bad dog! H&M repairs

Hi Duane & all!

I have a couple of issues am hoping for some advice:

1) I adopted a new dog and he chewed the corner OFF of our H&M Chancellor cocktail bench. It is at least limited between tufts on the corner, so I think a piece of leather (and foam) can be replaced rather than the entire cover. It's Pecos Mink but somewhat sun-faded. Is it possible to order some leather from H&M and have an upholsterer here repair it or best to send the whole bench back to H&M? Or just take it somewhere here (S. California) and have them match the leather as closely as possible?

2) I have a pair of H&M Grafton chairs that are in Charleston Fawn (interior and arms) and Equestrian Desert (backs and sides). The seat covers are discolored (the linen has turned kind of a pink-ish color - I think from sun reacting with fabric protectant or dry cleaning chemicals?). Am wondering if there is a current leather similar in color to the Equestrian Desert (probably also sun faded now) that I could get the seats re-covered in and perhaps have them re-use the linen piping of the existing covers? I really love this upholstery, but know with leather seats I'd at least get to keep a good portion of it and not have to worry about new upholstery then not matching the sun faded fabric - what's your opinion on dying upholstery?

Thank you!

You're a long way from North Carolina, but the right way is to return the piece to H&M and when it comes back to you it will look like new. H&M is very generous on repairs and does them for cost of materials with little or no labor charge. Two-way shipping is a cost issue, however. You won't be able to match a sun-faded hide with leather replacement. There are leather repair people that might can do a decent job vs sending it back to H&M or re-leathering the whole unit. It depends on the extend of the damage.

On the chairs, I would go for a re-dye vs leather replacement. I just re-dyed my sofa three weeks ago and have a post here in the forum with before and after photos.

Attachment 10777Attachment 10775Attachment 10776

Here is what the little monster (pictured - I still think he's adorable, but can you believe a 15# dog did that?!) did to the ottoman. For shipment, would I try to catch West Express somewhere en route and have them take it back with them, or would I do a freight or greyhound shipment?

Also attached is a photo of the seat - the pinkness is not as obvious in the photo, but very obvious in real life. Thankfully they're a light color, so should dye easily, but then of course I'd have to deal with my chronic indecision when it comes to color selection. Any particular reason you favor the re-dye over rebuilding in leather?

I'll look for the post about re-dye on your sofa and see if I'm up for it or if there's any upholsters around that do it.

Thank you!

That ottoman is trashed, sorry. He got into WAY more than I thought he did. That is really non-repairable, would cost less to buy a new one by the time you factor in shipping back to NC.

That's a fabric seat in the other photo? I thought it was leather? Not much you can do on that fabric piece but re-upholster the fabric portions.

Dog Advice: I have raised and owned a LOT of dogs over the decades and am firmly in the camp of crating young and new dogs, especially when they are in the chewing stages. They have to be supervised or in the crate otherwise the damage will continue to pile up. Also, I believe in gating off an area when they cannot damage things if you want them out of the crate. Total freedom in the house is not until they mature. Good luck!

Thanks for the advice, he is definitely crated now when we leave. He chewed on our other ottoman too, but didn't do anything but scuff up the corners a bit on that one, thank goodness, but even when we're home he's a mischievous little thing (and he's almost 2 years old, have had him about 6 months).

Bummer on the ottoman. Still works, I just keep a blanket draped over the cavernous hole. We don't use that set much, so I don't really want to spend the money to replace the ottoman.

Can H&M sew new covers for those cushions in a leather that matches (as closely as possible) the leather on the sides of the chair? They don't have a leather flap under the seat, but the leather is Equestrian Desert. Do they have a catalog of discontinued leathers that could be compared for something close? Or do I just order samples that appear to be close and compare them to the existing leather? How would I go about ordering new covers if they have something close in color?

Thanks again for all your help!

Equestrian Desert has been dropped and they have no stock left, sorry.

I would not try to match leather, I'd go for a high value contrast. Let's seem some overall photos of the chairs, from different angles so there's a sense of what it is we are looking at doing. You can create a unique look by doing something such as what was done in the back of this Expedition Chair and using a hide that is totally different.

Attachment 10778

New seat casings range from $ 260 to $ 420 per casing, plus shipping, depending on the grade of leather.