What Should I Look for When Buying a Leather Couch?
When you chose a leather sofa for your living room, you should choose it for comfort and durability. However, we have done a lot of research to find out what should you look for when buying a leather couch. You know, comfort or durability are not “visible”. So, to save you time here is a concise guide of things to look for.
What Should I Look For When Buying A Leather Couch?
A leather couch can last you a lifetime. And that is not the only benefit of a leather sofa. As time passes, a leather couch ages gracefully. Making you fall even more in love with it. Leather sofas are typically higher-end pieces of furniture. So, you do not want to make the wrong choice when buying a leather couch. However, BILTRITE makes is very affordable with our vast selection of leathers sofas, loveseats, chairs, and sectionals in our leather gallery. We have good, better, and best quality options made in the USA and abroad including Italy and Canada.
The Types of Leather:
The first thing to look for when buying a leather couch is the type of leather. Not all leather is the same. Although all are made with animal hides (mainly cattle). You may think that the leather types differ by the animal they come from. But there is a lot more than that. Leather differs even if it comes from the same animal. The feel and the longevity of leather differ based on what part of the animal skin is used. Moreover, the processing methods also affect how the leather looks and feels.
We are not going into a lot of detail about leather. We will stick to the leather types used for furniture. So, if you are thinking about what I should look for when buying a leather couch, you know what type of leather you need.
1. Pigmented Leather: It is the more common type of leather used for leather sofas and chairs. Thanks to its durability. It is called so because the pigment is added to the surface polymer coating. This pigmented surface coating can be plain. Or it is stamped using elevated temperature or pressure to create a pattern/design.
The durability of pigmented leather comes from this polymer-coated surface. That is because it makes the leather stain resistant. In addition, this layer protects the leather from scraping and fading.
2. Aniline Leather: Pure aniline leather is soft tanned leather. This type of leather retains the natural surface of the animal hide. So, it is more natural looking. There is no surface coating of a pigmented polymer on aniline leather. The color of the sofa is achieved with a soluble dye. Sometimes, a very light surface coating of a protective sealant is applied to the sofa. So that the couch becomes resistant to stains and spills.
If you are after the leather couch that will attain an aged patina look, you need this type of leather. The sofas made with aniline leather require more maintenance. Because it is soft, it absorbs liquids easily. Plus, its dye/color can also fade with exposure to sunlight.
3. Semi-Aniline: As the name indicates, the semi-aniline leather sofa is half and half. It is also natural looking like aniline. However, it is more durable. This is because a light layer of sealant is applied to a semi-aniline leather couch. A little pigment is also added to the sealant. So, semi-aniline leather is sort of partly aniline and a bit of pigmented leather.
Being a part of each type, makes semi-aniline sofas exhibit qualities of both types.
We also want you to take you through the main glossary used for leather. As you know that the leather comes from animal skins. The hide is divided into two parts:
– The top-grain: It is derived from the top layer of the hide. First, the part of the hide is shaved and treated to make it soft. Aniline is top-grain leather.
– The Full-grain: If the hide does not have blemishes, it goes ahead directly with the tanning process. (After shaving). This is called full-grain leather.
– The Corrected Grain: After dying the top grain with vegetable aniline, it is further treated to smoothen the surface. It may then be embossed. This leather is now called corrected grain. Pigmented leather is corrected grain.
Now that you know the main types of leather used for furniture, we also want to help you with which one is for you. You can find all the varieties in our collection of sofas Milwaukee. Depending on why you chose to buy a leather couch, the following answers are what to look for when buying a leather couch.
If you are looking for a leather sofa that can last you a lifetime, choose a full-grain or corrected grain leather. In other words, pigmented leather is the one for you.
If you love the sought-after patina look, an aniline or semi-aniline leather couch is the one to opt for.
The next thing is to look for the frame. Do not forget the frame of your couch is just as important as the type of leather. Choose hardwood frames if you want longevity.
The next thing to look for is the quality of cushions. And if the couch you choose has recliners. The mechanism of the recliners is also a consideration for comfort.
Take Home Notes
The leather comes from animal hides. The hide consists of two parts: the top grain and the underside called the split. The top grain is treated with aniline solution and tanned. Either it is used as such and is called aniline leather. Or it is embossed, and pigmented sealant is applied. This type is called pigmented leather and is much more durable than the other types. It is also easy to clean and stain resistant. There are varying qualities of pigmented leather. The quality of the leather is dictated by the processes used to tan and treat leather. The frame of the leather couch is also important. Hardwood frame is the most long-lasting along with webbing styles that are made in Italy. If you want to learn more about what to look for when buying a leather furniture, please stop in and we will be happy to help you!
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