Fabric or leather furniture? Help me decide.

I do prefer fabric but we bought a leather suite about 8 years ago as we have 8 grandchildren who often visit. We also have a little pooch who we allow on the chairs. I put down a throw for her and I often sit in a cosy blanket if I feel chilly.

It has served us very well and a quick wipe down is all it needs to look new again. I think it will last for a long time and it does look smart and stylish.

We have leather as we have long haired cats and their fur is easy to dust off. I never find them cold. Leather is skin so warms nicely. It never gets so hot up here that I might stick to the furniture!!

Choose fabric without too much pile & have the manufacturer apply fabric stain protection prior to delivery which is a god send! You'll pay extra but worth every penny. Works well for new carpets too.
As you say, leather is cold in winter or between seasons & sticky in summer. I personally loath it. I've visited friends with "leather" or real hide furniture & been most uncomfortable. Some folks cover their suite with throws & such like which, in my opinion, defeats the object of a lovely suite. I guess half the time the throws offer less cool or sticky comfort!?
I'd go for fabric & there's some very good stain removing products to keep in the cupboard should the need arise.
Enjoy your search for your lovely new furniture. Something to look forward to and I hope my perspective is helpful.

I thought I preferred fabric too and said I d never have leather but after children grandchildren and shabby looking fabric etc etc I bought myself a leather sofa and chair and I love it so much easier and always looks clean and bright

Sorry have to answer nonogran leather isn’t cold at all that’s what I always thought but it’s not neither do I find it hot in summer not at all

I don’t like leather I’m afraid, it’s slippery and too shiny looking for my taste, not cosy feeling which is what I want from my soft furnishings - and it scratches, I had two cats, both sadly gone now, and their claws marked my leather settee so easily. I’ve now got a fabric suite, with washable cushion covers, which I’m much happier with.

Fabric every time. And they have to be loose covers so they can be washed.

We’ve had leather suites and chairs for a long time. I wouldn’t get them if I had cats but we have had dogs with ours. Not cold in winter or hot is summer. Easy to keep clean. Fabric patterns are nice. Depends what you are looking for really.

We changed to leather as I was finding taking loose covers off to wash/clean them and then struggling to get them on again and fitted correctly was getting beyond me. What I did discover when investigating before buying was that there are different types of leather and it is best to get advise from the manufacturer as to best care for their leather. I was told to absolutely avoid leather cleaners and any other products sold to care for leather as they would ruin their leather. This didn’t stop the store selling us their leather care kit. I dust our chairs and when necessary wipe over with pure soap flakes. Our chairs are Parker Knoll but all makes differ and need different care. We have had ours a couple of years and I bless the day I got rid of fabric.

I prefer fabric but always have the stains treatment, which is amazing and anything can be removed with plain water.
My Ds has leather, which always looks so neat and smart but I’m never comfortable on it.
Also, I have little dog with sharp claws, which would scratch leather.
For comfort I’d go for fabric.

I’m no vegan or vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination but the idea of chilling out and relaxing on the skin of a dead animal really leaves me feeling cold.
Never in a million years would I have leather.

I had leather for exactly 1 year and couldn't stand it any longer; it had to go. If you had bare legs it stuck to your skin, no matter what the temperature was, and you had to unpeel the back of your legs off it; any throws or cushions slowly slid off and fell to the floor and if I sat with my feet tucked up underneath me, I could feel myself slipping down the chair. Never again.

We have leather sofas, and whilst I wanted fabric, I compromised on that and my husband compromised on the colour. They are absolutely not hot or cold at all, and I have never had to unpeel myself from them or stuck to them ?.

The store had different grades of leather, so that may have something to do with it - I think the bonded leather ones have a layer of PVC stretched over them, so they may be sweaty/sticky? I know a friend of mine had one of those and the coating cracked, exposing the fabric underneath.

I would honestly have preferred fabric, but the leather is so easy to keep clean, and shows no signs of wear after 5 years or so. The only thing that would be more difficult to remove than from fabric would be biro ink, so I am very careful about that. Otherwise they are very low maintenance.

Fabric every time for us, we have cats and they would rip the leather, agree with miss chateline. Our fabric is treated with stain protection

Love my current chocolate brown leather suite, not cold or slippy and still looks like new, but we had a lovely cream fabric one for years and I loved that too. I’d back up the need for stain protector on fabric.
I hope you find one you like.

I bought dining chairs with leather seats - they stain easily and the labradors fur sits on them.
Fabric sofas been in use for twice as long, no problems at all and comfortable

We’ve had leather for many years and are replacing with new leather, never slipped, stuck, neither too hot nor too cold. We don’t have throws/cushions or pets, but it’s been through children and grandchildren, easy to wipe off or dust.

I've had leather sofa's since about 1980 and none of them have been a problem with heat/cold, nor do throws or cushions slide off. There are several different finishes to leather usually reflected in the price and depending on the finish can stand up to dogs claws etc. I've never bought a cheap sofa, the last one was 3k for one sofa and 2.5k for a swivel chair and so far they have no marks or scratches even though the 3 Pugs think they're dog beds and treat them accordingly. My seats all have a matt finish as I'm not a fan of shiny leather so there's a leather out there to suit everyone you just have to find it and no doubt the same applies to fabric. Each to their own.

Another vote for leather here. I've had my suite for 15 years and still looks as good as new. No worries about spills, stains and dust mites.

I put a throw over when it's hot and humid, so my bare legs don't stick to it; probably no more than 20 days in the whole year (if that)!

I will only sit on a leather sofa if there's absolutely nothing else to sit on. I hate them. Cold, creaky and why would I want to sit on a dead animal?
Soft furnishings to me are sofas with washable loose covers.
Sorry but you did ask

I dislike leather. It’s cold, especially in winter (or maybe that’s just because I’m in Scotland!), it creaks and is slippery. I can never curl up comfortably on a leather seat.

Dh bought a leather recliner armchair about three years ago. It had a throw over it most of the time and then we cut our losses recently and took it to the tip, as our cats had inadvertently ripped tears in it as they jumped onto dh’s lap. A waste of money.

We chose leather for the sitting room in our current home, our sofas are now eight years old and look new. They are a fairly pale colout and wearing very well. I’ve never found them cold or indeed hot and they certainly don’t creak. Cushions can slide, we don’t use throws. There are no animals here but we do have grandchildren. Any spills wipe straight off, we clean and re-polish twice a year. I suspect type of leather and style of furniture makes a difference, ours are fairly soft and high backed. .

The conservatory has very pale cream fabric covered furniture. The sofa has treated loose covers which can be washed if necessary. The chairs also have washable covers, they came from our previous home, all survive mishaps from grandchildren, their parents and us.

Previously we always had fabric covered furniture which treated with stain repellent lasted well, no trouble to clean at all. This probably doesn’t help you decide, if chosen wisely both can be equally resilient to wear and grandchildren. It’s very much personal choice.

I like leather but we have always had cats which are invariably attracted to sharpening their little paws on fabric. Leather is one of those things that looks good even when it is worn but fabric just looks tatty.I don’t like light coloured leather though.

Leather furniture? Tarts’ boudoir springs to mind especially if white and with fluffy cushions. I hate leather , but hate new furniture generally , especially if made in China, I