A peeling "leather" sofa

donmaico

I bought this sofa from Furniture Village about 7 years ago and noticed about a year ago that it was starting to peel badly .Now I am not looking to try and salvage it because I dont believe its salvageable, but simply wish to avoid making the same mistake again .When i first bought it I had absolutely no knowledge of leather and just went on appearances .There was no label attached which would tell me what I was buying and the salesmen certainly didn't either, so the question is how can I tell whether a sofa is made from bonded, bicast ,which are both to be avoided, and the better quality top grain, full grain, aniline etc.? Also what kind of stores would stock them , the makes to look for and what sort of price I should expect to pay for a two seater?I thought of Tetrad as i like the look of them and got them to send me some samples of the leathers they use .They assured me they were aniline and although I have no doubt they were they also seemed rather thin .Can anyone advise me? Thanks

DirectDebacle

Here is a useful guide.

Quality makes e.g. Parker Knoll, G Plan etc use quality aniline and hides. Seek out local independent furniture retailers. They usually offer better service and are more knowledgeable than the volume stores e.g. DFS et al.

donmaico

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Here is a useful guide.

Quality makes e.g. Parker Knoll, G Plan etc use quality aniline and hides. Seek out local independent furniture retailers. They usually offer better service and are more knowledgeable than the volume stores e.g. DFS et al.

i just read that aniline refers to the pigmentation process and there are two basic types aniline itself which produces an nicer result but is prone to sating and fading and semi aniline which has protective layer.The latter of the two would probably be more appropriate.
Full grain offers the best quality hide

Local reputable furniture store no longer stocks those two makes but does stock one called Miami which I have never heard of

DirectDebacle

Have a chat with this Sussex retailer.

They should be able to tell you the grade of leather that is used on the brands of sofas they sell. It won't be cheap. I have a Derwent 3 piece suite (Sanderson fabric). It is 30 years old and still going strong. Derwent were taken over by Parker Knoll and they still produce furniture using the Derwent name. Parker Knoll give a 25 year guarantee on their frames.

Their rivals G Plan, Ercol etc are going to offer similar quality so you should have a wide choice at that level. I have never heard of Miami furniture either.

I agree on semi-aniline as the most suitable choice. It is all down to budget and which manufacturer produces a style you like.

Good luck.

donmaico

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Have a chat with this Sussex retailer.

They should be able to tell you the grade of leather that is used on the brands of sofas they sell. It won't be cheap. I have a Derwent 3 piece suite (Sanderson fabric). It is 30 years old and still going strong. Derwent were taken over by Parker Knoll and they still produce furniture using the Derwent name. Parker Knoll give a 25 year guarantee on their frames.

Their rivals G Plan, Ercol etc are going to offer similar quality so you should have a wide choice at that level. I have never heard of Miami furniture either.

I agree on semi-aniline as the most suitable choice. It is all down to budget and which manufacturer produces a style you like.

Good luck.

yes that looks like good shop to visit in Eastbourne , in fact there is another there called David Salmon that also stocks Parker Knolls.As for cheapness, I paid a lot of money for what turned out to be junk so i wont make that mistake again.Whats your opinion on Tetrads .Quite are have appeared on ebay so i can only think they hold their price well.I like the combination of fabric and leather but wasn't too sure about the quality of the leather.
There are also frames to consider.These manufacturers claim to use solid wood .I should think so too but are they soft or hard wood frames? No mention.In my opinion beech should be used http://www.theenglishsofacompany.co.uk/

AlexMac

Might be worth using a really bombproof retailer like the John Lewis chain. we bought two leather items from them; a)- a mid-price sofa bed in thick solid leather which looks as good as new, now, ten years on.

Then b)- a relatively much more expensive single armchair (£400) which began to de-laminate - like yours - within two years. Turned out it wasn't solid leather but thin cheap stuff with a sprayed plastic finish which was peeling off... When I claimed, albeit in writing and with good courteous arguments, they refunded over 60% of original cost. I call that a result, as by then it was getting on for three years old!

If buying again, I'd ask if the leather was a) or b); and I'd trust JL not to tell porkies.

daveyjp

G plan now offer predominantly semi aniline leather. It offers a good compromise between dirt resistance and finish.

A two seater in leather will be around £1500.

teddysmum

To keep it's looks, leather needs cleaning and feeding. Gliptone, who supply Rolls Royce, do a good range of products, including colour matches, for all kinds of leather both domestic and auto. Some upholstery dealers sell the products in smaller containers, under their own name, at inflated prices.


Perhaps the OP could get a colour restoration kit from them ?


It's sad that we no longer have Frayling, as their leather suites were good quality at reasonable prices, but they outsourced abroad, ended up with inferior products and went out of business.

donmaico

teddysmum wrote: »

To keep it's looks, leather needs cleaning and feeding. Gliptone, who supply Rolls Royce, do a good range of products, including colour matches, for all kinds of leather both domestic and auto. Some upholstery dealers sell the products in smaller containers, under their own name, at inflated prices.


Perhaps the OP could get a colour restoration kit from them ?


It's sad that we no longer have Frayling, as their leather suites were good quality at reasonable prices, but they outsourced abroad, ended up with inferior products and went out of business.

oh i think it has gone way beyond any kind of restoration.Its delaminating badly

donmaico

AlexMac wrote: »

Might be worth using a really bombproof retailer like the John Lewis chain. we bought two leather items from them; a)- a mid-price sofa bed in thick solid leather which looks as good as new, now, ten years on.

Then b)- a relatively much more expensive single armchair (£400) which began to de-laminate - like yours - within two years. Turned out it wasn't solid leather but thin cheap stuff with a sprayed plastic finish which was peeling off... When I claimed, albeit in writing and with good courteous arguments, they refunded over 60% of original cost. I call that a result, as by then it was getting on for three years old!

If buying again, I'd ask if the leather was a) or b); and I'd trust JL not to tell porkies.

that clearly highights to me that all their leather furniture should be well labelled showing what kind of leather has been used.Looking at their website I noticed that only some of the sofas mention semi aniline and the rest nothing.Thats simply is not good enough.I am sure if you had been made aware that your armchair was made of bonded leather and, therefore, would most likely start delaminating after two years, you would not have bought it

DirectDebacle

Any retailer worth their salt and purporting to sell top quality furniture should be able to tell you how their furniture is made and what materials are used. If they are sketchy on this sort of information then be wary.

Tetrad appear to be a quality make but I have no experience of them. Hardwood used in frame construction is usually ash or beech.

The quality manufacturers will be pleased to tell you their construction methods, materials used, approved retailers, guarantees etc. all you need to do is phone or email.

You know what you want and with a little research I am sure you won't have a problem finding something that will outlast your current sofa by 3 or 4 times.