Horror Story or Heaven? How do you like your leather? COMPARISON

[drcollie]

Those of us in the business know that our customers select leathers based on color, off of a small swatch. The "Color" is 90% of the decision making process, and while important, you have to get beyond that and use other criteria in your leather selection. To buy on color alone is a mistake. You have to know the type of hide you are getting, and the pros and cons of each. When a customer complains about their new leather furniture, either to me or direct to companies like Hancock and Moore or Bradington Young, you can bet money it's because they ordered a pure aniline hide and have only ever seen a finished leather.

Last summer I had an incident where the lady of the house ordered a new sofa (pure aniline) and her husband was home to receive it. When it arrived, he flipped out pretty badly, calling me on the phone in a rant about the "sofa full of leather damages" and refused it. The sofa made a long trip back from the West Coast and there was nothing wrong with it, he had simply failed to understand what they had ordered and it was a pure aniline, burnished leather.

Today I unpacked a new H&M Utopia Sofa in Hyde Park Earth Burnished and put it on the showroom floor (part of the Just in Time promotion). It's superb!



Now, what you can't see in that photo above is what I am going to show you in detail on the side panel, and all the nuances you get with a wonderful, pure aniline Italian leather that has been left in its natural state as much as possible. This is what I buy for myself, and I don't look at marking's as flaws and defects, but as being natural and not overly processed. And leathers such as this, while they can sun-fade easier and absorb some stains, will look terrific over the years given reasonable care. Now, check out all the markings and my notes:



As a comparison, here's what most people expect of their leather. This is a finished leather out of China, its been sanded down to remove markings and defects, the grain pattern has been embossed back into the piece, and then its painted. <yawn>



Big difference, yes? That's why its so important to know what you are buying. Novice leather buyers will usually get the finished leathers, because that's what they know. But the real fun in owning leather furniture is when you move into the pure anilines. Be sure you get educated so you know what to expect when your new piece arrives.