Leather chairs and sofas.

Thanks Lovetopaint. I will give it a try.

Nannytee, so sorry about your mishap. I wonder if shoe dye would work. It might be more permanent than polish. Other than that I feel sure I have seen products to replace colour on leather upholstery.

I'm not sure why but I don't like leather sofas (they seem a bit sleazy), although I think leather chairs can be OK.

We sold our leather suite when we moved house and I would not have leather again. Too hot and sticky in Summer and too cold in Winter. Also any throws I put on just slid all over the place and looked untidy. Our suite was black and I think it darkened the room by swallowing the light

I had leather sofas and my dogs ruined them. I would not choose leather again. I now have wipable microfibre material. My dogs are banned from the sofas.

Yesterday whilst taking our porch lights down a strange cat snook in. We chased it out but it had stood on my brown leather sofa and clawed the back where our head goes. Does anyone think brown shoe polish will do it.? It's not a new sofa but I've looked after it and it had no marks on at all.

No creams etc here. I was told " you don't feed a dead animal" !! Blunt and to the point.

Just an update. After ordering the settee and chair to match the one we had I emailed Parker Knoll to ask about after care. I received a reply which told me to definitely not use any creams of any kind, no leather feed or protector. I must keep the leather dusted but once a quarter use a “pure soap agent” preferably just the foam and gently clean it with circular motions. My elderly aunt told me that she was told 25 years ago by World of Leather to not use any creams just dust, wipe down with plain water and buff up with a soft towel. She tells me that her suite still looks like new. However, the salesman produced a leather kit and looked surprised that Parker Knoll had given me that advice. However, the email was adamant “no creams whatsoever”or I would spoil the leather. The leather is semi-analine. Perhaps the different leathers need different care.

Thank you. I enjoyed doing it.

Auntieflo that is a clever idea. You must be very accomplished with a needle and it looks good.

Like Daisyboots, I needed the seats on our sofas to be higher, to make getting up easier. So I ordered foam cushions, fabric and zips, and made 4 booster cushions. They have been a big success, and we didn't have the expense of buying new. The suite is getting old now, 16 years, but is so comfortable and well made. I did want a charcoal grey jumbo cord, but couldn't get it. This alternative has worked well for us.

Leather seats get hot and I always feel am likely to slide off. Restaurants go in for them. No thank you.

The only time i regret having leather sofas is in hot weather, because if I wear shorts or teeshirt, I sweat terribly where my bare skin rests on the leather!

We had a leather specialist to see our suite when the leather started to peel. Apparently 'head patches' can be due to medication reacting with the leather through the skin or hair. So if you are on medication (pacemaker meds particularly suspect) think about it. Ours are now covered in throws, which of course slip off and it defeats the object somewhat! Also, you should just clean them regularly with a clean damp cloth and don't use proprietary cleaner any more than you have to as it is very harsh. Fabric one for us next time

We have two leather chairs and a sofa. We also have a cat so we put throws over them which are quite thick but Oscar has sharp little claws and though we clip them he has scratched our sofa and the chairs. We have a leather cleaner that helps to protect it though.

I always thought leather would be good with dogs, until we bought a couple of leather sofas from DFS. It could just be that the quality of the leather they use isn't very good, but after a few years both sofas were full of scratches from our little shih tzu. She doesn't have particularly sharp claws either and she has her nails clipped every 7wks and I always use my own nail file on them afterwards to make sure they are smooth, yet still she managed to ruin the sofas. When we replaced them with some fabric ones, which we have been much happier with, the charity shop who came to take away the leather sofas were in two minds about taking them when they saw the scratches on them

Daisy Boots, love your photo. I can see those dogs are really badly treated! Where do you sit? Probably in their dog bed!
Nohogran, we are doing just what you did. We also had our Multi York suite recovered by Plumbs (the covers wash well). Essppee, how can anyone get into such a situation just looking for leather cream?ski43 will look into that insurance idea. Lovebeigecardigans my daughter mentioned Multiyorks troubles just the other day. We are hoping to buy the Parker Knoll chairs and sofa from House of Holland. Violette, my heart bleeds for you. Did you rename your cat? If so I can guess what it was.

I love my leather sofa. I don't do anything special to it, it gets wiped if dgd spills something but that's about it!
I have to admit I've 'Homered' my end i.e. knackered the cushion! I have the number of a repair firm, i will definitely be getting it fixed in the new year!
I would love a deep purple chunky cord fabric sofa but it isn't practical with grandchildren I feel!

esspee
Try DFS then cherish leather.
I just call into my local DDS store.

The conditioner is a leather protector
It does not make the leather shine
The cleaner and the leather protector are in wipe form
and come in individual sachets.

I'll go against the grain(!) here and say that I don't like leather. It's cold and cheerless-looking, to my eye and chilly and slippery to sit on.

I have sofas from M&S that are covered in a chenille fabric. They're 15yo and have at least that amount of life again left in them, I reckon. Which is quite annoying

Golly, what a great lot of really helpful information. Evertheoptomist, we will definitely smooth creases out after sitting for a while. That is really useful. Emilyharburn, that link is so informative. Espee, the store we are buying from didn’t actually mention a leather conditioner kit but we will be asking when we go back in January in the hope that they will have some discount in the sales. We missed the Black Friday one by a day! Rosina, saddle Soap brings back memories. I had forgotten about it! Thank you everyone else. I have noted the care with biro, hot cups on arms and the use of leather care cloths to help in an emergency. Also, throws which we tend to use on our fabric suite. They will still be a good idea for protection and as GoldenAge said for comfort. I am taking screen shots of all your posts to keep as reminders. Thank you all so much.

We have had our leather suite over 9 years and although I have never liked the colour it has been a godsend with dogs. I have had legs put on to make it higher now. I could never have allowed the dogs on a fabric suite. A quick wipe down with a damp cloth once a week is all it needs. Luckily the cat has never scratched it. The little angel on the left of the photo is actually a 6 month old terror. Bless her.

My daughter took out insurance with her suite, and when damaged by the cat it was repaired.That might be worth looking at.

It was leather balsam.It does say to polish immediately whoops.Used it incorrectly for years.It does leave a slight shine. I would check out some review sites,and get a few more opinions as,my one leather chair I have now has a slight shine.

We have had two Parker Knoll armchairs for 3 years. They are comfy and show no sign of wear. I just dust them each week. They replaced a Multiyork sofa. We had our other Multiyork sofa recovered by Plumbs as we loved it’s shape.