leather couch pros and cons?

[gk90]

I saw this leather sectional in the Costco coupon book and the price was very tempting. http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC850-Cat4914&topnav=
We had an old-fashioned leather Chesterfield when I was growing up but I realized that I don't know anything about today's leather furniture. Any pros, con's, advice?
TIA!

 

[laurabelle]

I needed new sofas for both my upstairs living room and my basement/T.V. room. After doing some research, we bought fabric sofas for the upstairs room, and a genuine leather sectional for the T.V. room, which we love and yes, we paid thousands for it, much more than the fabric sofas. The sofa you are looking at is such a low price because it is bonded leather. I had read to stay away from bonded and bi-cast leather.

 

[tlbwriter]

Do you have pets? A friend of mine has a leather couch that's literally riddled with tiny holes from her cats' claws.

 

[Karenj2]

I've never heard of bonded leather, so I looked it up - it's basically leather bits mixed with vinyl and printed with a leather-like pattern. I guess the good news about that would be that the leather would hopefully be dyed throughout, so it might not show scratches, but it's really not leather.

True leather is VERY durable, and if it's aniline-dyed it'll resist fading and not show scratches. (Some leathers are just dyed on top.)

Personally, I think you're getting what you're paying for. Good quality furniture costs more, but will last MUCH longer. Just MHO.

 

[beansmom]

pros: leather is washable and durable and stylish.

cons: it is cold in winter and you stick to it in summer and it's expensive.

You do get what you pay for, no way around it. But sometimes it's worth it, eh?

 

[laurabelle]

Actually because my leather sectional is in the basement that is semi below ground, with large windows just above ground level, it is cool both winter and summer.

 

[lakelandgal70]

Actually because my leather sectional is in the basement that is semi below ground, with large windows just above ground level, it is cool both winter and summer.

I live in Florida and we have leather furniture. It is cold to me year round lol. Everyone kept saying yuck its gonna be hot and sticky in summer. Um nope its pretty chilly in summer too.

 

[girli565]

I adore my leather sofa. I live in Miami and I find it's cold year round but that's probably because we have the AC on almost year round.

I wouldn't buy the one you've posted because I wouldn't buy bonded leather. Our Natuzzi sofa was very pricey but we found them for a deal (buy the sofa get the love seat type deal) and we couldn't pass it up.

 

[MN Disneyfan]

Leather is great for easy cleanup. What I didn't like about our leather furniture is that it was cold. We also have a cat that has back claws and would scratch it when it would jump off the couch.

 

[Kycha]

cons: you stick to it in summer

I don't find that to be the case at all. The leather furniture we have is nice and cool year round and no sticking!

 

[gk90]

Thanks everyone, I looked up bonded leather and it doesn't look worth it. Disappointing, I've usually found that Costco sells decent quality products.

 

[dreamin_disney]

We bought ours at Sams and Now I need to check if its bonded leather. What do you use to clen your leather or bonded leather couches???

 

[Evi]

You must be thinking of pleather or you must live in a swamp land I love my leather and it never sticks to me. The negative yeah the furry children do wreck leather mine has scratched two small holes that I need to have repaired in mine. But I'm sure fabric would have equally shown wear if hed scratched at that. Another plus no dustmites.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Cons...

Your dog will scratch it up! (At least I don't have holes) The dog loves the couch because it's cool! (And mine does not stick to me and it's hot and humid where I live!)

Mine is a pretty good leather and the scratches really aren't visable unless you are cleaning the sofa and see them so it's not a huge issue and with a little work they would disappear.

 

[Disneyliscious]

Cons: Animals love to scratch on it. And yes, if you lay on them for a while to take a nap or watch tv you do sweat and stick to it.

I have cats so I took a leather couch that was given to me. It wasnt in perfect condition but I dont care if my cats scratch on it and they DO. Its quite comfy to sit on, but I only nap on my fabric couch.

I prefer fabric 10 to 1. Much easier to clean as well, imo.

 

[magicaddict]

I love our leather sofa and matching chair. We did buy natuzzi leather and it has lasted over 16 years. A couple of the cushions on the sofa are starting to show some wear but if we had fabric I don't think it would have lasted this long. I even had a child take a pen and stab one of the cushions and they "healed over" and unless you know to look for them you wouldn't see them. I'm trying to hold out on buying a new sofa until the kids are out of the house because this hass been so great for clean up and wear and tear. My son even threw up spaghetti all over once and it wiped up easily and left no stains. I know for sure fabric wouldn't have done that.

 

[cpster]

Our last set was a Natuzzi and it's definately very durable. We actually still have it in a spare room. But for the new set we went with fabric because we didn't want to stick anymore during the heat!

 

[SandrA9810]

There is quality vinyls out there that look and act like leather, but you're not going to find it cheap on a sofa either. I worked at a wholesale company that worked with vinyls mostly for boats, airline seats, and bus seats (like the on a school bus). At one point they did car interiors too, but that died out for the most part.

Real leather's always going to be the best, but they've come a long way in the knock offs too.

I hate them because they're always cold, and I always stick if I sit too long.

 

[aubriee]

pros: leather is washable and durable and stylish.

cons: it is cold in winter and you stick to it in summer and it's expensive.

You do get what you pay for, no way around it. But sometimes it's worth it, eh?

I've got a leather sofa and recliner that match and then a cloth recliner and a couple of chairs that just coordinate. My leather pieces feel cool year around and we've never stuck to either. I have a small dog (schih tzu) that gets on them, but she has never done any damage to either.

 

[Frannie115]

We have a leather sectional that is super comfy and durable (expecially with pets and kids). It is 100% leather all around and was a bit pricey but I would never go back to fabric again. The only con I can think of is it can be a little chilly in the winter.