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Thread: Where to buy a leather sofa?

  1. #1
    Master
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    Where to buy a leather sofa?

    Recently bought my first house and we are slowly adding furniture. Due to the wife having house dust allergies we would like to start adding leather furniture where possible.

    Looking for a 4 seater sofa, possibly in a chesterfield style. Just wondering if people had any recommendations. Had a good look around stores like DFS and sofology. But they just didn’t seem very nice to be honest... John Lewis has some great ones but very expensive! Are they worth it from John Lewis? Can anyone attest to an actual increase in quality or are you paying for the name?

    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

  2. #2
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by watchstudent View Post
    Recently bought my first house and we are slowly adding furniture. Due to the wife having house dust allergies we would like to start adding leather furniture where possible.

    Looking for a 4 seater sofa, possibly in a chesterfield style. Just wondering if people had any recommendations. Had a good look around stores like DFS and sofology. But they just didn’t seem very nice to be honest... John Lewis has some great ones but very expensive! Are they worth it from John Lewis? Can anyone attest to an actual increase in quality or are you paying for the name?

    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
    Buying a leather sofa is a minefield because the price can vary so much.

    I bought a leather set of sofas (3 seater + 2 seater + chair) and paid £4k for it around the early 1990s. The salesman told me it would last forever and I would only change when I got bored with it. Today it still looks like new and have no intention of changing it.

    I was wandering around House of Fraser last week and they had sofas (3 seater chesterfield) for around £2k and it looked rubbish.

    There are many grades of leather ranging from the thin stuff with colour sprayed onto it to the good old fashioned gentlemens club type of stuff which is virtually indestructible.

    Mine came in on order from a Belgian company whose name I have long forgotten.

    Also most sofa companies, whatever the price, have sales once or twice a year, so best to target something and bide your time.

  3. #3
    Master
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    Basically, there are 2 factors affecting the price of leather furniture- quality of frame and quality of leather. Cheaper furniture refer to bonded leather (Googling the phrase will amaze you!)? Proper leather then divides in to probably 3 or 4 qualities. All you can do is pick your price point and shop around (local independents can be very competitive these days).
    Sorry, to roughly answer - a higher price point should return better quality, but remember your tastes will almost certainly change- and her indoors may want to change the living room decor in the future so what will you do with a very expensive second hand sofa. If you are considering a long term purchase- have an extended sit down on the sofa before buying
    Last edited by Suds; 24th February 2019 at 17:27.

  4. #4
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    We found Darlings of Chelsea had a good range and a variety of leather qualities.

    I will not be going for untreated natural leather ever again, looks worse after a few years than our first one from them did after a decade


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  5. #5
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by watchstudent View Post
    Recently bought my first house and we are slowly adding furniture. Due to the wife having house dust allergies we would like to start adding leather furniture where possible.

    Looking for a 4 seater sofa, possibly in a chesterfield style. Just wondering if people had any recommendations. Had a good look around stores like DFS and sofology. But they just didn’t seem very nice to be honest... John Lewis has some great ones but very expensive! Are they worth it from John Lewis? Can anyone attest to an actual increase in quality or are you paying for the name?

    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

    Our sofa part of a suite cost about £4k about twenty five years ago so I had a bit of an issue in replacing ours because I wanted good quality. Paid some git in Liverpool £700 to refurbish it - total ripoff and it was crap again in 2 years. What to buy then ?....................What an effing minefield - as ever they started changing the terminlogy layered leather, bonded leather, split leather, aniline leather.

    Ask the average DFS, Land of duffer and they know f all.

    We looked at all the stores and we ended up looking at one we fancied top class aniline leather at M&S - £2k for a large sofa seats 3 biggies easy but just two very large cushions. Not much risk methinks......... and we waited.............

    ...........sure enough after several phone enquiries we figured a sale was imminent 40 % off ...happy days and if I dont like it after a few years I'll bin it .

    Still got the original chairs from our suite.

    B
    Last edited by Brian; 25th February 2019 at 10:25.

  6. #6
    Master subseastu's Avatar
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    I purchased from these about 6-7 years ago and have been very happy. Looking at the site they don't seem to do the range I purchased anymore. I had a issue to a seat covering and they changed it out with no problems.

    https://www.haloliving.co.uk/living-...e/sofas?page=2

  7. #7
    Master
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    Definitely an area of you get what you pay for but lots of 0% credit deals around which can make it easier if a big lump sum is difficult.

  8. #8
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    Scour all the local charity warehouses, leather is £££ new but almost worthless used. Our latest puppy ate one of our leather sofas a while ago so rather than risk a 2nd "incident" we got a 2 & a 3 seater for £140 delivered from a charity.

  9. #9
    Grand Master Neil.C's Avatar
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    I believe DFS may have a sale on.
    Cheers,
    Neil.

    My Speedmaster website:

    http://www.freewebs.com/neil271052

  10. #10
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    John Lewis have an outlet in Swindon as do Neptune. also I found a place called trade secret that have a few stores, although none in Devon
    https://trade-secret.co.uk/

    worth keeping an eye on or just ringing them. I'm led to believe that JL have stock deliveries on a tues pm weds am so then is a good time to ring and see what they have.

  11. #11
    Tetrad seems like a quality brand and is stocked in a number of stores, may be worth taking a look. I believe they also have an outlet although never been to it.

    http://www.tetrad.co.uk

  12. #12
    Craftsman hicksmat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by watchstudent View Post
    Recently bought my first house and we are slowly adding furniture. Due to the wife having house dust allergies we would like to start adding leather furniture where possible.

    Looking for a 4 seater sofa, possibly in a chesterfield style. Just wondering if people had any recommendations. Had a good look around stores like DFS and sofology. But they just didn’t seem very nice to be honest... John Lewis has some great ones but very expensive! Are they worth it from John Lewis? Can anyone attest to an actual increase in quality or are you paying for the name?

    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
    I found some good quality leather sofas in furniture village and sofology. FV have a sale on right now but supposed to end soon. I chose the one in FV. Distressed leather which looks pretty good and looks quite thick looking at the leather samples. good 10 year warranty on the construction too.

  13. #13
    Craftsman maxwellwd's Avatar
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    I bought two from here two years ago and very very good quality. Certainly more chesterfield styles though

    https://www.designersofas4u.co.uk/

  14. #14
    Master
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    I have a stressless sofa and chairs, the sofa was circa 4.5k with electric footrests and manual recline, built like a tank and 15 year guarantee from memory.

  15. #15
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    Avoid - Bonded, Bicast, Split, LeatherLux. There are more, but the general advice is this - if there is any term other than genuine, real or 100% with the word leather, ask questions.

    Aniline is very good quality but it is very susceptible to fading and is prone to staining because it has little to no protection.

    Sealed/pigmented/protected leather has a pigment based coating on it, hence the wide variety of leather colours available. This coating resists fading and staining, although it isn’t “proof” it is much more resistant.

    Avoid most “toned” or “speckled” finishes as many have a very light base colour which shows through with wear and looks awful.

    Feel free to send me links to the email address I PM’d you for anything you’re considering and I’ll let you know my thoughts.


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  16. #16
    Master Christian's Avatar
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    Bought my leather sofas from Laura Ashley a few years ago. No idea how they rank in terms of quality but I’ve been quite satisfied with them.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by boring_sandwich View Post
    Tetrad seems like a quality brand and is stocked in a number of stores, may be worth taking a look. I believe they also have an outlet although never been to it.

    http://www.tetrad.co.uk
    This ^^^^^^^^^ our Leather suite from Tetrad is 37 yrs old. Going strong. Yes I treat it with leather food, yes the cushions have has to be refilled with foam and kapok. But the leather and frame is solid.

    Tetrad have a factory shop in Preston, only open Fri / Saturday.

    Steve

  18. #18

    Where to buy a leather sofa?

    Have a look at either “Chesterfield Direct” or “Chesterfield on line” we have these in our shops and I have bought two chairs and a four seater for home. I paid £650 for two chairs (ex-display) and £1,150 for the custom made grey Italian leather in the pictures. They do Annaline & semi Annaline in a range of colours, great price and good quality, should outlast me. The showroom is based in Salford.
    IMG_0837.JPG
    IMG_0838.JPG

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    Last edited by Billyloves2boogie; 28th March 2019 at 09:38.

  19. #19
    Tetrad make some very good quality sofa's along with Wade and Duresta. Stay clear from the likes of SCS, DFS etc as they sell nothing but shite built to their spec so they can make more on the margins.

  20. #20
    Grand Master hogthrob's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by peedog View Post
    Avoid - Bonded, Bicast, Split, LeatherLux. There are more, but the general advice is this - if there is any term other than genuine, real or 100% with the word leather, ask questions.
    I think "genuine" leather is in the 'avoid' category as well.

  21. #21
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by hogthrob View Post
    I think "genuine" leather is in the 'avoid' category as well.
    Indeed it is, the words you want to hear are full grain or top grain leather. The sofas on sale in the likes of DFS / SCS / sofology will generally be made with poor quality split leather, which is basically suede, coated and stamped with a leather pattern. You can usually spec them with a higher grade leather though. This is what we did with the Nicoletti sofa we bought from Furniture Village.


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  22. #22
    Craftsman
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    Duresta make some lovely pieces and worth a visit.

    At a slightly lower price-point, with a more traditional look but some of the best quality in the business, take a look at Sherborne Upholstery.

  23. #23
    Grand Master hogthrob's Avatar
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    On the other hand, cheaper leathers are ideal if, say, another family member is likely to decide she fancies a change in a couple of years time.

  24. #24
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    My mate owns this company, all uk manufactured, I buy from him to use in bars and the value for money is unbeatable I’m my opinion. Unlike some online retailers he does have 2 showrooms.

    www.distinctivechesterfields.co.uk

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by stuie-t View Post
    Indeed it is, the words you want to hear are full grain or top grain leather. The sofas on sale in the likes of DFS / SCS / sofology will generally be made with poor quality split leather, which is basically suede, coated and stamped with a leather pattern. You can usually spec them with a higher grade leather though. This is what we did with the Nicoletti sofa we bought from Furniture Village.


    Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
    Genuine leather is exactly that, however it does come in various grades and qualities. Splits are usually used on the sides and back. Most Nicoletti sofas are splits on the side and back unless you pay extra, and most hides are corrected grain. Also all Nicoletti sofas in furniture village have a genuine leather tag on them.

    Full grain leather is the most premium type, but does tend to mark the most especially with pets and busy so there are advantages to a good corrected grain.

  26. #26
    Grand Master oldoakknives's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by StuS View Post
    My mate owns this company, all uk manufactured, I buy from him to use in bars and the value for money is unbeatable I’m my opinion. Unlike some online retailers he does have 2 showrooms.

    www.distinctivechesterfields.co.uk
    Looks like good value. One to bookmark perhaps.
    Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.

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