How to Choose the Best Leather Sofa
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Leather is generally created by curing animal skins. This technique is generally denoted as tanning. In most instances, for the production of upholstery for furniture, the skins of cattle called hides to make up most parts.
When you get a real leather sofa, you will find that the fabric is not just warm, but it is also durable. Also, you will find that leather will always have the marks of its origin. It means that you will find hair pore structure, areas of varied fiber density, growth marks, and scratches when you go for a leather sofa.
Similar to any other big investment in your life, you should give thoughtful consideration when shopping for a leather sofa. You will have to ask yourself many questions like what is the style of my home.
Finding answers to these questions will help you shortlist a few leather sofas, in turn, you can somewhat make it easier to select the furniture.
1. Editor’s Choice: HONBAY Faux Leather Sectional Sofa
2. Best Mid-century Leather Sofa: Amazon Brand – Rivet Aiden Tufted Loveseat Sofa
3. Best Chesterfield Couch: Amazon Brand Stone and Beam Bradbury Chesterfield Leather Sofa
4. Best Leather Loveseat Sofa: Flash Furniture Hercules Loveseat
5. Best Reclining Sofa: Homelegance Pecos Reclining Leather Sofa
6. Best Faux Leather Sofa: Larkinhurst Signature Design by Ashley
7. Best Sectional Leather Sofa: POLY & BARK Napa Sectional Sofa
8. Best for Retro Lovers: Container Furniture Mid Century Modern Pu Leather Living Room Sofa
9. Best With Genuine Leather: Alonzo Rivet Sofa Leather Loveseat
Our Editor’s Choice is the HONBAY sectional sofa. This is an elegant, contemporary, convertible, and very comfortable sofa set. The leather furniture is ideal for small homes like apartments or condos.
It’s perfect for a compact apartment because it’s versatile and space-saving. You can arrange this convertible sofa in any way you need because it consists of a sofa with reversible chaise longue as well as an ottoman.
It might be bigger than your average sofa, but it’s very comfortable with soft but firm cushions. The seat cushions on this sofa eventually get more comfortable the more you sit down, making it a smart and long-lasting purchase. With high-resilience foam cushions, pocket buttons, as well as premium springs, we chose this sofa for its comfort features.
Aesthetically, this sofa would look great in a contemporary bijou apartment thanks to its mid-century built-in design. The sofa is draped in dark faux leather and looks sleek and modern. It is constructed with an excellent premium hardwood frame and also features durable legs capable of supporting up to 650 lbs.
This is a nish leather sofa that features a clean and simple minimalist design with fashionable tapered wooden legs. It will bring a contemporary traditional feel into any living space. Measuring 188cm long, it’s a good size that will not overcrowd your space.
It’s professionally upholstered in supple grain leather which makes it truly softer without sacrificing strength. The padded leather seat is also easy to clean. Simply wash it with a damp cloth.
It’s easy to vacuum too. It is a long bench pillow with two back cushions and its style uses 2 reinforcement-type cushions at each end for extra comfort.
This Rivet sofa was created with high-end fashion in mind, but at a cheaper price. The sofa design is flexible to fit any sofa. It can transform a dull and dead room into a stylish and cozy living room.
The Stone and Beam Chesterfield Leather Sofa Couch is a 93-inch sofa that is available in so many colors as well as other sizes, depending on the size of your living room.
Draped over a durable wooden frame is a 100% genuine leather that is also to stay in the space. The back and wide arms of the timeless Chesterfield combine to give you the perfect blend of relaxation and support.
You can return the sofa with no questions asked within the first month of purchase. If not, you’ll enjoy a reliable three-year limited warranty. This gives you complete peace of mind as the manufacturer stands behind their merchandise.
Flash Furniture’s Hercules Faux Leather Loveseat is trending for online shoppers. It is durable and affordable, thanks to its sleek design.
Faux leather can be a great alternative to leather if you don’t have the funds. Flash Furniture Hercules is our favorite pick. It is made of PU leather. It is soft, supple, and very trendy.
Leather instantly adds a touch of class to any space. This sofa is ideal for offices and workplaces due to its sleek design. It would look great in a living room or hallway. It also has flame retardant pillows which make it an extremely safe option.
It has a stainless steel frame. Although suitable for most situations, hardwood is more durable than stainless steel. It can also support weights up to 300 lbs.
The Homelegance dual power sofa is our pick of the best recliner sofa in a crowded industry. The sofa is upholstered in comfortable gel leather. Note that this is not genuine leather, so you need to be sure about what you are buying here.
Nevertheless, you will be rewarded with a comfortable and soft sofa that you do not need to get up from. Just like the majority of couches, you’ll need a little assembly, but you’ll be up and running in no time without needing to call in a specialist.
Easy to wash and keep clean, this is a low-maintenance sofa that should provide you with many years of support at a reasonable price.
This is a non-reclinable sofa seat with a faux sofa. Not everyone needs a genuine leather sofa, so we have the best faux leather choice for you in the form of this beautiful sofa from Ashley Furniture Design.
In addition to the sofa, you might even decide to put the money into a loveseat, a queen sofa perfect for sleeping, and a rocking recliner combo to finish off a brilliant ensemble.
Along with the sofa, you’ll have a few stylish cushions thrown in as the finishing touch. This company has your best interests in mind. The sofa has a build quality strong enough to give you many years of dependable service as long as you take care of it. Cleaning the sofa is easy and all you have to do is wash it with a soft, dry cloth.
Known for its handcrafted furniture and home decor, POLY & BARK, an Illinois-based company, is a popular brand in the market. If you’re trying to find a sofa with a modern touch, the Poly & Bark Sectional Sofa will add contemporary style to any room.
Made with real full-grain leather in several colorways, this sofa will fit right into almost any area. For relaxation, the sofa has duck feathers built into the high-density foam and cushions. This is a long sofa and made to get a slightly bigger surface. Its L-shape can be used to divide a space and create a straight corner in a haven of peace.
Sleek and comfortable, this sectional sofa will comfortably be enough for a minimum of three people. The frame is made of good kiln-dried wood that matches the soft leather. Even as the leather wears, it will add classic rustic elegance to your living space.
Retro lovers are in luck! You have here the choice between the 2-piece sofa corner or the loveseat. Both are created in a sleek and mid-century-looking design that would suit a retro-style home. With a tufted seat and square armrests, we highly rate this sofa because of its aesthetic value. Comfortable and luxurious, both the sofa and loveseat feature padded back cushions with bolster pillows.
The sofa has tasteful touches like a seat with button tufting and corded edges which all help achieve a sleek, tailored look.
It has white PU leather as well as tapered legs featuring a pecan finish. It’s comfortable to use and easy to clean with its foam seat as well as the mesh suspension, but it will require assembly.
Featuring cognac leather upholstery, solid wood structure with brass metal legs, the Rivet Alonzo Contemporary Leather Loveseat is an elegant leather loveseat that will add style to your living room.
The loveseat is a great choice for those looking for stylish, space-saving loveseats. The upholstery is so soft it will be hard to get out of the loveseat. The curved armrests make it extremely comfortable and add luxury to the sofa.
Genuine leather is used for the upholstery of the Rivet Alonzo. Genuine leather is expensive but adds an elegant and luxurious touch to any space.
Its solid wood frame is strong enough to support a maximum weight of 159 kg. The Rivet Alonzo has a build quality that will stand the test of time. It comes with a one-year warranty and 30-day free returns.
When it comes to leather sofas and chairs, different types of leather are being used. Here are some details to know concerning this:
This type of leather is the most durable of other types. This type’s durability is due to the polymer surface smearing with pigments. With technological improvement, the coating now can either be embossed, printed, or plain. The smearing used in this type of leather ensures better confrontation with evaporating, friction, and dirtying.
If you want a leather sofa that looks more natural, you can consider this type. It will have exclusive surface features of the animal hide. Pure leather of this kind is generally colored using dye and no surface smothering of pigment or polymer is done in this type of leather. To provide some protection against soiling and spillages, some manufacturers of this type of leather would have a light non-pigment surface coating.
As compared to aniline leather, semi-aniline leather is more durable and it can retain its natural appearance for a long. Some manufacturers do a light surface coating to enhance durability. It will have a small quantity of pigment. It means that the leather has consistent color, protecting the semi-aniline leather sofas.
Full-grain leather is the highest quality leather. It is also the most durable variant. The only thing done to this type of leather is that the manufacturers just scrape the fur from the hide. Then, they do the tanning work. They generally do it using vegetable dye to bring its earthy and natural tones. Due to this, the rugged and thick texture is generally tougher and stiffer as compared to top grain. However, you need not have to worry as it gets soft with age. Also, it is a breathable variant and it is water-resistant as well.
This variant is very much similar to full-grain leather when it comes to quality. However, the difference is that it will be thinner in a slice of the top-most layer of leather. This happens because this type of leather gets through an extra polishing and buffing process. These processes make it smoother and softer. But, it will retain the longevity of the full-grain leather.
Above all, it is versatile because of its ability to be produced in different colors. Even though it is not breathable, manufacturers make it stain-resistant with treatment. However, it will cost more.
This type of leather will be suppler as compared to the top and full-grain leather types. Manufacturers use it because it can tear somewhat with ease. However, you need not feel concerned about durability. This is why work gloves are made using this type of leather. It is not generally water-resistant and it is commonly called suede after the color-treatment, brushing out, and softening process.
This type of leather is generally made using leftover scraps. They are generally shredded and combined with other synthetic materials and then pasted onto a backing sheet for forming, a thin and large piece of fabric that is used for upholstering furniture. It is the cheapest and less durable type of leather.
Of course, you will be thinking that every part of the furniture should be checked thoroughly before buying and why the backside. The reason is that in general, stitches will be visible only on the backside of a leather sofa. You should check whether a single piece of leather is used or whether many of them are stitched together.
The thing to remember concerning this is that the average hide is 3’ by 6’. It means that if you get to see a huge sofa entirely covered using a single piece of leather, you can conclude that the manufacturer has not used real leather in its making. As you are particular about buying a leather sofa, you can keep away from such a sofa.
Of course, you will be interested in buying a durable and the highest quality leather sofa. Here, you should check whether the one that you plan to buy is constructed with the help of strong hardwood frames. It is better not to choose the one with plastic frames and even those made using softwood. The reason is that these materials in the frame do not last longer, thereby affecting the overall life of your sofa.
On the other hand, you can check whether the frames are made using processed wood. You are recommended to make sure that the sofa is kin dried. The reason is that this type of drying will safeguard the wood from wrapping. In general, wooden dowels are used by the manufacturers of strong leather sofas.
What you will have to do before you buy a leather sofa is to check the finish of the leather. Can you judge the reason for this? You will think that only when the finish is good, the entire sofa will look good. Of course, you are right! However, there is one more reason for this recommendation. Some leather sofas are upholstered with cheap plastic material. On the other hand, reputed manufacturers use genuine leather to bring a stylish look to the sofa.
When you take the case of bonded leather, it will have synthetic polyurethane. It is squirted on the sofa to give it an expensive look to the sofa. When you buy a leather sofa, it is better to make sure that you buy one made out of natural leather. This type of leather sofa is generally finished using an aniline dye. The dye would have colored the leather to bring a natural texture.
You have decided that you need a leather sofa. But, have you decided about the type of design you expect from the furniture. Some of the options you will come across are standard leather sofa, which will just stay as a sofa without any chance for modification.
The second design is a reclining sofa and as the name implies, you can recline this kind of sofa. The third design is a sofa bed design that you can convert into a bed at night. The other designs are modular, convertible that you can convert into a bed when required, and Chesterfield sofa.
Of course, most of us do not want the leather sofa to be used only by our family members. We think that they should provide room for guests as well. So, consider the different seating options available before you shop for a leather sofa.
To make sure about the originality of the sofa, you can smell it and even with the texture of the sofa. If the furniture has a warm and soft texture and has a distinctive aroma, you can rely on its originality. But, when you go for faux leather, it will not smell good as it will produce a chemical smell.
In general, cushions used in leather sofas are filled with dense polyurethane foam. The reason is that it will provide support and it will be firm and durable as well. If you wish the furniture should be luxurious and soft, you can consider cushions with synthetic and natural down foam. But, it is better to keep away from cushions with only down as they need regular fluffing to bring back the shape.
A leather sofa is an elegant piece of furniture that can be the central element in your home. It can both accommodate your friends for an aperitif or your children for a cartoon afternoon.
On the market, it is possible to find different models: a corner sofa, a love seat, convertible, BZ, sofa bed, and more. To help you find the most suitable model for your living room, we have selected the best leather sofas of 2022 for you.
Our favorite is the HONBAY Faux Leather Sectional Sofa. It’s a high-quality set of sectional sofas. Meanwhile, if you need a modern sofa for the reception room or a living room with a small space, then the Amazon Brand – Rivet Aiden Tufted Loveseat Sofa with its mid-century modern design will be much appreciated.
A leather sofa when selected considering the factors mentioned above, will improve the looks of your interiors for sure. Carefully consider these factors and of course, the cost should be an essential consideration as you will have a budget in place.
This post was last modified on February 25, 2023 7:00 am