Leather Sofa question

[Augustheather97]

My Husband and I would like to get new living room furniture and were thinking of going with a leather set....we have a 7 year old daughter who isn't rough at all BUT we have a 7 lb. Yorkie who has a tendency to throw up on the couches on occasion.....and has nails .........We went to Jordans furniture today and they suggested a lower grade leather...for scratches ...does any one have any good or bad stories about care of Leather ???

 

[hydster]

We have a leather sofa and chair in our main TV room and I absolutely LOVE IT! We have 3 kids and had a cat and our cat would throw up a lot on it but it just wiped off so easy! I think they are one of the best investments we've made as far as furniture goes. My 9 year old was sitting on the chair yesterday and accidentally broke open a pen and ink went EVERYWHERE on that chair and I mean everywhere. I just got out the ink remover they gave me with my set and it came right off. If that had been fabric I'm pretty sure I'd have been screwed but it came right off. They seem to get softer the more you sit on them and if you condition them correctly every 6 months they last. We've had kids bodily functions on them a few times and it just wiped up with an anti-bacterial wipe just like new.

HTH
Heidi

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My mom just bought a leather sofa and it came with a warranty. I wouldn't buy it without one and then you will be OK.

 

[siouxi31]

We've had our leather furniture for 4 years now and wouldn't do anything else.
I had fabric sofas and couldn't believe how disgustingly dirty they got. No matter how many times they were steamcleaned the dirt and dust were still there. I chose leather because it's easy to clean. We had the same concerns (a 9 lb. yoripoo and two kids). There have been no problems with nails poking the leather but even if there was, our sofa has a lifetime warranty for nail punctures.
Everyone who comes in the house (if they don't have leather furniture) comment on how comfortable and soft it is.
The only downside I see is that you have so many more choices of design with fabric. In leather, the variations are subtle with modern, transitional, and traditional styles.

 

[korzmom]

i think you will love the leather, it is much easier to keep clean. as far as thewarranty someone mentioned, they dont cover animal scratches or tears..

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

We have had leather furniture almost our entire married life. 2 cats, a dog and 2 kids later, we just sold our first set of leather furniture in a garage sale 9 years after we bought it (we are moving and trying to get our weight down!). The person who bought it could not believe it was 9 years old. It was still in very good shape.

Our best friend for leather furniture (and leather interiors on cars) is Armorall Leather wipes. You can find them in the automotive section of Target or Walmart; just make sure you get the ones for leather.

 

[mtemm]

we bought our leather set a year ago and are in love with it still! 3 young children were the reason behind it. Our fabric set looked awful about 5 minutes after bringing our first home from the hospital. well, mabye not that quick, but it didn't take long. the leather is so easy to clean and comfy...so glad we made the choice.

 

[Hopetobee]

We've been thinking about getting a leather couch, and I wanted to know too about scratching and holes by pets. Do their claws make holes in the leather? If they do, is there something you can do to repair it?

My cat chewed holes in our fabric recliner and chewed on the stuffing! Hoping to get something he doesn't want to chew on.

 

[RNMOM]

We bought a leather sofa 4 years ago and love it also. We have one that is not over stuffed, rolled arms with the nailheads, kinda western looking. DH didn't want the "weathered" look so we got one they called English saddle. It is smooth. Funny thing is all three of our cats stay completely off it. They don't even like being in someone's lap who is on it. LOL. We have one scratch and, as promised buy the salesman, it has disappeared over time. I hope to eventually replace our side chairs with leather.

 

[Poohnatic]

I bought leather sofas in February and can't believe we waited so long. It's so much easier to clean (and we're talking cream colored sofas!) and can handle two active kids.

My younger son vomited on one the week we got them. It was very easy to clean up. It was the defining moment for me, because I don't think I would have been pleased if that was on any other fabric.

I'm sure that if you keep the dog's nails trimmed, you shouldn't have too much trouble.

Suzanne

 

[Lucky4me]

My son is in the process of buying new furniture for his new house. We agree on buying leather, but I'm trying to steer him away from white & modern. He has these gorgeous hardwood floors that would look wonderful with a high grain dark brown nail head leather set. I think it's because his friend, who just paid cash for a Mcmansion, bought a 4 piece italian leather modern suite in white and he wants to copy him. ick.
I keep trying to show him photos of the desired effect. He will be so much happier if he goes higher quality and darker color.
Those couches last forever and hide everything!

I'm trying to keep my nosy nose out of most of it since it's his money and his house, but why can't he listen to me? I'm older and wiser !

 

[Kristi1357]

Another vote for leather! We got out set 4 years ago and are so glad we did not go with fabric - it's so easy to clean.

 

[Tinkerbelle739]

GO for it!!

If you are concerned about scratches or rips you can buy "leather" insurance from the store. We payed an addition $200 for 2 sofas. It covers them for 5 years against pretty much everything and if they cant fix it or match it to the other, you get one FREE!

 

[Serena]

Is there a site where you can find out the pros and cons of different grades of leather?

 

[stinkerbelle]

Speaking as someone who loved chennile and bought a chennile set...

get the leather.

I have to take a lint brush to my furniture every week to get the dang dog hair off (dark green furniture - white dog hair - lovely.)

I kind wish we had gone with leather - easy to clean, and the more scratches it get, the better it looks (IMO.) Plus - I think leather would retain it's shape a bit more then fabric.

Live and learn I guess!

 

[emmabelle]

Hello Augustheather,

I actually bought my leather couch from Jordan's Furniture in Massachusetts. I'm very happy with it. I think the lower grade leathers are tougher, that's what we bought and it's holding up great. It's two years old and still looks new. My cat did put a small scratch on it, but for the most part she doesn't want to have anything to do with it. My daughter got white out on it last week and I was able to get it off, I don't think I would have been able to get it off fabric.