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Fabric or leather sofas

(59 Posts)
TrendyNannie6 Sun 03-May-20 11:35:50

Which do you prefer?

MissAdventure Wed 22-Dec-21 20:44:55

Mine is leather, and was leather long before I met it.
So, that cow is at least being put to conserving the planet by reducing waste.

Mattsmum2 Wed 22-Dec-21 20:21:52

I’ve had the same GPlan leather sofa a armchair for nearly 15 years. It still looks great even with pets and children. I will always have leather as I think good ones stand the test of time for use and fashion. The only thing I would urge anyone who is buying leather is do not get one with stitching on the seat. My mum did and it stretches over time and splits

Georgesgran Wed 22-Dec-21 19:04:13

Leather for me in the main lounge - I’m not really conscious of it being cold or slippery - depends on what you’re wearing I suppose.
Fabric sofa and chair (Next) in small family room. The leather is 12 years old and only the 3 seater looks a bit worn - the 2 seater and chair are as good as new.

dogsmother Mon 20-Dec-21 18:06:22

I should stick to the subject, apologies to original poster. I’m currently on secondhand stressless and love the leather and wood.
But please no virtue signalling……

Mollygo Mon 20-Dec-21 16:49:51

dogsmother, its another way of signalling the virtues of veganism I suppose. I’d google an image of someone sitting on a dead cow but that’s even worse than the emotive language.
No to dead cow shoes either. There is always a choice of leather or non-biodegradable plastic shoes to wear though they never seem to last as long.
My fabric sofas were not environmentally friendly as I needed to wash the covers and/or replace them more often. That’s why I have leather.

dogsmother Mon 20-Dec-21 16:38:26

Why the emotive language…..do you all talk about wearing dead cows on your feet!

Nannashirlz Mon 20-Dec-21 16:30:07

I’ve leather great when grandkids visit any accidents easier to wipe also with covid nowadays you can clean after ppl visit you. I have a throw on them too for colder weather. Last time had fabric sofa covers spent more time in the wash than on sofa but it was yellow.

Mollygo Mon 20-Dec-21 13:25:18

Our leather furniture has lasted for years. It looks good and it’s comfortable, grandchild and dog proof and easy to clean.
My ventures into fabric sofas whilst the children were small were expensive and short term, and that was before the dogs. My only fabric sofa now is a sofa bed and I can replace the cover on that as often as it needs.

nanna8 Mon 20-Dec-21 12:28:09

We have pussy cats so leather is the only thing that survives claws. I prefer it, personally, because it wears nicely and even when it is old it still looks good, like a leather handbag.

Nortsat Sun 19-Dec-21 17:58:57

We have two 17 year old leather sofas, one navy blue and the other cream.
We have cats and find leather the most practical.

In fact, we had our cream fabric dining chairs reupholstered in cream leather, because I was always wiping paw marks off the fabric.

We will replace the sofas in the next couple of years and will have leather again. Probably a pair of chesterfields.

HowVeryDareYou Sun 19-Dec-21 17:50:00

I prefer leather - stylish, easy to keep clean (just wipe)so better when the GC and cat are on them.

sodapop Sun 19-Dec-21 17:25:18

Yet another old thread revived

silverlining48 Sun 19-Dec-21 17:23:37

Fabric for me. Leather in whatever form, always seems chilly and slippery.

aggie Sun 19-Dec-21 17:20:49

My leather suite was my Grandmas , then my Mothers , I got it and had it recovered it in leather , the only thing wrong with it is that it used to have velvet cushions ,
The leather ones do let stuff slide about , my DIL found it very comfortable when she has stitches after her first baby ! So that might be a solution , fabric cushions

GagaJo Sun 19-Dec-21 14:29:42

Fabric. Can't bear slippery surfaces.

Kim19 Sun 19-Dec-21 14:27:55

Fabric for me every time both for comfort and appearance. I find leather is either sticky or freezing with nothing in between. They even look cold and uninviting.

Blondiescot Sun 19-Dec-21 13:46:54

mumofmadboys

Our 3 piece suite is fabric. We bought it at least second hand 38 years ago for £25. It has been recovered 3 times since and is still going strong after 5 children in the house!

Sounds very much like ours - we inherited it from the in-laws when they bought a new leather suite. That was more than 30 years ago, although it has been recovered twice. They'd had it for a good while before they gave it to us, so I reckon it must be knocking on for about 50 years now.

Germanshepherdsmum Sun 19-Dec-21 13:45:12

I’m another who doesn’t wish to sit on dead cows.

Nawab Sun 19-Dec-21 13:20:56

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Alexa Mon 04-May-20 23:03:55

Dinahmo, lucky you for owning Ercol!

Alexa Mon 04-May-20 22:59:50

I don't own a sofa but if I did I would not like to sit on the skin of dead cows.

Besides, when I watch these TV programmes of people looking at houses, fabric upholstery is in the nicer houses.

Dinahmo Mon 04-May-20 22:06:50

mumofmadboys I can beat that.

My parents bought a second hand 3 piece suite with cane sides - bergere style - sometime after they married. (1945)

In the sixties, for some reason my mum decided she didn't want a settee so my dad cut it down to make a third armchair. She later decided that she wanted new furniture and since we'd just moved into an unfurnished flat, we acquired those chairs. Mid 70s

They have moved about with us and been re-upholstered and re-caned and 2 years ago I sold one chair to some friends. The other 2 are still waiting to be re-upholstered with some fabric I bought 12 years ago in a John Lewis sale.

In between we've had some very expensive Italian furniture (bought cheaply from a fire sale) which when we came to get rid of it was made of particle board or similar - not solid wood.

In the 90's I bought several pieces of Ercol for £100 in an auction, which we still have.

The only things we have bought new are white goods and mattresses. i really don't like spending money on stuff if I'm going to worry about dogs or cats, or even people, damaging it.

JuliaM Mon 04-May-20 11:06:33

Always had fabric sofas of various types over the years, the Last ones were a two and a three seat sofa rather than the traditional 3-piece, in a Chocolate figured velour fabric. It was a mistake, far too bulky for the size of the room, so my youngest daughter claimed it for her huge lounge, we only kept it for a year.
The furniture we have now is from Next, in Burford fabric. It fits well within the room, but again we wished we had bought a three seater settee instead of the two seater version.
Even with the large riser recliner chair I have for my disabilities, l still miss having somewhere for my DH or Grand children to snooze infront of the Tv if they want to!

SueH49 Mon 04-May-20 08:04:13

Leather for me every time. We have had ours for 30 years and it still looks good even after kids and grandkids growing up on it. I personally don't find it cold in winter or hot in summer. So easy to clean and care for.

petunia Mon 04-May-20 07:50:55

can i put in a word here for velvet. we have two velvet sofas. velvet is surprisingly forgiving as far as mess is concerned. one is a plush, soft velvet in a deep dark colour. the other is a more crushed velvet. we love them. so sensuous and luxurious. lovely to touch and look at. no slipping around of people or cushions. 10 out of 10 for me