Question about leather furniture

Duane, or anyone really...

I've been reading these forums for a couple of months, and they're very interesting and informative. I have a question about leather furniture.

Why does so much of it look tired and droopy as it gets older? I have a Bradington-Young sofa (#859) in a burgandy aniline leather and it looks good now... very good. I'm a single guy and there are no kids or pets around and it doesn't sit in direct sunlight.

But I see photos of leather sofas that look horrible. It's like the leather stretches out and looks tired, and very wrinkled. One picture i saw in Craigslist is a Hancock & Moore sofa. It looks better than some, but still very tired.

http://i50.tinypic.com/sy15vl.jpg

What causes this? Is my Bradington-Young sofa going to look as bad in a few years? What can I do to prevent it? Just sitting on it causes the cushons to get pretty wrinkled. I try to sit in different places on it, or even use a chair.

thanks!

-amos
high point, nc

Well, as long as you invited anyone to reply...

I agree with you - if something I paid for looked like that after five years or so, I'd be disappointed, too. I suspect a Hancock & Moore sofa wouldn't (or shouldn't, anyway) look like that. Here are a couple of examples:

First, look at the H & M chair I found on craigslist: http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/showthread.php?t=919
Duane indicates he hasn't seen that model since he's been a dealer, so, what's that, 20+ years? As far as I can see, the only thing it needs is to be washed a bit with very dilute soap and water around the trim nails.

For another, go to the Photo Gallery on this forum and find a few older pics. Here's a link to a nearly five year old H & M sofa: http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/showthread.php?t=456.

I suppose there will be sag over time, but cores should be simple to replace inside the leather if they're loose.

I hope a leather sofa costing twice as much as a cheaper one will last four times as long - it's the only way the good stuff makes any economic sense. (FWIW, we kept our previous leather sofa for 18 years, well past its cushion sagging and dogs scratching a nest in it without disturbing more than the surface "paint." That one was cheaply built and the leather survived, though its sagging cushions were a bit uncomfortable for the last half or so of its life.) FWIW

Jaywalker

jaywalker, i agree with everything you said... but did you realize that pic i posted is a hancock and moore sofa? it's on greensboro craigslist now. you're right there are some really nice examples, and i admit that most of the really tired sofas aren't h&m or b-y. it just worries me that mine gets so wrinkled.
-amos

That sofa was heavily used in the photo and needs new interior cores, which are available to the original owner FREE of charge. However the original owner needs to request them as that offer is not applicable to second or third owners, and it would cost close to $ 500 to replace them otherwise.

That particular design is older (I don't recognize it), and suffers from being a long sofa that only has 2-cushions. That's a problem on any maker's 2-cushion units that have a long width run. The larger surface are of the the leather panel, the more apt to show stretching. All leather stretches, but premium makers use Grade A Steer hide which is the least 'stretchy' leather available.

Solution to that particular sofa is to get new cores and specify the Q21 'extra-full' configuration to take up the space from the stretch.

Finally, there is no way of telling how many hours of use that piece has. Things do wear out eventually. I have several pieces in my home from B-Y and H&M that are over 20 years old, and still in very good service (I have a photo of my H&M recliner I bought in 1986 here on the site somewhere).

With reasonable care, you should get 20 years out of a quality leather piece. Some (like myself) will get more, and others less.

Thanks Duane!
Are there tips to keep my B-Y from stretching out badly? It's a 3 cushion sofa and the center cushion especially bends and wrinkles. I try to sit on the side cushions more, but I shouldn't have to do that, should I?
-amos

Not much you can do about it.....just use it and for maximum longevity keep the leather clean.

thanks, i appreciate it!