Choosing the perfect home furniture can be a fun and intimidating activity both at once. It is really hard to pick furniture that reflects your style, and blends with your home or office interiors. Leather furniture is a highly valued, desired, and stylish option. Nothing can beat quality leather furniture pieces when it is about luxury, comfort, and durability. However, buying genuine leather furniture needs a lot of consideration and you should also be trained to recognize the quality of leather. Many people think leather is just leather; but, it is not so. There are different types of leather and you should know the nitty-gritty of each before buying your next leather furniture.
Why Leather Furniture?
No single material is ‘perfect’ for home furniture; however, leather has many advantages over others.
- The Look: Leather furniture always adds a royal and aesthetic value to your drawing room, no other material can beat leather in this case.
- Less Care: There is no need to care much for your leather furniture. A session of 5 to 10 minutes in one or two months is enough.
- Hypoallergenic Nature: Leather is resistant to things like dust, dirt, and animal dander. So, safe with people with allergies.
- Liquid Resistance: Leather has excellent resistance to liquids. If you spill a glass of water or wine on it, you can wipe it easily.
- Durability: Leather furniture of the best quality can last even a lifetime. If you take care of it properly, leather is much more durable than any other material.
Different Types Of Leather
There are many types of leather available. Each has its character like quality, cut, grade, finish, a source like an animal, fur, and even vegan leather.
Below is a guide on different types of leather to help you to distinguish each one.
Full Grain Leather
Full-grain leather is considered the highest quality leather among all options. This type of leather comes from the top layer of the hide (an animal skin tanned or dried for human use). It consists of all of the natural grain. Full-grain leather is the most expensive to buy and difficult too for craftsmen to work with. The marks and natural imperfections on the surface of this leather give it a unique look.
This type of leather does not wear out of age; rather it becomes more burnished and beautiful. The secret is, the more you use it, the more amazing it looks.
Natural grains contain the strongest fibers in the hide; so, full-grain leather is very strong and sturdy. This leather creates less moisture after prolonged contact as it is more breathable. Footwear like boots and some furniture are made with this type of leather.
Top Grain Leather
The top grain leather category is the second highest quality, just after full-grain type. It is obtained from the top cut of such hide where the outermost layer of the skin has been removed. The same cut of a hide is used for both full-grain leather and top grain leather, but the top grain type needs some alterations after the removal of the hair from the hide. The leather’s surface is mechanically sanded to remove blemishes and natural markings and to give it a uniform look. Then the leather is tanned and finished. Finally, the leather gets a grain skin or pebble skin texture.
If you are looking for uniformly textured leather, you must choose top grain leather. For that reason, many furniture, auto, and other leathercraft use this type of leather. In some cases, a protective topcoat is added to keep it safe from staining, wear, and tear. This leather is obtained at a comparatively lower price than full-grain leather, and has a more finishing look, so, top grain leather is the most popular one in the market. However, in the case of durability, full-grain wins as the strongest fibers of the hide are missing in top grain leather.
Split Grain Leather
Next comes the split-grain leather; the name suggests that the splitting process of skin or hide has a role to manufacture the leather. Thicker quality of leather, like cow leather, is split into grain split or top-grain split and flesh split. Generally, the grain split is considered more valuable and it feels smoother after it is tanned. The quality of this leather is lower than the top-grain type, and the price is also low.
Full-grain and top grain leather are popularly used to make the contact surfaces like backs, seats, and armrests. For the outside and back parts, split leather is used. If you are looking for low-priced leather furniture, opt for split leather. Here one point must be noted by readers and consumers that some unethical leather manufacturers coat this lower quality leather in such a way that it can’t be distinguished from top-grain leather.
Bi-Cast Leather
Bi-cast leather is just split-grain leather coated with color polyurethane. This process gives this leather a look of top grain leather. Bi-cast leather has an antique look and glossy surface. This is generally used to manufacture furniture and shoes. This leather is known by other names like laminated leather or reconstituted leather.
This leather is cheaper than top grain, but it needs proper treatment, or there will be possibilities of peels and cracks. This leather has characteristics of both natural leather and synthetic layer.
The advantage of buying bi-cast leather is that it is cheaper and doesn’t stress the pocket.
This leather was first developed to manufacture cheaper leather shoes, but later the furniture industry widely started to use this to manufacture settees, sofas, and couches. Bi-cast leather has an advantage over other types; it does not develop a patina like other natural leathers. So, it is best for those types of furniture, where a consistent look has to be maintained.
Bonded Leather
The shaving of animal hides in tannery while producing full grain and top grain leather generates a large number of leather fibers and scraps. Bonded leather is produced by mixing those leftovers with any type of synthetic material. This type of leather is produced in the shape of rolls and high-quality bonded leather must have at least 40% natural leather content. However, as mentioned earlier some dishonest leather manufacturers produce bonded leather with just 20% to 30% leather content.
This type of leather was first developed for non-visible parts of shoes like soles, and heels; however rising demand for leather furniture among consumers has introduced bonded leather in the list of raw materials of furniture also. It is needless to say that furniture made of bonded leather will be in a cheaper segment than others.
Faux Leather
Some consumers like to have leather furniture at their home, but don’t like to have leather obtained from cows, goats, or pigs. Faux leather is a good alternative for them. This is an artificial man-made leather and quality faux leather looks almost like high-quality full grain and top grain leather. For animal lovers, this leather is a smart alternative. This leather is called by various terms in the market, like leatherette, artificial leather, fake leather, or man-made leather. Furniture made from the best quality faux leather can be durable and can beautifully deck up your living room, dining room, and bedrooms.
Care For Leather Furniture
A little care can keep any furniture away from repairs and stay durable for ages. Leather furniture also is not an exception, though it is considered among low-maintenance types. The following steps will help you with the same.
- Damage prevention: ‘Prevention is better than cure’ – apply this while taking care of your leather furniture if you want to increase its durability and longevity. You can make the leather furniture a ‘no-go-zone’ for your pets. Their sharp nails and chewing tendency can do incurable damage.
- Avoid the home potions: Avoid DIY tricks and home cleaners like shampoo or conditioners during cleaning your leather furniture. They can harm and lead to warranty void.
- Proper cleaning materials: Vacuum cleaners with an attached brush, only distilled water, mild, neutral-pH non-detergent liquid soaps, and soft and white microfiber pieces of cloth can be used.
Conclusion
An undisputed fact is that the leather material is the best choice for furniture, as it lasts more than other materials like fabrics. It can resist minor home damages like minor wear, tear, or spills. However, you must be careful while buying quality leather furniture.
Often, you will find the words ‘Genuine Leather’ in bold captions in attractive posters on leather furniture. The phrase ‘Genuine Leather’ is a vague word. Don’t get confused and try to not fall into the trap of those catchy marketing slogans. Ask questions like, what the type of this leather is; full-grain, or top-grain, or split-grain, or bi-cast, or bonded, or artificial. Thus, be a judicious customer next time you enter the furniture shop intending to buy leather furniture.
At Stalia, you are given complete information about the leather furniture that you are buying. We have maintained transparency when it comes to furniture quality and we continue to do so. You can analyze all pieces of leather furniture along with their quality and prices to make an informed decision.