Help Me Choose My H & M Leather

Hello All,

Please provide your experiences and feedback for my situation below. I appreciate your input!

My wife and are are starting a young family. We have an appreciation for the best and are willing to make an investment in Hancock and Moore because of the quality and durability for the long term.

We are looking to purchase two sofas for our living. Both will get extremely heavy usage. ie...our own childeren (one 9 month old) and hopefully more to come, possibility of pets, food and drink, etc...We don't plan to change our lifestyle simply due to the nice sofa's.

Onto the leathers.

We are looking for something that is extremely durable and strong as well as protected. Our pricepoints allow us to look at classes 1-3. At this time, we are narrowing things down to the heavier weight/thick leathers that are protected. From what I know at this point, the only ones that fall into these catagories are; Berkshire in class 2, the new Portfino in class 2, and Luggage in class 3. Have I missed anything? I like that Equestrian is a thick leather, but being that it is unprotected, I don't know if it would hold up to the rigors stated above.

Duane, are there any other leathers that are heavier weight/thick and protected that I'm missing? Can you tell me some more detail about the new Portfino leather? What colors? 4S classifications? Finished/Semi Aniline/Aniline?

Per Duane, you mentioned in a previous post the following as your favorites for their respective classifications, taking durability into consideration first and secondly luxury and softness. Any others that may fit? Where does Caress fall?

1. Class 1: Columbia
2. Class 2: Aspen, Berkshire, Portfino
3. Class 3: Equestrian, Luggage, Antelope

Thanks all for your help!!!

Portfino is a new leather that has not yet been dealer swatched. Its a nicely done class 2 hide that I like because it feels less processed than leathers such as Document and Cavalier. Serviceability is a 2. Not sure the colors right now....I know I have a Sundance Sofa that just came in this afternoon in the red color, that I ordered for stock at the October market when they introduced this new leather.

Caress is a good leather that is very durable, but its very much monochromatic and has no high/low tones to it. One color throughout the hide and mostly used on contemporary pieces because of that. Color variegation is your friend if you have a busy young family!

The real trick in leather furniture is keeping it clean. Its more important to keep the leather clean than to buy the heavy-duty use hides. If durability is the key component, then the thick hides with heavy topcoats are what you want. We can always do the Water Buffalo hide they offer - I challenge you do get through that one!

Equestrian is pretty tough, despite being an 'unprotected' leather.

Which one is Water Buffalo Hide? :)

Bozeman Harness