I’m planning to buy a new sofa, side chair, coffee table, and rug this week to refresh our living room. I’ve narrowed it down to two setups I really like, One with a sleek leather couch and another with a soft, textured fabric sofa. The rest of the furniture and color schemes are pretty similar in both.
I love the look of leather but worry it might feel cold or too formal. On the other hand, cloth seems cozy but I’m not sure about long-term wear. Has anyone lived with either type for a while? What would you choose if comfort, style, and durability are all important?
We’ve had cloth for 18 years. Bought at Macy’s. Three pieces - a chaise and two sofas.
It’s torn in one spot of no impact to sitting - the cushions are warped from years of use and yet we sit on it everyday. Love it. The kids both want us to give to them when we move - we won’t - it’s past its prime.
Have leather Thomasville chairs. Never use them. My sister has high end leather. Blue. Looks fantastic. But doesn’t like people to use so it won’t get worn.
I think leather looks nicer - not necessarily more modern - depends on the piece. But whatever you get make sure it’s beyond looks - that you use it!!
We are looking at the same two options for new LR furniture. Both options looked fabulous and were equally comfortable. We were so undecided, we didn’t buy anything…yet.
I think we are leaning towards the cloth. Not cold in the winter and not sticky in the summer.
Do you have cats? Our cats have killed our leather dining room chairs.
For living room seating I always find cloth is more comfortable than leather. Based on years of sitting on other people’s’ leather couches..even some very expensive ones. Cats aside, leather can be more durable, so depends what you buy as well. (We have the crate and barrel Axis collection furniture, which still looks almost new after 7 or 8 years, and the fabric is both beautiful and washable.)
If you get leather make sure it’s REAL leather. I thought we had bought leather from Lazy Boy (led to believe it was) and it is not. Only top thin layer is leather and it has peeled off. We’ve had other leather pieces still in good shape.
One of the main thing with couches and longevity is the density of the foam.
This type is created by splitting the hide and sanding the surface to remove imperfections. It’s known for its smooth, consistent appearance and is a popular choice for furniture.
This is made from the layers of hide below the top grain. It’s a more affordable option, but generally less durable than full-grain or top-grain leather.
This type is made from leather scraps that are bonded together with a polyurethane or latex backing. It’s a more budget-friendly option but is less durable and may not have the same longevity as genuine leather.
My leather sofa was always comfortable but over time, it developed a bit of a distressed look. Not a problem where I use it, but it is more “shabby chic” than luxury.
I also have cloth sofas. They stain and fade over time but have the advantage, at least the ones that are slip-covered, of being washable. My off white ones never faded (or did so invisibly) whereas the ones that were a color, especially a deeper color, are noticeably faded from sunlight.
Both took time to look worn. Iow, there was no regret in any of my choices. But they all showed their age over time.
Because allergies to dust mites, etc. are common in my family, we have a leather couch, our 2nd. before that we had a fabric couch that had cushion covers you could unzip & wash, which we did periodically. We are fond of our leather couch—it is comfortable and durable and easy to care for. We have NO pets.
How much will you be in the living room? That may factor in on priorities about comfort (which is subjective), wear etc.
In our family room, we got a soft cloth velour. I like it so much better than leather, which to me feels to slippery for comfort. After many years, it has gotten pretty worn… especially in the seat where my larger/heavier husband spends a lot of time. (Tip - This couch has no arm covers, so I found some hand towels same color of navy… keeps arms from wearing too badly). Perhaps leather would have held up better.
There is an interior designer I follow who can be a snob, so take this with a grain of salt but he insists lether is OUT. Cold, hard to care for/ repair and not comfortable. I am design challenged so I don’t know if he’s full of @#$& or not, but one of his videos was pretty convincing.
Having two giant dogs (when I purchased our last couches), I couldn’t imagine getting anything but leather. Make sure it’s top quality and comes with a warranty.
(Welcome, but the first time you post you’re posting about furniture fabric?!)
Regardless, I love leather. I don’t find it sticky and overly cold - I usually have a blanket if it’s cold anyway. I have two leather couches - one probably 20+ years old and one getting close to 10 years. The 20 year old one is a little faded (it’s a swanky looking loveseat and was/is RED!). The 10 year old one looks like new!
There are leather conditioners that work well that will revive tired looking leather and is easy to apply. My leather never looks dirty - whereas I feel cloth furniture can.
We have both for different rooms. Leather is great but ya gotta keep up the conditioning /care. Sure. We thought we would also. After 25 year’s it’s worn in areas. It’s really not as comfortable as cloth type. “Really” sit in it in a store. Bring a book and sit and read and see if it’s comfy. I would do the same as cloth as some stores you can buy at different densities of the foam inside. Some leather can feel slippery also. The ottomans were like top coated leather and yes it peels over time as described above. We were told it was all “Real” leather. They should be able to tell you what grade it is also.
Our Ethan Allen living room cloth couch is 25 years old, looks great. But… that’s because we mostly just use the living room for holidays. (We love having the pretty space, at bottom of stairs and adjoining our dining room where we’ve been eating dinner since the start of covid. Just don’t sit there much)
Have never conditioned or cleaned my Stickley leather loveseat and it looks brand new after over 20 years of constant use. Ditto for the couch/loveseat combo in the family room which has been used as a jungle gym by two generations of toddlers!
Color is important… bottle green and dark gray, respectively. Friends with pale colors seem to have bad luck with stains, discoloration, etc. Both rooms were done with floor samples so the leather was much more than we could afford if we’d done the special order/comes in 10 weeks option.
But I don’t find leather to be at all hard to care for and it wears like iron.
But it has looked kinda ratty for 10. Lol. Keep cleaning and conditioning it if you go this route. Ours became uncomfortable so make sure the foam doesn’t conform to you with long sits. In the beginning it was fine. It wasn’t a cheap sofa either at a high quality store. Not sure what I would do on our next go around actually. Leather is in the den. We have cloth in the living room and it’s noticeably more comfortable for longer sits. Funny thing is, it wasn’t expensive.
I am a huge fan of leather if you have cats.
We had a leather sofa/chair/ottoman for at least 28 years (it was high quality brand), in the room we use daily, and it was still in pretty good shape when we got rid of it earlier this year. We replaced it with a Stressless leather chair and sofa just this year.
We had fabric in our formal living room, and it was very expensive cat scratching posts. Plus when we had a cat that shed, it picked up his fur like a magnet.