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Kid friendly furniture
It depends on whether you let the kid and/or kid's friends and/or pets anywhere near the furniture.
There are loads of lovely (and sometimes expensive) upholstered pieces out there - I like to buy antiques at auction and re-upholster myself, but there are lots of other options. Check Ebay live auctions for furniture sales near you - it's usually cost effective to buy Victorian walnut or oak pieces - they are often beautifully made and the wood frames are orders of magnitude better than modern pieces.
However, as your sister wisely pointed out - children will stain the upholstery fabric, and no matter what anyone says, it is hard to clean unless it can be taken off and machine washed.
So if you want practical, you really need slipcovers. Places like Pottery Barn have acceptable, if not very exciting, slipcovered ottomans/chairs/etc.
You can also skip the whole upholstered route, and go with Smith and Hawken type teak furniture (they have indoor lines), with cushion covers that can be machine washed.
Failing machine washable, leather is the next best option, particularly dark leathers, which won't show juice and tomato sauce stains.
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