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Original poster

What's the consensus on leather sofas?

85 replies

Hassled · 02/10/2010 21:04

Nice or naff? We're talking dark brown, soft leather. The ghost of my mother is whispering "common" in my ear, but I think I quite like them and in fairness my mother thought most things were common.

How do you clean them? If I spilt a cup of coffee on one, what would happen?

OP posts:
loopyloops · 02/10/2010 21:06

Naff.

Uncomfy, smelly, terrible if you have cats, hard to maintain (coffee might stain) and common.

Sorry, you did ask!

We were donated one, I ended up turning into gladiator costumes for a hen do in Rome!

loopyloops · 02/10/2010 21:07

Oh, and sticky. If you have lots of guests, you can't expect them to sleep on there, they won't be able to extract themselves in the morning.

Original poster
Hassled · 02/10/2010 21:07

Why terrible if you have cats? I have cats.

And smelly? In a new car leather sort of way or a dead cow sort of way?

OP posts:
loopyloops · 02/10/2010 21:11

Well, our cats a) scratched it to death and b) umm, liked one area of it. As in, liked to wee on it.

Smelly in a leather kind of way. Plus you have to wax them. Often.

loopyloops · 02/10/2010 21:13

We bought our "new" sofa from a friend (who has more money than sense). They replaced it with leather v expensive ones, and really regret getting rid of the fabric ones. You slip and slide around in leather ones. You're cold in winter and sticky in summer.

onepieceoflollipop · 02/10/2010 21:13

Mine aren't smelly at all. (although they did have a distinctive leathery smell when new, lasted for a few weeks)

tbh we are happy with ours, we have some lovely cushions so they don't just look like boring chocolate brown leather.

If I spilt a coffee I would blot it up with kitchen roll/a teatowel immediately, then clean with a slightly damp cloth/duster.

to be fair we don't need to ask guests to sleep on the sofa so can't comment on that.

I don't clean mine as such. I wipe over gently with a slightly damp duster, then dry with a dry duster.

Far preferable to our old fabric sofas which in retrospect were probably filthy!

icapturethecastle · 02/10/2010 21:14

Dare I ask but why are they common - I have brown soft leather ones - they are getting quite warn now and I like that vintaged (if that is what you call it) look. Also very comfy. Yes a couple of stains (little Dcs for you) bit still love them.

llareggub · 02/10/2010 21:14

Common or not, they are fantastic for anyone with small children. I had fabric sofas with my first child and they were soon wrecked by all sorts of spillages. My new leather sofas can be cleaned very easily and despite the battering given by 2 small boys, they are holding up well.

CuppaTeaJanice · 02/10/2010 21:15

I like them. In the right style and colour, obviously - there are both lovely and hideous leather sofas available.

But if you have cats, make sure you get one that is all leather and not a cheapy one with leather cushions but fake leather round the sides and back. It will be destroyed in seconds!

onepieceoflollipop · 02/10/2010 21:15

I thought that ours would be cold/slippy/sticky depending on weather but haven't found that at all.

Does it depend on the type of leather perhaps? Ours were a fairly reasonable price from Next so not posh ones.

pirateparty · 02/10/2010 21:15

We have a lovely old deep brown battered leather sofa which I love. I (obviously) don't think it's naff, but I do think that other leather furniture is, especially if it is shiny.

And it definitely doesn't smell. Never has.

Probably would be difficult to 'maintain' if you were bothered about it not being a bit battered, but I quite like it's slightly shabby look.

usualsuspect · 02/10/2010 21:16

I love mine, I don't care if its common

Lucycat · 02/10/2010 21:16

Ours is a lot more forgiving when dh/the dd's slops his coffee/juice on it that previous fabric ones.
we don't use it as a sofa bed though and shorts in the summer are a bit sticky - thena again we live in Cheshire so it isn't tropical weather very often at all

and Lucy the cat would get a stern telling off if she scratched the furniture Grin

icapturethecastle · 02/10/2010 21:16

but not bit of course!! D'oh.

Lucycat · 02/10/2010 21:17

gawd that last post was crap - ignore it - I like ours and it's getting better with age. Blush

loopyloops · 02/10/2010 21:17

Sorry, I didn't really mean common. Blush

Actually they can look lovely. I just don't like them.

Lilyloo · 02/10/2010 21:17

Love our brown leather sofas , bought to replace our m&s fabric ones (resigned to the consrvatory as a nightmare to clean) when ds was 1 he is now 8 and has 2 siblings and they still look great a quick wipe over with baby wipe does the trick.

nbee84 · 02/10/2010 21:19

We've had our leather sofa for about 14 years - still going strong, would say it's got a few years life in it yet. Some of the leather is cracking slightly, but it's not particularly noticeable. I use leather cream about once a year (did it twice a year for the first few years when it was new and I was taking more care of it) It's great for just wiping spills off and sticky finger marks. We have a dog that sits on it - no problem with his claws, but cats are much sharper and inclined to scratch at it. Watch out for little girls with buckles on their shoes.

It is a bit sticky to sit on in the summer when it's very hot and can also feel a bit cold in the winter, but soon warms up.

ravenAK · 02/10/2010 21:19

Old, shabby leather sofas are fabulous for cats, children AND sleeping on - just put a blanket down.

New ones do tend to smell like Halfords, & will get clawed/scuffed in days. Which would be annoying if you'd just spent ££££s on them!

Ebay & charity shops are the way to go...

bamboobutton · 02/10/2010 21:23

i hate our leather suite that dh insisted on.

i can't get comfy as its all slippy and slidy so i can't curl up with socks on, have to have bare feet to maintain a good grip.

the cusions are sewn on so i can't make up a bed on it for guests or when im ill and want to watch telly rather than be in bed.

i hate peeling myself off it in the summer and shivering while valuable body heat warms it in the winter.

im pestering for a velvet set from habitat.

hormonesnomore · 02/10/2010 21:30

Eh? Wax them? Nobody told me and I've had 2 leather sofas and a chair for 16 years. They still look almost as good as they day they were bought - that's the beauty of them.

I'm the one who spills the coffee on them and it cleans with a wipe. If you buy reasonably good quality (full hide rather than half), they'll withstand shoe buckles and pet claws too.

Fabric may look more classy but won't last half as long.

Tras · 02/10/2010 21:37

I think ours are brilliant. I replaced fabric ones (which I loved)with leather. My DD had reflux and boked all over them. Leather is great for kids and can be so comfortable. I think you just need to shop around. Dont think that ours is sticky at all in Summer. My DS decided to draw over ours the other week and the marks came off immediately with a wipe Def dont regret it!

Original poster
Hassled · 02/10/2010 21:57

Thanks all - I do love the old battered look, but the new ones which meet our exacting standards (a high back - can't stand head lolling on a sofa) are all a bit shiney. DH is well and truly sold on the idea - I'm still not sure. We'll do yet another trawl of the sofa shops tomorrow.

OP posts:
supersalstrawberry · 02/10/2010 22:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

nancydrewrocked · 02/10/2010 22:07

I agree with "common" I'm afraid.

Definitely naff. The old vintagey ones have some redeeming features but they rarely look great and more often that not look cheap and tacky.

Sorry. You did ask.

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