Cameo Mocha or Gaucho Mocha....can someone please help me pick?

[ViviV]

Wow!! Thanks so much for posting this picture!!! This is the exact sofa we are ordering!! And Gaucho is one of the two leathers we like the most.

Would you please tell me how you like the sofa itself? Did you order it with the standard cushions? How is the leather holding up? How old is your sofa ? It looks new. Do you wish you'd ordered a different leather?

Thanks again!!

[MJM_CA]

You're welcome.
Love the sofa! It's comfortable and sits well; the back is pretty high. While the squared arms are generously padded, they don't provide the comfort of a roll arm. I like the additional length and it's big. The delivery guys said it was the heaviest sofa they've ever delivered.

I ordered it with the standard cushions. I've been very pleased with the comfort and hold up of the standard cores. I have a couple other H&M pieces (September sectional and Saunders lounger), all with standard cushion cores.
This sofa came in late July and I ordered it from the Keeping Room off H&M's Town & Country promotion. Build was very quick but shipping took awhile (I'm in Los Angeles).

I haven't had it too long to be able to tell you how it's held up. The Gaucho Mocha leather does crease a lot in the cushions with use and will likely patina more to an old bomber jacket look. The September sectional I have is over 5 years old and was covered in Columbia Molasses (Grade 1) and it has a more "formal" finished look to it. The Gaucho Mocha definitely has more variation, fat rolls and character than a finished leather like Columbia. The other thing is the Gaucho Mocha (as all burnished leathers) "squeaks" a bit as you move around on the couch. This is from the leather rubbing on itself in spots on the cushions. I got used to it very quick but its not quiet like the Columbia. I wanted a more rustic look for our den, so the Gaucho Mocha is perfect. Since I liked the T&C pricing and the leather it was offered, I did not consider too many other leathers.

The Emilio sofa has such classic lines, but you can really change the look by changing the cover. You can get a look alike product to the Emilio from Pottery Barn and Frontgate, but the quality I think is worth the $$$ going with H&M.

[ViviV]

Thank you, thank you!! I appreciate your input so much! We are going to order the Emilio, it's matching chair and ottoman. But we are really struggling with selecting the leather. I like pull ups so much better than burnished leathers. My favorite is Tiburon Mink and Tiburon Java. Hubby doesn't line Tib. Mink and thinks Tiburon Java is too dark. His favorites leathers are Gaucho Mocha and Cameo Mocha. So we are not in agreement about leather. We'll see what / who gives!

I am so happy that you posted the pictures of the Emilio because it's so hard to find any. And I agree the Emilio is classic and I love it. I just need to figure out how to dress it up! I want it in unprotected leather but not too rustic looking. We have only one living area in the house so I want it to look "dressed up" for when we entertain but also be comfy and soft for the family use that it will get daily. Decisions, decisions !!

Thanks again for your help!!

[drcollie]

A pull up leather is generally richer looking and mellows into a very handsome look as the years go by. Burnished leathers have a lot of visual pop right out of the box and give off a more rustic appearance that is still classy, but not as rich as the good Italian pull-ups. No bad choice either way. Just different ones.

[MJM_CA]

Glad I can help!

If you want to dress it up, you could go with a dark gray leather like Cameo Stone Burnished. A big natural brass nailhead (Hancock AA nail) would look sharp and very on-trend.

[ViviV]

Thanks for the recommendations! If I had my way, it be a Tiburon leather. I so wish that it came in a brown in between mink and Java. That's why we're stuck. One's too light, one's too dark. I asked for a toffee sample and its mustard yellow . No luck. Tiburon comes in so many colors but none a true medium brown. Or at least from what I can decipher from the H&M website. But bottom line it's got to be a pull up. Tuscany saddle is a nice medium brown color buy the leather is stiff and, I my opinion, no where near a soft and luxurious as Tiburon.

[drcollie]

Well, keep in mind those Italian pull-ups all have color variations from the swatches, every single one. Consistency is something the Chinese do, not the Italians "Mama Mia, è tutto bello" they say....I kid you not!

I don't find Tuscany to be stiff, i wonder if you got a poor sample?

[ViviV]

Ha, Ha, Ha!!! Good to laugh in the morning! E Tutto bello!! You've got to love the Italians! Everything is beautiful, I agree!! Anyhow , Good morning Duane, can you tell me if you think that Cameo mocha is a good compromise between the pull-ups and the burnished? As a burnished leather, I find it to be quite mild, stable or more even, I don't know how to explain it. My sample is not shiny and not a lot of lows and highs. The color again is way lighter than the Tib Java and still a true brown? What do you think? How do your samples compare? Do you think Cameo Mocha is boring leather compared to Tiburon?
And lastly, my sample of Tuscany is very stiff nothing like Tiburon in softness. When pulled and stretched, I get very little color lightening also. Did I get a bad sample? Well all samples are bad cuts but you know what I mean

[drcollie]

Burnished leathers come from pull-up stock, but they don't have the waxy topcoat on them, or if they do that waxy surface has to be removed before the leather can be burnished. End result - two different textures and feels, entirely.

Cameo Mocha is a burnished leather, but it's done in a fairly conservative way vs say Imperial Whiskey or Buckingham.

I never look at samples for anything other than color tone, which is why I take so many photos and put them here in the library. Tones, amount of pull up or burnishing , etc. is nearly impossible to tell from a swatch.

Samples are made from Scrap leather, as as such as for color only. Edges of a hide can be very stiff and heavily grained, and that may be what you are seeing in your Tuscany swatch.

[cat@atl]

Burnished leathers come from pull-up stock, but they don't have the waxy topcoat on them, or if they do that waxy surface has to be removed before the leather can be burnished. End result - two different textures and feels, entirely.

AHA!! Now I get it!! Mystery solved as to why I thought there was pull-up in my burnished samples.

Please add this to part I of the leather primer, next to the Pull-Up explanation. For newbies like me Thanks!