think you ever get over the horror of a crayon, marker, or ink creativity event.

This post would have made a great contest - "Can you top this?" The only way to have a winner would have been to draw a name or have lots of prizes.

Thank you for all of the product suggestions. I will be buying them all. Can you make this a permanent site link?

Marker ink removal is still a family issue here. My husband uses black and red markers in his profession and for years has put them in his shirt and pants pockets without lids. He also lays them on his worksurfaces without the lids and then places his forearem next to them, so the ink slowly soaks into his shirt. By the time he gets home and sadly shows me the shirt or pants, it's too late. I've tried lots of products and methods and haven't saved anything yet.

I am going to be testing a SHARPIE LIQUID PENCIL (sorry for caps). He bought it at Sam Flax in SF CA, but don't know where they are available or how long they have been out. The mark is erasable for 24 hours and then is permanent. I want to see if and for how long it washes out. This is black; I don't know if it comes in colors. If I'm happy with its washability, all of the thin markers in the house may disappear forever.

Suz said...

I loved your guest post and your advice is helpful. We're setting up a nusery now. It's been a while since I've had time to check in on your blog and you've gotten quite the following in the past year - 45 comments, wow! Glad you are doing well!