Leather chairs and sofas.

Leather is dog friendly. Almost everyone I know with dogs opts for leather. Easy to wipe down with special leather wipes. You are perhaps wondering if their claws might scratch and mark the leather.

No, they haven't yet. In fact my last sofa outlived the dog. Cats, now that's a different matter. They do scratch and mark leather.

You can always ask doggy guests not to get on furniture or use a throw if they must, but really there's no need.

We got our two leather sofas in 2004 and they still look like new. We are careful about spillages but even so if you wipe up quickly there is no problem. I haven't used any leather polish - just dust them if needed and keep the seat and back cushions plumped up. I think throws for pets are a good idea .

I inherited my Mums leather suite , she had it recovered in faux leather after she got it from her Parents . We had it recovered in real leather about 40 + years ago . It is still respectable and I refused to part with it when we moved , it is comfortable and I wipe it occasionally with baby wipes . Leather polish once a year is ok , any oftener makes it dull ! It will see me out , DIL has a much newer suite and it has worn just as well , we don't have pets

We bought our two cream leather sofas in October 2001. (I just looked it up), and they are still going strong. Sticky fingered grandchildren were thwarted by me chasing them with Jcloths. I must admit that we have not had any animals during that time, but our daughter's cats have scratched their suite. I thought they were expensive at the time, but have certainly been worth the outlay.

We've had our leather suite since 1992. It's looking a bit tired now, but still going strong - touchwood! When it gives up the ghost, I'll replace it with another leather one.

Thank you all so much. You have made my day. Leather it is

One word of warning though. DH has a dark brown leather recliner and where his head rests there is now a large pale area. The oils in his hair ( though he hasn’t got much )must have reacted with the dye. I suppose I should have foreseen this and used an antimacasser but the assistant said all the leather needed was a quick wipe now and then.

We have no animals but our GS gives our leather suite a run for its money! The odd spill will not do it any harm, and if you give it a once over occasionally with leather dressing (they may give you a kit if you buy a leather suite) it will keep its good looks.

Thank you for the warnings. I have looked on the Parker Knoll site but a leather dressing or protective cream isn’t actually available from them. I would appreciate a recommendation for one.
Nandalot, thank you also. I don’t know why but men so often leave grease marks on chairs and pillows. As dh doesn’t use hair grease I cant understand it. I will find something to protect the chair he tends to use.
Just one thing more, has your leather ever cracked or shown felting? From the posts it doesn’t sound likely but have heard odd stories in a general way about leather. Anyway, thank you again.

I'be had leather chairs for around 25 years and they haven't cracked. As someone said above, apply leather dressing once or twice a year and there shouldn't be any problems. Back in the 1950s, a relative of ours had an old Austin car (pre war, certainly) with leather seats which had cracked and gone hard. They used to scratch our bare legs and had to be covered in a blanket for any degree of travel comfort. I've no idea if the damage was due to the way the car had been kept/?mistreated or maybe to poor workmanship at the tannery but I've never encountered household furniture in that state!

Thank you Scribbles. I will do as you say and dust regularly and apply leather dressing once or twice a year. I am buying this suite from the House of Fraser so perhaps they will sell the appropriate leather dressing.
Auntieflo, your cream sofas have really done well. You must have been doing the right thing. As for Aggie, you are a miracle worker. Well done you clever girl! Your advice has been great and worth more than salesmen in a big store

We have a leather suite bought from Marks and spencers, after four years the leather started to lighten where our heads touched the seats then to my horror as actually gone into holes! ! Marks and Spencer sent someone around to look at it and decided it was wear and tear.we have since had some of it recovered, but I wouldn't buy one again, especially from there.

I've had a leather suite for nearly 15 years. It's lasted much longer than any fabric suite I've ever had despite being quite cheap. It does have scratches from my son's cat so pets can definitely damage leather.

I don't think it has been mentioned that dark blue jeans can discolour pale leather, so if you have a lot of jeans around then pick your suite colour with that in mind.

Saddle soap is wonderful for leather - rub it on with a cloth and then buff it after an hour or so. It gets rid of stains, smooths over scratches and makes the leather really supple. I have a very old car with leather seats and I treat them once a year - they have stayed supple and it has stopped any splitting or cracking.

We have a leather sofa that is about 15 years old and sill as good as day one. I am just thinking about having the cushions restuffed as the GCs play on it, pretending it’s boats, cars and caravans!
We did buy a cheap bucket chair, in cream leather because it fitted a particular space, not expecting it to last more than a couple of years. It’s now 6 years old and beginning to show signs of cracking.

I agree with most here. My Living room leather sofas are more than 15years old and a new visitor to my home a few weeks ago thought they were new sofas. I just use a damp J-cloth and a squidge of fairy liquid to wipe these down.

Good idea to use washable throws if pets visit and you are concerned about scratches. To be honest I think any age marks enhance leather and leather sofas are definitely worth consideration. Leather is also a good fire retardant.

Lovetopaint037 when you buy your leather you need to know you are buying the right quality.

dengarden.com/interior-design/10-Things-to-Watch-Out-for-When-Shopping-for-Leather-Furniture

Good luck, enjoy.

Rember to ‘smooth’ the leather cushion after sitting. We didn’t do this where DH sits and it has ended up with a crease which won’t come out. The colour is now starting to lift off the crease. It was an expensive sofa (Natuzzi) and only 3 years old but reckon it’s our own fault.

I have leather settees and a lively Jack Russell. No signs of damage to the settees, but I do have a throw that Jack lies on.
My cousin has a leather suite, and a visitor parked her hot cup of tea on the arm of the chair she was sitting on, and it left a light coloured ring. Cousin managed to get rid of it by using a leather care cloth.

Bought two leather sofas in a dark beige colour for my housebound mum eight years ago. We were given a stain removal kit by the manufacturer but tbh it is selective on what it removes. Biro does not come off - the grease in the ink is absorbed by the leather so if you do crosswords on the sofa keep your biro under control! Mum sat in the same place on the same sofa - when we moved house 18 months ago we separated the sofas and the one she sat on all the time had 'weathered'. For me, the big problem with leather sofas however is that they are cold - not bad in the summer but in the winter I have to put a blanket of some kind between her and the sofa otherwise it's very uninviting.

For occasional dog visit you can cover the seats

I would appreciate hearing what type of care others use to keep the leather in good supple condition. The store we recently bought ours from does sell a leather care kit but it is prohibitively expensive. I vaguely remember the last leather suite I had (50 years ago!) was simply wiped down a couple of times a year with the same neutral polish I used on my shoes and handbags. No idea now what that was.

we've had this leather suite for nearly 3 years ,its very pale grey...it needs cleaned every week .I use the cleaner for car seats from Halfords and it makes a reasonable job.I do have 4 GC here a lot and a cat ..no scratches ...so it gets quite mucky.I dont actually like leather but we change furniture regularly and take turns each at choosing,my turn is always a fabric suite ...so my turn next ..OH loves leather .To be fair it is quite practical