What Parts On My Sofa Are Leather?
Most people think when they buy a leather sofa, they have a genuine full leather sofa!
It’s only when the leather sofa gets some uses that the sofas leather starts to show signs of wear and tear in places where people think it was leather only to be shocked to find out it’s a fake material or vinyl.
The simple diagram we’ve created below helps you to understand what parts of your sofa are leather and what parts are not.
Pigmented sofa leather is different to aniline sofa leather. Aniline leather is far superior. It is aniline dyed only and shows all-natural grain structures and makings. Whereas pigmented sofa leather. It is aniline dyed through, then it’s painted on the top surface and a final coat of clear coat lacquer is applied.
The majority of pigmented sofas, the material between cushions isn’t leather it’s a bonded fake leather material or a vinyl plastic material.
The only parts on sofas that are leather, are the seat bases, backs and top of the arms, the rest of the sofa is made from re constituted materials to represent leather.
Showing What is Leather & What Isn’t
Buying furniture isn’t a cheap item to purchase, so it comes as a shock when you believe you’ve purchased a 100% genuine leather couch only to find parts of it are fake. In fact most of it is fake in some cases as the largest parts like the sides, backs and fronts are fake leather made from manmade materials or vinyl’s so the only parts that are genuine leather are the seat bases and back facings and possibly arm tops.
The brand of furniture you purchase will also determine the quality of the item, some brands are far superior to others, not every brand has fake materials on it, some are 100% genuine leather couches.
The only way you can be 100% sure it’s all genuine is to have something handmade, this comes at a price. It can run into many thousands to have this manufactured, but you then know exactly what you’re getting, also you’re buying something that will last many more years than normal furniture.
Taking care of furniture is essential to ensure its life span is as long as possible, preventing the couch from premature deterioration is important, so keep your couch in great shape is important. All couches should be changed every 3 months and protection and food applied. Don’t just use any old cleaning products and don’t use baby wipes or leather wipes, use dedicated cleaning and protection products.