Leather sofa -- yay or nay?

[whenwillitbespring]

Usually, I am not inclined to get a leather sofa at all, but I do quite like this one from sofa.com and the price is not crazy as compared to the fabric sofas (in fact, cheaper than a lot of the fabric options.)

Is it wrong? Is it a bad idea? We have a kid and cats. We do have one leather chair that is secondhand that our cat never scratches but you never know . . .

Just checked my Family Book. Our leather sofas are Easterby by Natuzzi (2003). In all those years I've polished them once and wipe them over perhaps once a year - (I hate housework)..They look amazing and we still love them.

I don't like them at all. Don't like the feel of them, the look of them or the fact it's made of skin. Mostly they are ugly too although a chesterfield looks nice.

Yay - we have a dog who likes to wipe his face on it. So easy to clean.

We had leather
For about twenty years, from when dark brown was trendy. Those things were indestructible. They were from Next. Being able to wipe down going through the baby years and two dogs was a huge benefit.

For some reason we replaced them with cream fabric. I'm now waiting till the kids hit 18 and go to uni so I can replace them. I'm not cleaning them again, I cover up the stains with throws.

We've always had leather sofas. Our first lot were 21 yrs old. DH persuaded me (against my better judgement) to get a fabric one. After 5yrs it was a horrible mess and I've just replaced them again with leather.

Those of you with leather sofas that have lasted 10-20 years (or more!), may I ask how much you paid for them?

The first lot I bought way back in 1995 and 2x3 seaters cost less than a £1000

The ones I have just bought 1x3 seater & 1x2 seater cost £4000

@PetitPorpoise and @nokidshere thank you! It's really useful to have some actual examples. :)

I have leather 2 and 3 seaters and chair - they are 22 and the leather is still fab. We had a dog for 17 of those years. We've had the cushions refilled recently as I still love them. I wash them with soapy water. I did buy the leather care stuff, but haven't used it.

We’ve had ours since 2004 and it still looks almost new. It’s the Abbey leather sofa from M&S. It’s a timeless classic. A couple of years ago we purchased a velvet purple corner sofa in the same style.

I can’t remember for sure but I think we paid around £2800 for 2 leather sofas from M&S. It was in 2004. They’ve lasted really well.

looks gorgeous! but I would never buy one without seeing it in person and sitting on it? I have a leather sofa and love it

Love our leather sofas. I wasn't convinced but DH had them when we moved in together. Sold my fabric sofa, kept his leather suite. So glad we did, they've last 15 years and only now we've moved house are considering replacing them with a new leather corner sofa to suit room better.

For winter, I have lots of crochet blankets to make them cosy.

We have old boot sofas which are fab (Howard). Can't believe how much they have gone up in price since we bought them though!

We bought our leather sofa in 2003 and it still has lots of life in it, if looking slightly worn. Very comfy though.

It was wrapped in plastic on the floor of allders department store (remember them?). It was a refused order of some kind and we picked it up for about £600 and it was £1200 originally.

We are in dire need of a bigger sofa as our lanky 14yo takes up too much room. Will definitely be leather again (when we find the pennies).

I'm a 'no' vote. I can see they are practical but they are so ugly and make your living room look like a pub.

Had ours 15yrs, still good. I would recommend a higher back so you can slump into it and rest your head against it!

Leather sofas can be great if you pick one that isn't too dark, doesn't look too heavy or make the room feel cold and depressing. I don't like any of the ones above, and find tufting do be very difficult and it normally looks dated and cheap. But finding the right sofa will depend on the style of your house, the wall colouring, the other furniture, etc. I wouldn't buy anything without first getting multiple fabric swatches and seeing how they look against everything else in the room and at different points in the day.

We’ve got cream leather sofas ( g plan from furniture village) and they are still pristine 7 years on, despite grandchildren and a cat. I clean and condition them twice a year.
If you go for cream or a pale colour just make sure if you’re wearing jeans that the dye may transfer.
I wouldn’t go back to fabric sofas.

Also, with a fabric sofa you need a performance fabric that is easy to clean and I would not go for a solid color as that makes it really hard to hide any stains. An example of a fabric that would work well are the performance fabric samples here, notice how the close up shows the fabric isn't just one solid colour. https://www.westelm.co.uk/andes-sofa-h1844

and actually, I would look at some of their leather sofas too to see a leather that can look good and not bulky or dark: https://www.westelm.co.uk/haven-loft-leather-sofa-86-h5323

I have an Argos leather sofa bed, ( 2 cats, different times), sprayed with cat repellent, no kids great after 5 years

Thanks so much everyone, still not sure but I'm inclined to go for leather.

Much more worried about the post @HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas linked to about potentially declining standards at sofa.com. It makes me rethink the sofa choice altogether given how expensive they are. Aargh!

I will be honest, I swear by DFS... they are not works of art but extremely comfy! and they have an excellent selection of leather sofas...

if you want something a bit fancy, check out oficina inglesa... they have some lovely sofas

Can I ask which one you have please? We are looking to replace our current one and want some new ideas!

Leather is a by product of the meat industry. What would you rather happened to the skins?

It is probably more environmentally friendly than fabric too.
When the sofa eventually wears out and gets sent to landfill, leather and the wooden frame will biodegrade in 50 years.
Fabric which is usually some sort of man made material will probably take decades or even longer.

Yes, I'm no expert but there are different types apparently? The cheaper versions will be like a thin leather 'veneer' glued onto something else, so they are the ones that won't breathe and will be cold or hot at the wrong times. They also scratch up easily because the dye doesn't go all the way through.

Good quality leather is the opposite, it's soft comfortable and long lasting.