With more choice than ever on both the high street and online choosing new leather sofas can sometimes seem like a daunting task. There are hundreds of different styles, materials and features to consider. For most people buying leather sofas is a major purchase that will last many years so making the right choice is crucial.
Type of leather
There are many types of leather used to upholster leather sofas. More expensive or higher end leather sofas generally have a softer finish and are covered with genuine leather all over the sofa. Less expensive sofas may use a leather match or ‘faux leather’ to the side and back panels with a genuine leather to all the wearing surfaces, these include the seat cushions back cushions and arms. The leather match on the non-wearing parts is designed to look exactly the same as the leather used elsewhere, hence the name. Leather match is an exact colour match and imprinted with an identical grain to the genuine leather, however it is partly PU based.
Seating on Leather Sofas
All leather sofas can look the part but if they are not comfortable then you may end up with a sofa you don’t want to sit on. Most leather sofas have some sort of sprung suspension, this can consist of pocket springs or serpentine springs. The seating on lower end sofas is usually just foam filled, this set up tends to have a shorter life span. Sprung seats offer greater support and have the ability to spring back to their original shape, serpentine springs run parallel across the seat and have a zig-zag appearance. Pocket springs sit vertically in the seat. A pocket sprung leather sofa has a layer of coiled springs each sitting in its own fabric pocket, this type of seat when topped with a high density foam offers the best in comfort support and durability.
Fixed vs reclining leather sofas
The choice between fixed and reclining leather sofas is mostly down to personal choice. Reclining sofas tend to have a much higher back and will feature either a manual or electric powered mechanism. Recliners can offer adjustable comfort from an upright position to an almost horizontal recline. Recliners are usually quite a bit bulkier tan your standard fixed sofa
Removable vs fixed cushions
Leather sofas can come with a variety of options in terms of their cushions, some sofas will have fixed seat and back cushions or fixed seat and removable back cushions. Removable cushions can be either loose or are often held securely in place with a zip or velcro, either way it is worth testing the sofas out to ensure that the cushions are secure enough that they won’t slip when sitting on the leather sofas.
Corner Sofas
Leather corner sofas are growing in popularity and are a great solution when space is limited, these can either have a chaise longue section or an arm on each end. These leather sofas can also come in a modular form whereby the customer can add extra pieces or seats to create the ideal size and shape of sofa.