Leather sofa, one dog, one 3yo...good idea or bad?

[skuttle]

We've finally started the process of buying a house (waiting to hear back from the mortgage company!). We are looking into new living room furniture since our old sofa is a mess...it was made of a tapestry-type fabric and 8 years and two dogs later, it's awful! DH thinks leather is the way to go with kids and the dog. After looking at a few leather sofas, it's growing on me (there are so many sleak styles now...when he first mentioned it, I immediately thought of 1980s green poofy leather!! lol!). So would leather be a good idea or bad??

 

[disneynutt1225]

Well, I would think as far as cleaning goes, it's pretty low maintenance - just kind of wipe and go. But, what about the dog claws? When I lived with my friend, we had a leather couch and she had two cats. They did a little bit of damage to the couch, so I can only imagine the potential of dog claws.

 

[Disney Doll]

Our dog has been known to jump in DH's leather recliner (even though he's technically not supposed to!) when he thinks no one is looking, and so far, so good.

I would add that make sure you buy a good quality leather sofa, which will be expensive up front, but in the long run, you'll be better off, because the better quality the leather is, the less chance of normal life hurting it.

You also have the option of putting a throw or cheap slipcover over it when just you guys are around as an extra layer of protection. I do that with our loveseat (which the dog is also technically not supposed to be on! ) and it works fine. If company stops by, I just pull it off and throw it in the closet.

 

[skuttle]

I thought about the claws, but dog claws aren't even close to being as sharp as cat claws can be. We have a Corgi...he's about 40 pounds and his claws aren't sharp at all. I was worried about that, but DH seems to think leather wouldn't be a problem. The claws are what ruined our tapestry-like sofa...a few snags here and there and then all of a sudden it "exploded."

 

[ToTLaugher]

We just went to leather furniture in our family room. I have found it to be good for clean up but scratches can happen. Look around and see if there is a store near you that offers a protection plan. The only reason I was willing to try leather was because my friend has the protection plan from a store near here and they have been very good about fixing any problems. So far I have not needed to use it but I know if the kids to some real damage I am covered. HTH

 

[janette]

We have leather, it has held up well with the dogs & kids. One of our dogs thinks the back of the couch is his personal spot and he's chewed some holes but stains and scratch marks are at a minimum & I could patch the holes. They aren't real noticable so I just haven't been that motivated.

I like the new style of couch / sectional that has a chaise on one side so I'm thinking I might not keep these a long time but would either get leather or micro-fiber if I'm buying something new.

 

[#1Mouse]

We bought a leather couch about 5 1/2 yrs ago. Very easy to keep clean. We do have a dog (about 18 lbs) and he thinks it's his! We haven't had any problems with him scratching it. We did buy the protection plan because of the kids, but it states in it that they do not cover damage caused by a pet. I would definitely buy another leather sofa/chair!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We have cats, so leather would not be a good option for us! Our cats only have claws in the back but they have scratched the beejezus out of our table because they jump up on it after a running start.

I have nannied for 2 families with leather furniture and small kids. One family also had a dog who weighed about 60 lbs. He loved to sleep in the leather chair but he never scratched it. The kids have spilled stuff, thrown up, and wet their pants on the leather and it still looks good after being cleaned off. Pledge makes "orange oil" wipes that are nice.

 

[skuttle]

Thanks everyone! Glad to hear the good reviews.

 

[sweet angel]

Check into microfiber as well. I've heard that it's stronger than leather -- don't know if it's true, but it sold me! I have two dogs 60lbs and 74lbs who refuse to let me cut their nails and I've had good luck so far.

 

[ducklite]

I have leather now, love it--very low maintenance. Boo to microfibre, we had one in the past, it kept ripping at the seams, no amount of repair would hold, I finally threw an afghan over it to hide the fact that the stuffing was coming out. Never again.

My ferrets wrassle on the leather sofa--they have nails like a dog, and you'd never know it. Now they only have between 1-2.5 pounds behind them, so it's a bit different, but unless the dog was really digging at it, or is this guy:

you should be fine.

Anne

 

[chicksrock]

BAD idea i have a cat a 2 yr old sister and i should see how bad our leather sofa looks lol it will get damaged QUICK

 

[ZachnElli]

Big difference between dogs and cats. I have 3 kids and 3 dogs. We've had our leather couches for almost 2 years, don't know why we waited so long! Now, we have 2 little dogs, only 10 and 12lbs, so no biggie. Our older dog is 55 lbs and old and has trouble getting up and down it, but he does, the second we leave the room! We had our tapestry type couches only 4 years when we got the leather ones, and it did not hold up well at all we couldn't wait to get rid of that set.

 

[skuttle]

Wow, that's a huge dog! LOL!

I know there's a big difference between cat claws and dog claws, so I'm not too concerned about that. We get Milo's nails trimmed pretty regularly at the vet or groomer and he's not really a digger, so I think we'd be fine. I know my DH really wants leather and I really do like it more and more. I wanted a sofa that was pretty basic since it's easier and cheaper to change curtains/wall color/rug than it is an entire sofa and I like to change things fairly often. DS is (so far...*knocks on wood*) a pretty good kid and good about keeping his paint/colors/markers in his room on his art desk.