Good quality Leather sofa

nosuperwoman

We've got a small inheritance and one of the things we want to do is buy a good quality leather sofa, probably a corner one and maybe a recliner.
We're in our 50's so hopefully it'll outlast us.
Any recommendations?

daveyjp

G plan, Natuzzi, Stressless are three to look at.

Go to a higher end quality furniture company which stocks these brands and speak to advisers. Avoid the furniture sheds that may also sell those products.

greyteam1959

Make sure it is an electric recliner.
The manual ones are a bit of a pain to operate.
There is 'leather' & 'leather'............many different thicknesses, grades & finishes.
HTH

nosuperwoman

Thanks for the tips.
We're in South Wales so Leekes is our nearest 'posh shop'.
I am going to need to repress my usual moneysaving instincts to get a decent grade of leather, just looking at the prices online make me do that 'aarrgh' face people use as gifs. I have to keep reminding myself that good quality is moneysaving.

Tom99

Make sure you don't buy bonded leather........

wilson1972

Only advise i would give is check what they mean by 'leather' when buying, it shouldn't matter at a 'posh shop' as they probably dont sell junk. But in my experience when they say 'real leather' what it actually means is bonded leather. That is all the scraps glued together and mixed with plastic effectively.

Look for full grain, or top grain

nosuperwoman

Thanks, that's the sort of info I need; once I started looking at the wildly different prices for 'leather' I had a hunch there were 'tricks of the trade' to look out for!

Tom99

Read up about the various grades before you start looking.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leather
https://www.heddels.com/2014/06/overview-guide-leather-grades/

If you go for the bottom grade, bonded leather, this is the aged finish your furniture will aquire after a few years use:

https://ibb.co/icBEpU

It may or may not be good value and comfy, but it won't be pretty.

nosuperwoman

I see what you mean. Between us and the dog I can see that happening very quickly (not that the dog will be allowed on the new sofa!)

Silvertabby

Our Natuzzi suite is now 10 years old and still looks great.

OK, the armchair in the bay window has faded a bit in the sun, and the cat has left a couple of marks when she deployed her 'crampons', but it just looks like natural aging.

Stephenmac

Hi. I would love to say go to Marks & Spencer or John Lewis or buy this brand or that, but I have found that is not how it works.

Every shop sells different grades. Never buy bicast leather. It chips away and is rubbish after 4 years.

My mum has a lovely leather sofa from DFS and looks brand new after 4 years, because it is real leather. Mines is 15 years old (from Reid furniture) and although I have not cleaned it properly over the years, when I do get the cleaning kit out it looks good.

For me, all you need to make sure is you buy ANALINE leather and never bicast.

Leather furniture is an investement that will last a life time so pick colours that will not date and this sofa will get passed down and down as it should.

I know one day my sofa will be passed on as long as I clean properly. (which I admit I have not done properly in the past!)

I would love to know what you decide.