Leather Sofa's

After posting my last blog post- Pet Friendly Sofa's - It came to my attention that I had excluded leather from that list, and that leather is one of the most popular cover options for pet friendly furniture. The post mainly reflected requirements for a new sofa for myself, and sadly, leather is not in my budget. So I decided to write a post all about leather for the pet owners out there that prefer the leather look!  Often times when I have a client interested in a leather sofa, there seems to be a lack of knowledge on the subject of leather. It can difficult for consumers to distinguish poor quality to good quality, real or fake. So many furniture manufacturers have so many names for leather, so many grades, so many different textures and feels. So I thought I would try and simplify this for everyone! Here are a few different names for the "leather like" coverings being manufactured these days :

Vinyl
Faux Leather
Recycled Leather
Bonded Leather
Polypropylene/ Polyester / Polyurethane Blends - I have had clients mistake these blends for leather.
PVC - Polyvinyl Chloride
Vegan Leather


These are all synthetic man made materials, mostly plastics. Bonded leather/ recycled leather is pieces of real leather, grinded up and then bonded together with synthetic materials. So yes, there is real leather in there, but if you are looking for longevity, this is not the material for you. These materials tend to fade, crack & peel over time and are very inexpensive to make, hence very inexpensive to buy. As they say, you get what you pay for. A lot of people assume that you can buy a real leather sofa for $2000, and that no manufacturer would charge that much, or more for a something that is not real, and unfortunately, that's where most people are wrong. So when you see a sofa ranging from $2000-$3000, that is usually a grey area. Because we all know you will not get a real genuine leather sofa brand new for under $1000, but $2000 and up, you can. But you can also get a faux leather one in that range too. This is the price range bracket where it is pays to be informed.

So now that we know you can get real genuine leather sofa's starting at $2000, but also faux leather for the same price, we will talk about grades and quality and how to tell if it is real or not.


Sadly, some of the faux leather's look a lot like the real deal, so, when furniture shopping, ask if you can take a look at a swatch or find out the brand so you can do your research, or go see a knowledgeable sales professional. The most expensive top of the line leathers are often named "Top Grain", which means the top layer of the hide, which is the most durable. With a top grain some of the characteristics to look for are colour variations, light in some places dark in others (imagine the black and white spots of a cow) and scars and spots. These leathers can either have a waxy coating or be really thin and soft. This is the expensive stuff that will last - as long as you maintain it properly. Most manufacturers sell more than one grade of leather - they start with the top grain, then they do a few other grades below that. The grades below are best described as when you take a cow hide, you can split it in a few layers, top grain is the top layer and then the closer you get to the bottom of the hide, the lower the grade, but it is still genuine leather, but the lower the grade the durability gets lower as well. These layers can be treated to make different textures and colours, some can be grainy, some can be smooth and thin, some can have a pebble like texture, some can be waxy. The top grain sofa's that I have seen range from $5000-$20,000, it depends what other materials are used in the construction of the sofa as well as how much leather is required. But that should give you an idea of the price range to expect when you want the best.

So is leather pet friendly? Sure. It's easy to clean, it's durable. However, it is much more costly to fix/replace if you have a pet that likes to chew stuff. So, that my friends, is my take on leather. And, also why it was not on MY list for pet friendly sofa's.  :)

Shown here is one of my current favs - The Remington made by Palliser in a Top Grain with a lot of character - Available at Lounsbury's Moncton.