A peeling "leather" sofa

donmaico

DirectDebacle wrote: »

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.

Yes i agree and thats the difference between dealing with a proper retail shop and a department store, the former having fully trained staff and the latter will often have under trained staff ,usually youngsters.Having said that the information should be viewable on their website
What i am looking for is something fit for purpose which looks nice, is comfortable ,doesnt fade, has some stain resistance and lasts many years ,without sagging badly, delaminating and with a strong frame.I dont want anything exotic with a price tag to match but a good quality value for money product.I think i should be able to buy such an item(2 seater) for between £1.2-1.6k.
I think furniture is no different to cars ,i.e. one can pay a lot of money for a car but it ends up being overpriced and of poor quality i.e. a lemon, then you can buy an excellent but very much cheaper car that is well made and fit for purpose.Not the cheapest, but the best value

cyclonebri1

You have to remember when buying anything other than natural coloured leather that the finish is actually painted on, and as such is a separate layer to the leather itself.;);)

donmaico

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

You have to remember when buying anything other than natural coloured leather that the finish is actually painted on, and as such is a separate layer to the leather itself.;);)

as i understand it aniline refers to a dye process whereby the dye itself sinks right though the hide and there are no additives

cyclonebri1

donmaico wrote: »

as i understand it aniline refers to a dye process whereby the dye itself sinks right though the hide and there are no additives

True, but the colours are limited until you go to semi analine, which adds pigment to add colour depth without totally sacrificing grain.

donmaico

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

True, but the colours are limited until you go to semi analine, which adds pigment to add colour depth without totally sacrificing grain.

yup which is what i may go for , but having said that from reading stuff ,I gather semi aniline can mean different things and there is no firm trade description ,which is a bit concerning

teddysmum

There is a lot of useful advice about types of leather (including identification) and their care on the Gliptone site I mentioned in a previous post .


http://www.liquidleather.com/

donmaico

one thing i forgot to mention is that the sofa would sit in direct sunlight facing west through some bifold doors.Presumably that limits me to corrected or pigmented leather, or should I avoid those as well as I noticed Debenhams suggest keeping their corrected sofas away from such conditions?