Expert Tips on Buying a Leather Sofa

Leather vs. Fabric Sofas

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a leather sofa and a fabric sofa?

Today I want to explain a few details of purchasing a leather sofa and one the biggest questions we get asked is “Why should I spend more money on a leather sofa instead of a fabric sofa?”

The first thing I tell people is that no matter what you’re buying you want to make sure that you’re buying a good frame, especially with leather furniture because if you’re buying a leather sofa you’re buying it for longevity.

Fabric sofas will last an average of seven, depending on the quality, to perhaps twelve years depending on usage.

A leather sofa can last forever if treated properly so of course there are built-in properties to leather that make it a much better choice.

Consider the Construction and Cushions

Always look for a hardwood frame with a good spring construction or an interlaced webbing construction and the hardwood frame should be corner blocked, screwed and glued as well. Some sofas will have a drop in coil system as well.

On top of that is a quality cushion with a very high density foam with anything over a 2.2 or 2.4 density so it stands up over time because there’s no point putting leather over a crummy frame and crummy foam because you spent all this money and the leather might hold up but the framework won’t, so in the end you’ve wasted your money.

The other thing about leather is it may be a little more expensive than a fabric sofa so for instance the fabric sofa might be fifteen hundred dollars and a leather sofa might be twenty-five hundred dollars for similar scale and style, however a leather sofa over the fabric sofa will last about three times as long so you won’t have to clean it every few years which costs lots of money and it will stand up better.

If you amortize the cost of a leather sofa over 25 years and the cost of the fabric sofa over seven to 12 years you’re going to find your cost per year is much less for a leather sofa.

So the other thing is ease of use if you have a family, dogs, etc. you can entertain and you don’t have to worry about people spilling red wine or peanut butter and jam or pizza on your furniture. You can have a pizza party, watch a movie with popcorn and have no problems because you just wipe off the food.

Versus the fabric sofa, you have to be more concerned about entertaining in your room so you’re more apt to say “Don’t bring that in here, please … no red wine in here!”

So a leather sofa comes with ease of living and it makes it easier to live and enjoy the furniture.

The other thing about leather is you want to make sure you get the right type of leather and just because the leather is a higher grade it doesn’t mean it’s a better leather for you.

Most people may want a higher grade (thinking it’s better), however, what you get with the higher grades a lot of time is an aniline leather which means it’s unprotected so it will scratch and it will absorb grease from your head or palms and it will stain.

So what you want is a mid-grade leather which is a protected leather which will not stain it will repel stains and it will stand up very well to scratches.

I think you should keep in mind when you’re furniture shopping is to consider leather over fabric because it is a great investment over time and I think it’s something that people, and our customers, often overlooked until we explain it better to them.

If you need any assistance with your home decor please call us for a free interior design analysis by our team of experts by calling us at (250) 590-1110 or visiting our spacious showroom at Parc Modern Home located in the Uptown Mall next to Whole Foods in Victoria, BC.

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