Thinking of buying leather furniture?
Ahhh…there’s nothing like the rich scent of new leather. Smells like…luxury.
Before you inadvertently buy one of those big poofy things or something you stick to, here are a few things to consider.
If the price of that new sofa is too good to be true, there’s a reason. Read the fine print. ‘Real leather everywhere the body touches’ is one of my favorites. How do they know where I am going to touch it? What’s the rest of it made of? Real leather stitched to fake leather doesn’t work too well over time, and if the visible part is made of mystery materials can you imagine what’s on the inside? 
‘Genuine leather’ is another line to give pause. I don’t know about you, but the word ‘genuine’ in my mind has devolved into something along the lines of ‘in a court of law we could argue that technically this is really what we are representing it to be, but barely’.
Without going into too much detail, you want top grain or full grain leather. The hide of the cow is split twice and the outer layer is the good stuff. It has all the markings (if you are into that) and is more durable, up to five times they say. The inner layers are called splits. Any quality manufacturer uses the top and full grain.
Leather is tough, tough enough to hold the inside of a cow, um, in, and keep the elements out. It’s funny that many clients are worried about leather durability under family conditions. Maybe they didn’t have the right kind of leather for their lifestyle?
You will have two primary choices of good leather, aniline and protected. Aniline leather is dyed all the way through but done in such a way that you don’t lose the characteristics of the hide, and it stays very soft which you will appreciate every time you sit on it. It marks more easily, which to some of us adds character, but could quickly resemble a poor wildebeest savaged by jackals if you own a Jack Russell terrier.
I’m told that the color of leather prior to dyeing is a light blue. If your leather is not aniline dyed, that’s what will beam through when scratched.
The protected leathers, which should also be aniline dyed, are treated on the surface; ‘painted’ might be a good way to look at it. You will lose some of the softness and individuality with a protected leather, but gain durability and stain resistance. Industry insiders call it ‘pizza proof’. The color will be very consistent. This might be a better choice if you have kids, pets, or you are the overly analytical and orderly sort.
You will also have the option of doing some really creative things with protected leathers as they can be found stamped with patterns, such as stripes, crocodile, or even paisley. Most of the vendors we work with use leather from South America that is tanned in Europe. The South American leather can have cool markings like tick bites and scratches from barbed wire fencing. I’m told some of the finer unmarked leather comes from Germany where they must have more careful cows. Now a lot of leather you see on furniture found in bulk is coming from Asia, but I haven’t noticed the better custom manufacturers using it.
Well made leather furniture should be passed down through the generations. Even if that’s not the plan, you don’t want your furniture to lose its shape or start coming apart before you are ready to put it in the neighborhood garage sale.
Tags: furniture, leather, leather furniture
“Genuine” is the term used to describe most kinds of leather, but there are many ways to grade, tan, and produce cowhide. It’s the cheapest of the cheap as far as leather goes so yes, you should get more information if anyone claims the leather is “genuine” because it could be “genuinely the cheapest leather you’ve ever seen”.
With Exotic leathers like Alligator or Crocodile, the line is pretty much drawn between “Genuine” and “Synthetics” since the fakes are typically plastics designed to look like the texture of real exotic leather. From there, it’s just about the grading and how well the tanning is done, since tanning exotics is often much more complex than a basic cowhide.