How to Buy Leather Couch – Buying Leather Sofa

Leather is the most popular, durable, and long-lasting upholstery but it has so many types depending upon the hide, finishes, coatings, and textures. That’s why it becomes difficult to select which type of leather is best for you, and which is most durable, long-lasting, and stylish. But before going into detail some common questions need to be answered to understand fully how to buy a leather couch or understanding of buying leather furniture.

What is leather?

Leather is created from a rawhide of animal and tanned to make it more durable and flexible. Cattle hide is most commonly used to make leather.

Leather is a warm, natural, and durable product. Full-grain and top-grain leathers are made from the top level of the hide. So, they are more durable and long-lasting as we go down, we see more varied colors of leather because bottom-level leathers are dyed however, they are lesser durable than full-grain and top-grain leather.

Tip: It is not necessary that which leather has more price or is of the higher grade will be of a better quality, different leather types have their own merits and where they are being used. So, when we talk about buying a leather sofa, we definitely have to consider its appearance and ease of care as well.

How upholstery is made for leather couch?

• First of all, the hide is salted, to preserve it.
• Then it is soaked in chemicals to swell its thickness this happens because the hair follicles dissolve in chemicals.
• Then the leather is split through its thickness, to separate different layers of it.
• The upper or top layer of the leather is used for upholstery purposes.
• Then the tanning process is done utilizing chromium-based chemicals.
• The vegetable tanning process can also be done however now this modern tanning technique is used.
• After the tanning process, it is dried.
• The hide which is clean is used for full-grain leather and the hide which is not that much cleaner is used to create corrected grains.

What leather types are used for furniture?

There are three major types of leather used for sofas and chairs. Pigmented leather has more durability, Aniline has a better appearance than others, and Semi-Aniline has qualities between both.

• Pigmented leather
• Aniline Leather
• Semi-Aniline Leather

What is Pigmented leather?

Pigmented leather is the most commonly used upholstery because of its high durability. Pigmented leather gets this durability due to polymer surface coating, which contains pigments, it also allows resistance to dirt and discoloration. However, it will not remain natural-looking leather because of the surface coating.

What is Aniline leather?

Aniline leather has a natural, and unique look of leather as it is dyed with soluble dyes which don’t produce a uniform surface, so it keeps the hide’s natural surface. However, to enhance its appearance a light non-pigment surface coating can be applied, it also gives better resistance against sunlight. However, without pure aniline leather doesn’t have resistance against sunlight and can absorb water easily so it requires special maintenance.

What is Semi-Aniline leather?

Semi-aniline leather is more durable than aniline leather. It also retains the natural appearance of leather. A light non-pigment surface coating is applied to increase the durability of a semi-aniline leather. Due to this coating, it also becomes more color consistent and resistant against water and dirt.

Is the leather couch comfortable?

Yes, the leather couch is incredibly comfortable, however, this doesn’t just depend upon upholstery, a sofa should have soft cushions, a supportive frame, and quality springs as well. To cover all of these factors, we have provided the detail below in sofa construction checking.

However, leather sofas are being used for hundreds of years in different situations where comfort level was a top priority. Other than that, therapists and psychologists also prefer leather sofas, when they want patients to feel safe and comfortable during their sessions.

Are leather couches durable?

Yes, real leather couches are durable and long-lasting if properly cared for. Leather sofas can be easily cleaned if something spilled onto it than fabric sofas. They also don’t accumulate dust.

After having a basic knowledge of leather now is the time to make sure how to buy a great leather couch.

1. Your Lifestyle – Leather Couch Buying Guide

As leather sofas are durable and long-lasting but what type of leather sofa you want that completely depends upon your lifestyle and requirement. To select the type of sofa, you can ask yourself some questions like:

• How many people are going to use this sofa?
• How much weight that people have?
• What will be the usage of this sofa? Is it going to be used to take nap, watch movies, spend time with friends, to sit for a longer duration?
• Do you have pets or kids?
• Do you want a soft or a firm sofa?
• Do you want durability and long-lasting sofas?
• What is your budget?

These simple questions will help you decide the type of sofa, shape, strength, height, and comfort level.

2. Your Budget – Leather Couch Buying Guide

Make sure to set a range of price for the sofa that will help you narrow down the search, it will make easier for you to select the sofa. If you have a short budget make sure to check promos and codes available for sofas, check vintage sofas because it costs much lesser than actual sofa if you don’t want to buy vintage you can select faux or bonded leather sofa they are not as much durable and long-lasting sofas but have relatively lesser price.

• Check vintage furniture
• Check promos and codes
• Go with faux or bonded leather (These are not real leather)

3. Checking Construction of Sofa – Leather Couch Buying Guide

Checking the construction of a sofa is a really important thing it tells you that either the sofa is comfortable or not, it is durable or not will last longer or not. It tells you all of these things by telling, about the frame, joint, spring, cushions, and upholstery. So, here we have some major points regarding the construction of a sofa:

1. Frame of Sofa – Buying leather couch

Commonly all of the sofa frames are made from wood frames (Hardwood, kiln-dried are usually being used) however some sofas also have the frame of metal. So, here we have provided some types of framing material which is being used.

• Particle Board: Particleboard frame is lightest and weak. However, it is also the cheapest frame for sofas.
• Hard Wood: Hardwood includes oak, cherry, alder, balsa, beech, hickory, maple, and walnut trees. It is more durable than particleboard.
• Kiln Dried hardwood: It is dried and passed through the finishing process that’s why it has more strength and more durability.
• Metal: Metal is the stronger and hardest material for the frame of the sofa but it can bend with time.

A good sofa usually has kiln-dried hardwood as it is durable, has more strength, and overall a great choice than other types of frames.

2. Joints of Sofa – Buying leather couch

The joints are also a very important assembly of a sofa in terms of its weight capacity and long-lasting life. Joints keep the frame together. Here are some common types of joining the frame:

• Stapled Frame Assembly: Stapled frame assembly is the cheapest however lesser durable and sturdy as well.
• Double Doweled Frame Assembly: Double-dowelled frame assembly is more durable and of higher quality, but expensive. As the name suggests these joints are made with dowels, sometimes glue, and screws are also used with dowels.
• Mortise & Tenon: Mortise & Tenon is the strongest and durable method to join the wood pieces. In this method, a hole is made in one wood and the other is cut in such a way that it fits precisely into that hole.

Both double-dowelled and mortise & tenon techniques are good as these techniques have the strength and more durability.

3. Suspensions of Sofa – Buying leather couch

Springs are also an important part of the sofa as its comfort level and durability depend upon the springs as well. The main types of spring are given over here:

• 8-way hand tied: This type of spring is expensive and used in deeper high-quality sofas. Springs are tied in 8 different ways: from side to side, front to back, and diagonally. It requires real craftsmanship.
• Sinuous springs: The sinuous springs are cheaper and used in sofas where we don’t have enough space. The other name of it is zig-zag spring. In this technique, springs are provided in S-shape that runs up and down on a sofa.
• Webbed suspension: The webbed suspension is affordable and usually used in lower quality sofas and it is made of natural fibers or rubber. Webbing runs from -front to back and sometimes side to side.

8-way hand-tied spring is considered the best option in terms of suspension type.

4. Cushioning and Fill – Buying leather couch

Cushioning and fill are also an important part of the sofa they decide its comfort level as well. Make sure to check the seat cushions are zippered or not as leather may last decades but cushions may not, so if the seat cushions will be zippered you can get them easily refilled. So, here are some common types of fill:

• Goose or Down-fill: Down-fill is considered the best option as it has higher-end quality, durable, and can last longer.
• Fiberfill: Fiber-fill is a combination of synthetic and foam. That is why it is affordable.
• Foam: Foam-filled cushions are firmer. It’s a great material to revive an old and sagging couch.

Down-fill is considered best because of its best quality.

5. Upholstery of Sofa – Buying leather couch

Upholstery is the material that goes around the couch. Some of the leather upholstery types are given here.

• Top Grain Leather: Top grain leather is a highly durable, flexible, and long-lasting material. It is made from the top-level of animal hide.

• Bonded Leather: Bonded Leather is made from real leather scrap and artificial fabric. It is affordable, less durable, looks like real grain leather.
• Faux Leather: Faux leather is a man-made material. It is a cheap material and has a better resistance against water than bonded leather.

Without any doubt, top grain or real leather upholstery is considered the best because of its qualities.