Chesterfield sofa - velvet or leather?

[Mum2b2020]

DH and I are buying a Chesterfield style sofabed but can't decide between a grey or blue polyester (not cotton) velvet or classic brown leather.

We have 2 cats who love to claw our new carpet on the stairs and a new baby. I love the look of velvet and I've read that it isnt as appealing for cats to scratch as looped material, however my cat did cause some small holes on my mum's velvet sofa so maybe that's not true. It also shows up fur more so would need brushing more.

A leather Chesterfield is a classic and should age well but I'm not sure it will be as comfy. We have a very old fashioned leather sofa atm which we were given 5 years ago that we stick to when it's hot but has stood up to cat scratches fairly well - the marks dont show too much. It is an electric recliner which has broken do we cant put the legs back down, which is why we are getting rid.

Appreciate thoughts of anyone re velvet v leather sofa or experience with chesterfields.

Leather.
So grateful for our leather sofa when DS was growing up. You would never get mushed up ginger nuts, black currant or sick out of velvet. We recently got a fabric sofa and I hate it. The cat has pulled it already, DH knocked a whole cup of coffee over it, the covers are a PITA to remove and wash. Give me easy wipe leather any day. Also the leather will still look good in several years, your coloured sofa will date.

We bought a brand new brown leather chesterfield and it was the most uncomfortable thing we've ever sat on. We sold it after avoiding sitting on it for 6 months.

Have you sat on a brand new one?! They are hard and unyielding. I've no idea what a velvet one is like but I'd avoid the leather at all costs.

If you're worried about your cat scratching, buy him/her one of these, our cat hasn't scratched anywhere in house since we bought one!

Cat Lounger

Neither option. The cat will ruin one and the child the other!

I had a slate grey velvet sofa (not chesterfield) and spent quite a lot on it. The kids ended up jumping on it a lot (when I wasn't with them!!) and broke it. That was after the tiny amount of sun that shone on it discoloured the dark velvet! The cat fur was a total nightmare.

Next one I bought was an ikea sofa but with nice Bemz covers - so it doesn't scream ikea. The covers are washable AND easily replaceable if they can't be washed, plus if the sofa itself gets damaged, it's easy to replace and doesn't cost the earth. Relatively stress free!

Not what you asked, but I'd never heard about Bemz until I asked a similar question to you.

@Mum2b2020 - not answering your questions at all, sorry. But can you post your links to the Chesterfield sofabeds you’ve found please!

Chesterfields are not comfy enough for your main sofa.

Leather

Polyester velvets can be very hit or miss. It would be worth asking about the martindale (rub test) of the fabric. As a rule of thumb, anything over 20,000 is OK - and the higher, the better. This means that the fabric wears well against abrasion. Velvets can also get crushed pile in high use areas, something else to consider.
linwoodfabric.com/products/omega-hemp
This poly velvet has a rub test of 100,000 meaning it's virtually indestructible.

Leather is hard wearing, but cheap leathers can go brittle very quickly and can be too cold or too hot depending on the weather.

Chesterfields aren't very comfy, to be honest. It's the model we sell least of (in the trade if you hadn't guessed). It's the lack of neck support that people don't like. I'd sit in it in the shop for as long as you can get away with.

Thanks for your responses.
@PenelopePitstop49 Thanks for the information re velvet. The ones we were looking at were about 85,000 rub count and designed for families.

I'm leaning towards leather now though as I think as the cat hairs could become a nightmare to clean every day. Our cats dont sit on our current one at the moment unless there is a cushion or something comfy on it, so I'm anticipating huge amounts of cat hair if it was more comfortable for them.

I appreciate that chesterfields might not be the most comfortable sofas but I ve always loved them. We are going to be moving to a larger house next year and so will probably get a comfy L shaped sofa then and this will be used in the kitchen/diner or a spare bedroom as a sofa bed. We're thinking it would be handy to have now so my parents can use the sofabed when looking after the baby (hopefully in a few months) as we dont have a spare room anymore.

@MissMarplesHandbag
This is the one we will be getting. Thought we'd pay for quality and hope it lasts a long time.

www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk/wantage-range

Leather, my parents have one that it is probably 20 years +. It has aged so so well.

Velvet as I hate leather sofas, they stick to you in the heat and are cold in the winter. I much prefer fabric.

Thank you @Mum2b2020
I am now happily looking at their website!

@PenelopePitstop49

Since you're in the trade, do you have any thoughts on foam seat cushions wrapped in fibre vs foam cushions wrapped in feathers?

Was set on getting the fibre ones but wondering if feathers would be more comfortable given the leather is likely to be firm.

@RNBrie our cat has 2 of those and he loves them (wish they were a bit cheaper!); little bugger still scratches the sofa if I don’t get up and feed him/open the door quickly enough

Op- I would vote leather if I had to but as others have said, I love the look of chesterfields but they are sooo uncomfortable that we ruled them out when looking

We have a leather Chesterfield from John Lewis, it is so comfy. it took a few weeks of constant use before it became work in and we all love it. We have another sofa and chair and there is always a scramble for the Chesterfield.

We don't sell any form of wrapped cushions anymore. We found they just don't last as well even from the best suppliers and are too problematic. The problem is with them is that you're putting two thin layers of different materials together, and layers tend to flatten much quicker as a result. And we never put foam in back cushions - it's too dense.

We sell mainly dacron stockinette wrapped foam (in various densities) for the seat cushions as it holds its shape well, and fibre filled backs which gives you softness without the need for plumping. There's a knack which is to use slightly oversized cushion inners (say using 32" side to side in a 30" sized cushion which gives you a very slight overfill. This makes it feel more luxurious and helps counteract any flattening effects.

i remember as a child ,every saturday morning being made to dust all the button areas on a leather one....

Leather. Currently waiting on delivery of said sofa as Harris tweed fabric one has been badly ripped - think there must have been a fault but has shown we are a house not suit to anything other than wipe clean...