Leather upholstery is a popular choice these days – and with good reason. Leather is natural, durable and beautiful. With huge variety of colours and styles available, you’re sure to find leather furniture you’ll love for years. But before you hit the showrooms, do your homework. A great deal may not always be a great deal…

Types of Leather

• Split Leather: “Split leather” is the bottom half of a folded hide with no grain. During the finishing process the hides are corrected by buffing or sanding and then embossing a grain onto it, to imitate full-grain leather. It is then dyed with either a pigmented or aniline finish. Bycast, a new type of split leather, is produced by first melting a type of glue on the surface and then rolling on a film of coloured polyurethane.
• Top-grain Leather: The upper layer of a hide that has been split is the superior top-grain. It is more expensive as it’s hard to find hides without natural blemishes.
• Full-grain Leather: This unsplit leather shows a natural (not embossed) grain and is also a more costly option.

Leather Myth Debunked! Some think leather gets too hot or too cold. In fact, because it’s natural, it adjusts more quickly to your body temperature than fabric!

Leather Dyes and Finishes

• Dyes: Aniline-dyed leather is superior to surface-dyed leather. The latter is sometimes called “painted” leather because the dye only coats the surface while the former penetrates the skin.
• Full Aniline/Sauvage: Prized for their soft feel, these leathers are aniline dyed with no colour coating added to the surface. They are the most expensive leathers to produce. They absorb liquids because of the natural porosity of the hide but do breathe easily and are cooler to sit on.
• Pull Up Aniline: This leather has an extra top treatment of oil and/or wax and becomes “distressed” looking through time and use. Similar to full aniline but in places of heavy use, the oils push away leaving lighter areas. May scratch easily.
• Semi-Aniline: Semi-Aniline dyed leathers are dyed through and have a thin finishing layer on the surface. A very even colouration is achieved without sacrificing softness.
• Pigmented: May be buffed to reduce heavy natural scarring and blemishes in the hides and then coloured with a coating containing opaque pigments and embossed with a grain pattern to ensure uniform colour.
• Nubuck: Aniline leathers where the surface has been brushed to create a velvety texture. Suede is the flesh side of a piece of leather while nubuck is an effect that is done to the grain side. Nubuck is “open”, making it incredibly soft and more absorbent than other aniline leathers.

Leather Myth Debunked! Many think leather is impractical with kids or pets. In reality, quality leather lasts up to 7X longer than fabric! Protected leather is easily cleaned while even natural leathers can be wiped from many spills. Also, leather doesn’t absorb pet fur or smells!

Leather Care

• Avoid placing leather furniture in direct sunlight (under windows or skylights).
• Maintain at least 2 feet between your furniture and heat sources to ensure your leather doesn’t dry out. Use humidifiers in winter.
• Treat with Cleaner and Conditioner 2 to 4 times a year as required with the exception of Bycast, Nubuck and some Natural leathers. Talk to your furniture dealer.
• Always test any cleaning method in a hidden area first.
• Vacuum leather furniture regularly; get into crevices. Wipe with a soft cloth with warm distilled water to slow the buildup of body oils on the surface especially the arms and head rests.
• Do not use cleaning solvents, furniture polish, oils, varnish, abrasive cleaners, detergent soaps, or ammonia water.
• Take care of spills immediately with a clean white cloth and distilled water. Blot, don’t press. Do not use soap or soak the stain heavily with water. For butter, oil, or grease stains, wipe off excess with a clean white cloth; the spot should dissipate into the leather after a short time.
• If a stain persists, consult a professional leather cleaning specialist.

Be sure to shop around and buy the best quality leather furniture you can afford – and then enjoy with your family for many years to come!

Upholstered furniture is both beautiful and comfortable – and there’s a wonderful selection of textures, colours and patterns available to suit every décor style and budget. No matter what is affordable for you, upholstered furniture is a significant investment and you want to get the most for your dollar and to keep your furniture looking its best for many years.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Fabric

Choosing the best furniture for your lifestyle will help make maintenance easier. Here are some of the questions you should ask:

• Do you have children or pets?
• Do you frequently have guests?
• Do you eat and drink while using the furniture?
• How much time (and money) are you willing to spend on cleaning?

A Basic Lesson on Fabric Choices

Within upholstered fabrics, you have two main choices: natural and synthetic.

NATURAL: Natural fabrics include cotton, linen, wool, silk and leather. There are pros and cons to all natural fabrics, but generally linens, silks and pure cotton are best for areas with low-wear as they stain and wrinkle easily (although very beautiful!). Leather is an excellent choice for durability – more below. Wool and cotton blends also make excellent choices as they wear well and stains are easily removed.

SYNTHETIC: Synthetic fabrics include acetate, acrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester, rayon and vinyl. Some of these like polyester and nylon are generally blended with cotton to make a durable upholstery choice. Many synthetics are simple to keep clean and look quite good, but may not have the same feeling of luxury and quality as natural fabrics.

LEATHER: There are many grades to choose from but overall a very good choice for families. We will talk more about leather furniture in a future blog. Stay tuned!!

SUMMARY: If you are looking for a sofa that will wear well, present well and be relatively easy to care for, a blend of synthetic and natural fabrics may be your best overall choice. If you expect little wear, by all means indulge in a gorgeous natural fabric like silk, linen or nubuck leather.

General Cleaning and Maintenance Tips

• The proper care, cleaning and maintenance of your upholstered furniture will depend of course on what fabric you choose and how much use the piece gets. Here are some guidelines:
• Before you try to remove a stain or soil from your upholstery, you should determine the type of fabric involved and follow the Fabric Cleaning Codes indicated with the fabric.
• Vacuum your upholstered furniture weekly. Get into the nooks and crannies and reach into corners for crumbs and dust.
• Direct sunlight will fade your upholstery, no matter what fabric you choose. Always keep the furniture out of direct sunlight.
• Rearrange the furniture in your room from time to time, so that one piece of furniture won’t wear out much more quickly than the others in the room.
• Rotate and plump seat and back cushions frequently. This will distribute normal wear evenly on both sides of the cushions and the fabric and it will reduce flattening of the fibers.

Never remove cushion covers for washing or dry cleaning. The zippers are there to put the cushions inside the covers during manufacturing. Washing or dry cleaning the covers will cause them to shrink or stretch and you will not be able to put them back on.

Remember, it all starts with what fabric you choose. My #1 recommendation is to always, always choose the best quality that you can afford. And my wish for you is that you spend many happy evenings reading, watching TV and chatting with family and friends on your upholstered furniture. Enjoy!