Leather sofa - yes or no?

[tiredandgrumpy]

We're moving to a lovely new house & want a new sofa. We're pretty keen on the idea of a leather one, but having never lived with one before, we're not sure of the pros and cons. What is the mn verdict? Where would you recommend for a decent one?

cats? Yes or No ?!

dogs? children with buckles on their shoes? anybody who's particularly careless with red wine spillage?

Leather sofas are ace. We replaced our fabric one with leather and the pros far outweigh the cons of the occasional scratch! If you go for leather, I'd recommend you also invest in some saddle soap - it's fantastic for cleaning the leather and keeping it nice and supple.

I hate leather sofas.I find them cold and uncosy.They are practical to clean though especially if you have kids.My cats used to scratch them to bits though.We've got material ones now and they're much more cosy.

No

pro- wipes clean.

con- can't relax as you slide right off it.

no cats. kids don't have buckles (yet). dh has been known to spill the oddl glass of red wine and I may have occasionally dropped pasta etc. Does that rule out leather, or is it a case for leather?

We have cheap leather sofas, 8 years, 4 dc, 4 cats (not all at the same time) they have been ace, yes they have a few scratches and are looking tired but they don't smell I know they are clean, no stains (you must be vigilent with pens/biros).

I would strongly recommend a dark colour though.

Find it very cosy, don't slip off it.

Lee Longlands ones can be lovely - lovely soft leather, warm and cosy and you don't slip off. well... unless you polish them like my mum does

I don't really know of any sofa surviving red wine or curry spillages that aren't treated straight away.

i just brought a fabric sofa after having had leather sofas that i hated. i found them cold in the winter and sticky in the summer. they were lovely quality soft leather ones but even though it was practical i just didn;t love them.
i now have a gorgeous chenille corner sofa and chair and much prefer them. very easy to clean too, ds1 spilt chocolate milkshake and i sponged it off and no trace of it now.

Hmm. Opinion seems divided. We've got fabric sofas at present and they still look presentable but the material has just got ingrained with dirt. Hence my thinking leather may hide it better. Does soft leather scratch or mark more easily than the tougher, less comfy stuff?

I love my leather sofa. A cat, a dog and two small children have not managed to ruin it yet. I dread to think what a fabric one would have looked like by now. My leather one was in a right state yesterday. with the dog jumping all over it.

A quick wipe down with soapy water and it's good as new. Mine is a soft leather one, and I don't find it sticky or cold at all. On the occassions that I do want to snuggle up I have huge furry throws that I keep behind the couch. But I did that with fabric sofas too.

Mine has survived not only curry, but Vindaloo, that DH kindly slopped all over the footstool and then fell asleep. JML Magic eraser got that off no problems.

We have leather and it isn't cold or slidey.We don't have pets,and don't wear shoes in the house,so not had a problem with those,however,I have sharp nails and do a lot of sewing whilst sitting on the sofa,and so far,have only managed to inflict a scrape on it that you have to search for before you'd notice it.I haven't even attempted to cover it up as it is virtually invisible.I'd like to think that they'll get gently battered in old age,rather than scruffy and stained like the fabric ones.

Ours were from Furniture Village,in the sale.