Lol Duane might eye roll when he sees this post thinking I have changed my mind again. I have just come through this process and thought I would give a little input on my leather selection for a York sectional. I only ever considered aniline from the get-go. To me it was worth the cost consideration because paint can flake over time... And it's boring. I know I am going to have this sofa until the leather is no longer good, a very long time because I am going to take care of my cow!

I first thought I wanted Capri. It absolutely blew me AWAY! The smell, the oh so soft lambskin feel, the drape... It is just innnnncredible! You may not even realize it until you get your hands on a big sample. The smaller samples did it no justice whatsoever. In fact had I not already handled the big ones and knew Capri was magnificent, I would have passed it right by. Why? Because the little samples had texture and didnt have that sumptuous softness or drape! Honestly, I still am in love with Capri. One day WAY down the road, I AM going to have it on a chair . I will, I will! Ah a millionaire's budget on a sailor's budget...

I have three children 5 and under and plan on another on in the near future, Lord willing. I realized I needed something just a bit more protected. Plus sometimes spills happen, though we don't allow the kids to eat on the sofa, we ourselves occasionally do, and the kids sippies sometimes dribble or leak, and diaper accidents have happened in the past... This is all nothing compared to what may happen to it when the kids are teenagers and have friends over, though... I think they will need their own sofa, fully slipcovered, at that point lol.

So I ordered more samples.

Equestrian: Pebbly, shiny, had a texture to it that felt like it had been sprayed with hairspray, without the stickiness. It is fully protected though still aniline because of that topcoat... But it just wasn't right for me. I do feel quite sure equestrian could hold up to teenagers, though!

Weston: read about how soft the unburnished westons are and thought it might offer a bit more protection than Capri. There are a lot of color offerings in it it, though for our large sectional I wanted a neutral. Weston tobacco was nice. It was a little slick, conpared to zero slickness of Capri, but was matte in shine and still had a bit of a buttery velvety type touch/ drape; it was nice to handle! It is difficult to scratch, but if you press hard with your nail you can, though it does not show up much (since it is not designed to.) I decided I wanted something a little more interesting, though Weston no doubt would look awesome on the York.

Hyde Park tan and brownie burnished: I liked these a lot. So much so that for a while I had almost decided on the brownie. They are burnished, so I thought they would offer a decent amount of protection, but still soft! Not weston or capri soft as "soft" is relative, but they were pleasing to the touch. if I went the burnished route, I wanted something that still retained some softness and did not have extreme color effects... Hyde park fit. I dont know if it was my small samples or not, though, but the cut was thick. They did scratch which confused me at first, making me think they were a bit of a pull-up, too, but those scratches did not color burst. Hyde park was a strong contender. I later came across some other photos of a few other burnished hides that looked pretty, though I did not order samples of them. The only other burnished I got was weston cane burnished, and it wasn't soft enough for me.

Decided pull ups sounded amazing. Different marks and shading over the furniture's lifetime... If it is "scratched" in one of our numerous moves, it will look normal and will likely fill in with wax over time.
I did not want the pull up effect to be extremely pronounced as to make the piece look rugged, though. I believe there are a few of those in the pool....
Tuscany Harness: you almost had me. I loved the colors of the dark brown and the light brown burst. They just look great. I was surprised on a larger sample how VERY easy it was to "scratch" or show color with the faintest of nail pressure, though. I decided this may look a little busy on such a large and transitional York sectional. I loved it on the tufted ottoman, though.

And lastly Tiburon.
I thought Tiburon would be just like Tuscany, but it wasn't. The only brown they had was Java, and the stock photo on h&ms website made it look black. Then I saw it on a bohemian chair on an old forum post. Ah, I loved it! Got a sample and loved it! It is softer and more pleasing to touch than the stiffer tuscany, and the color burst doesnt show scratches quite as easily. I love it!!! It is rich and interesting, just a little shiny, and seems to have a good hand/ has a softness and flexibility that is good, while the waxes will offer it some protection. It was not as stiff as the tuscany. It is neat to make scratches and then rub them quickly with your finger and watch them disappear as the heat from the friction moves the wax back over it. There are a ton of colors to choose from for tiburon too. I only wanted a shade of brown or caramel, though, so my only choice was Java. I still wish they had a nice caramel color in it similar to capri harness, though. I can't wait to see it on my sectional in person.

The moral to this story is keep ordering samples. Everyones tastes and needs are different. You can try to ask Duane all day long what he likes and what different hides feel like and only get a few steps down the road... You need samples in your bare hands. Your tastes may change as you handle more leathers, and you may love something you had initially never considered. I tried various kitchen spills on the hides as well. None of them stained for long. The only ruin was when I was initially considering bradington young and subjected my 9085 sample to some vinegar, like I did with all of my samples... Instant devastation on that one! My 6 month journey has been fun! Submitting my order before I can change my mind again . Good luck!