If you're looking for a new piece of furniture for your living room — perhaps a sofa or an accent chair — spending some time walking through a local furniture store can give you all sorts of ideas. At many stores, you'll see animal print furniture. In most cases, the animal print will be synthetic, so you won't have any moral hesitations about it. A sofa or a chair in animal prints such as zebra, leopard, or cow can be a good addition to many living rooms. Here are some benefits of choosing this type of lively living room furniture.

It's A Vibrant Focal Point

While it might be a little too much visually to outfit your entire living room in animal print furniture, choosing one sofa or chair to use as an accent piece can create a vibrant focal point in this part of your home. If you're concerned about your living room looking a little bland — perhaps because you have generic off-white furniture and off-white carpet — there's little question that a piece of furniture with an animal print can be a lively addition to this space.

It Hides Stains Well

When you shop for new furniture, the last thing that you may want to think about is the furniture becoming stained in the future. The reality, however, is that stains on the fabric can occur, especially if you have children who eat in the living room. Another big benefit of choosing animal print furniture is that it can hide stains very well. For example, a small, dark stain on a sofa or chair that has leopard print fabric can be extremely difficult to notice because of the multitude of spots that are already present.

It Can Match Well With Art

Many people enjoy displaying animal art in their homes. If you have one or more pictures or paintings of animals on your living room walls, choosing a related type of animal print furniture can be a good match. You may even want to pair your new piece of furniture with some other decorative elements or plants that can give the living room a themed look. For example, if you have artwork that features a cow and you're buying an accent chair with synthetic cow fabric, you might think of buying some antique milk crates to use as side tables to give the space a rustic, farm-like look.