Looking for leather recline sofa and love seat...heavy duty use

[Johnf0527]

Hi I am new to the forum...looks like some great tips and people in here!

I would like to find a good quality, reasonably priced sofa/loveseat combo. I want what I guess u call wall huggers because I don't want to lose space in family room. Also have two very large Ridgeback dogs that are sofa dwellers as well as humans . We keep them off our other leather sofa but this is our main room so I would rather be safe then sorry and plan for worst case. We also have a pool and kids that ignore our request to not lay on sofas with wet suits...seriously?!? Never in front of us but they do it...

So am I missing information? I want to get a general idea of what a good quality set will approx cost so I can budget that amount. I just want quality at an affordable price. Can you help me?

Thanks Diane

[drcollie]

Go vinyl, wet bathing suits will ruin anyone's leather, makes no difference who the manufacturer is. There are high grade vinyls in the marketplace.

Go motorized, they break less often than manual units. There is no motion furniture from any maker that is heavy-duty, the mechanism is the weak point on all units.

If you really want heavy duty, go stationary and use a cocktail ottoman with it. Good luck

[Johnf0527]

Ok let me rephrase because I am new to this forum, I meant heavy duty as nails from dogs and weight since they are big. They wouldn't come up on reclining. And as for the wet bathing suits I will put foot down and also kids will be leaving for college and apartments etc soon I just mentioned in case there was an option I wasn't aware of. I know there are different grades of leather originally someone told us to get the microsuede fabric that I can't remember the term they used would hold up etc so I didn't buy leather...I hate it. So really want leather but don't want super expensive more mid to upper priced that's the best quality you can recommend. I start researching and I end up overwhelmed with opinions, suggestions, links, prices, etc. it seems you are very knowledgable and a lot of people trust your opinion. So any ideas now that I rambled for so long lol thanks - Diane

[Jenny]

Just to clarify Diane, there's no clear happy medium to what you're describing. The "best quality" leather tends also to be the most delicate in terms of maintenance. As you go up in grades, you shed the plastic-y feel of finished leathers (the plastic-y finish is what makes them protected) towards the buttery, softness of the top grain anilines (unprotected, and more suited for lighter use).

In your first post, you made it clear you are looking for family room pieces, heavy-use, potential for exposure to water and pet damage. The wet-swimsuit thing is harsh even on finished leathers. What Duane suggested would be perfect for your situation. If you want the "mid to upper priced leather that's the best quality we can recommend" - you'd have to make a very significant change in your lifestyle to accommodate. If I may make an analogy, the dilemma is like going to a car dealership with kids and dogs in tow and asking for the best 2 seater European sports car that will fit your needs.

It may be the best solution for you is to wait for the kids to go off to college before making an investment that will last you for another 20 years. It's not the answer you probably wanted to hear, but realistically a fine leather is VERY easily ruined with a wet suit and I'd hate to see you waste that $5K or more.

[Jenny]

One more thing, you're in good hands with Duane, whether you buy from him or not. When I was buying my sofa, there was a lot of stores that hired salespeople who really couldn't care less about you or the furniture. It was a regular retail job for them, they got paid on commission, and would sell you anything and would also TELL YOU anything to get you to buy a piece. That's the source of a lot of misinformation out there. For Duane, he runs his store himself, furniture is his passion, and he won't sell you anything that doesn't fit your needs, even if it means sending you home without a purchase.

[drcollie]

This all comes down to budget (Thanks for the kudos, Jenny!). The best made product in this industry is also going to be the most expensive. So first we really need to explore a price range as there is no point in singing the praises of a $ 6,000 Hancock and Moore dual recliner sofa if your budget ceiling is $ 3,000, or $ 2,000. Durability of leather comes down more to lifestyle and your willingness to do the required maintenance on the leather more so than the grade of cost of one kind of leather over another, that's a real key. I have seen customers ruin a top-quality piece in as little as five years to where it's only suitable for the landfill. Myself on the other hand, I can take the same piece and at the 30-year mark it's looking great and can do another 30 years (even if I might not be able to). Like anything else you buy, you can either take care of it or not, so that should factor into your buy decision as well. There are things that are hard for me to determine reading a short forum post, I just don't know your family lifestyle on furniture so it's difficult to make a recommendation. Just guessing from the 'big dogs' and 'wet suits' reference. you might do well to get into something like an inexpensive Flexsteel brand that is not as finely made as the lines I have in my store. It would be durable enough and if its used up in 5 to 8 years, then you won't feel so bad about disposing it as you won't have that much cash tied up in it.

[Johnf0527]

Thanks for the honesty and straightforwardness first off. i have a sectional arhaus leather sofa in other room and have had for over 7 years and still looks fine...which is why I really wanted leather in this room. Both rooms get used pretty much the same. Kids tend to stay and hang there....Xbox etc is all in that other fam room. i guess I can wait but I really want to upgrade that room and seem to like the looks of a lot of the Bradington young sofas. Can u give me an average of the cost of by sofa and loveseat with recline? I guess when I know the approx cost I can figure out if I bus get now or later...sorry for all the questions. You all seem to know a lot about leather and furniture and I am a total newbie to quality furniture shopping. When kids were younger I never wanted to invest in nice furniture because I wanted a fun and relaxing house. Now it's time to class things up and looking for something that will last but is still comfortable. I probably sound like an idiot but I m truly looking for some help and yes, I really want leather still. I can go cheap but really wanted something that I can have for 5-10 years and will be happy with.

[JeffNev]

I remember being in the same position as you, John. I had been using furniture rental for months http://www.roomservicebycort.com/ purely because I never knew where I would be on business next. It really didn't make much sense at the time to invest a considerable amount of money on something I'd be home to use maybe one week every couple of months. The furniture was always really brilliant and perfect for my lifestyle. But it was never really...mine? It felt really great to settle down and invest in something that would last years, and here I am, seven years later - with the same sofa. Mind you, everything else has changed in that time. Good luck with your choice, whatever it might be.

[Jenny]

Thanks for the honesty and straightforwardness first off. i have a sectional arhaus leather sofa in other room and have had for over 7 years and still looks fine...which is why I really wanted leather in this room. Both rooms get used pretty much the same. Kids tend to stay and hang there....Xbox etc is all in that other fam room. i guess I can wait but I really want to upgrade that room and seem to like the looks of a lot of the Bradington young sofas. Can u give me an average of the cost of by sofa and loveseat with recline? I guess when I know the approx cost I can figure out if I bus get now or later...sorry for all the questions. You all seem to know a lot about leather and furniture and I am a total newbie to quality furniture shopping. When kids were younger I never wanted to invest in nice furniture because I wanted a fun and relaxing house. Now it's time to class things up and looking for something that will last but is still comfortable. I probably sound like an idiot but I m truly looking for some help and yes, I really want leather still. I can go cheap but really wanted something that I can have for 5-10 years and will be happy with.

I almost bought an Arhaus leather sofa myself and am familiar with the prices. I will say that you're definitely within the H&M price range if you're willing to spend ~ the same amount again.

Don't worry - I said the exact same thing as you when I joined this forum a few months ago and it's been very eye-opening since. Duane can help you with specific recommendations, but if you want to learn more in general about furniture, I would highly recommend reading the stickied-threads on the top of every forum. There's a wealth of knowledge there.

[drcollie]

Generally a B-Y dual recliner sofa will put you into the $ 3k to $ 4K range, all depending on model and leather selection,