Fabric or leather furniture? Help me decide.

Obviously there's leather and leather. Good quality is not cold to sit on or sticky in Summer. No need for throws or cushions.
As to 'tart's boudoir I can't comment as I have no knowledge of such places. Others obviously do.

Very interesting. Although good and bad leather is undoubtedly obvious I never thought of the consequences as such. My only experience is of visiting two different in law families and on each occasion I found the suites both cold and one slippery. These would have been 'good' quality. I have no doubt. Each had a couple of travelling rugs draped and I noticed they were used regularly. Might have been a habit or comfort thing, of course. My red velour suite is 35 years old and still going strong. However, am looking towards a recliner chair and, again, it certainly won't be leather.

I have fabric and prefer that but it does need more effort to keep it nice, the dog makes a mess as does OH. I have a wet vacuum with a upholstery shampoo attachment and have to do the suite twice a year at the same time as the carpets. In fairness OH does most of the hard work.

I prefer fabric and have a type of velour which I find easy to clean. My sister has a leather sofa which is uncomfortable, it's too big - I slide forward and cushions never stay put either. But it's purely a matter of personal choice, isn't it?

We switched from leather to fabric just before Christmas. We had our leather suite for about fifteen years and it had worn really well - DH used to treat it with leather conditioner a couple of times a year. But it was dark brown and we wanted to lighten the room up, so we went for two pale grey tweed sofas. I definitely didn’t want another leather one. Surprising the difference it has made. It is stainguarded but we use throws on it.

I'm not a fan of leather however I do accept that there are different sorts. In fact some years ago I bought leather for a project and had to visit a trade show which really opened my eyes.

My mother-in-law has a G-plan leather swivel-armchair chair which is pale cream leather and fabulously comfortable. On the other hand my lovely friend has a large 4-seater sofa that is uncomfortable and slippy (if you lean back a lot or tuck your legs up). I don't think either can have been cheap knowing what they tend to buy.

As a girl one of my parent's friends had a leather suite and I do remember peeling my legs off that in the summer. Also, the leather car seat of Dad's old car.

Horses for courses.

Notspaghetti, I guess we wore shorter skirts as a girl, or even short shorts like hot-pants. I probably would never notice sticking to leather now as, apart from short shorts in the garden or on the beach, the top of my legs are always covered.

Leather for us,easily cleaned and no worrying over spillages.

True molly. Good point.

I've always had leather, and have just rehomed my last suite with my son. I'm going to choose a fabric sofa this time.

I'd not want to sit on animals' skins if only for aesthetic reasons. Tightly woven strong textile is good enough especially when covered with ample washable throws.

Corduroy is pretty but is too soft for sofa covers.

As with everything, I suppose it’s down to personal preference.
However, I’ve had both fabric and leather and for me, the leather wins hands down.

As with fabric, there will be different qualities of leather. We’ve had ours over 25 years now, probably a little longer. Admittedly, it’s looking a little worn in places now and getting ready for replacing, but it will be leather again as I find it much easier to clean.

I don’t find it cold to sit on in winter, nor too sticky in the summer except for the rare hot, humid days we sometimes get, but that’s easily remedied by using a throw on the seat. Neither does it creak, but again, that might be due to the type of leather.

I suppose you are more confused than ever now, supernanauna1 so my advice would be to try them out in-store, now we are allowed back into non essential shops, to get a feel for them and to judge the quality. Good luck.

Tbh it never occurred to me that there are different types of leather (I think I need to get out more!).

Thanks for all the replies. The answer to my dilemma still isn't obvious - your messages seem to be 50/50.

I'll give it some more thought and visit some furniture shops. I need to find a shop where they'll let me curl up on a chair and have a snooze - maybe then I'll have my answer.

Thanks again for your opinions. Greatly appreciated.

We only bought our leather (Stressless) recliners at the end of a long day's shopping when we flopped down into them exhausted. We'd been looking for a dining room table but those chairs were off to one side and we couldn't resist. They felt so wonderful that we immediately ordered one each. Never regretted it. Still a treat.

I have both; a fabric sofa and a leather swivel chair. Both have pros and cons, and there are lots of fans here for the leather.

One thing to consider is the sound quality of your room. Fabrics tend to absorb sound, and leather or other smooth surfaces will bounce the sound. Too many smooth surfaces and your room will be noisy. This is especially true if your house is open plan. An acquaintance had all leather furniture with no rug, and the room seemed cold to me, without the cosy feeling.

Can you not have a suite of furniture the same? Perhaps choose only one leather item. Add a rug and choose drapes instead of blinds.

Leather damages so easily and scuffs and tears cannot be hidden.

We bought Lazeeboy leather furniture and within 18 months the colour was fading on the ones we sit on all the time. Now my husband's chair is splitting where he rests his arm. Avoid like the plague.

Up until a few years ago I’d always had leather and loved it, then when I cleared my parents house, the £3,000 sofa was nearly new, showroom condition, but could I sell it?? I couldn’t give it away! So I had it recovered & although I love it for sentiment, I will never never have a fabric sofa agin!! Team leather here!

Fabric. Tightly woven velvet. We have 6 grandchildren and two fluffy cats. Still fine after 10 years. Light scrub with Vanish occasionally and a regular vacuum.

Same here- trawling the internet & a few stores for inspiration! We are replacing a 20yr old leather sofa & chairs, mainly because it’s too dark for our north facing room after a move. Like someone else said I plan to lift the look of the room with a light fabric sofa. Should be watmer & lighten up quite a dark room. Leather has served us well, no problems at all, but it just won’t wear out and I want a chamge! Good luck!

Faux leather is cold, the real thing isn't.
I bought two refurbished chesterfield-type sofas of different sizes, but similar colour and style of an antiques man on ebay, rather than a new three piece suite - best idea I ever had.

Simply cannot understand people saying leather fades and cracks. We've had ours for years. Its just like new. We even kept a chair and stool from our old house because it was too good to chuck. The leather is perfect. Its now 20+ years old. Thats despite our considerable weight being put on it and several generations of cats! As said previously, there's leather and leather. Don't buy the stuff with plasticky varnish on it.

I used to slip off my friend's leather sofa! Then one of her cats decided to use the arms for a scratching post - of course, very difficult to repair, so now it's covered in all kinds of fabrics to hide the damage - everything slides off it! Would get a hard wearing fabric that can be cleaned easily - that's what we have.

I like both. I feel leather stays ‘cleaner’ but if you pick fabric pick something hard wearing and in a colour way/pattern which won’t show too much wear. We bought new sofas last year I. A velour type fabric which is very hard wearing and is a cross between grey and beige with a small self pattern and looks great with coloured cushions on. Very pleased with how it’s wearing .

Leather for me. We had a leather suite for years that lasted extremely well when DGC were small but decided on a change and went for a fabric one. Worst decision ever our DD had our leather suite and I love to go over to hers and sit on it. It’s comfortable but firm for my back certainly no slipping on it or legs getting stuck against it but as others have said it’s the quality of the leather that’s important. I hate the suite we have now and will revert back to leather as soon as possible.