Dietrich

Hello! I am in the market for some leather sofas for our family room. We had been looking at some Natuzzi pieces but, after some research, have abandoned that idea. I like the look of the BY Dietrich but cant seem to find it locally to sit in. I live in Michigan. Any comments on the feel and look of this sofa? We are replacing some Jaymar furniture that has some fabric issues after 10 years of use. Frame and cushions still in good shape. Don't want to spend too much as this is the room that our kids (10, 9 & 5) live in, but want quality that will last for a reasonable amount of time. In terms of the leather, is finished leather the way to go with kids? H&M is prob out of the price range for this project. Other than BY, is there another company that we should consider for leather seating? Thanks in advance for your time![/QUOTE]

I should mention that the sofa is 660-95.

I think you'll find the BY is quite a few levels above Natuzzi in workmanship and longevity. Finished leathers are what we call 'wipe n' go', in that they repel most everything, so for a busy household with young children they stand up to the use MUCH better than fabric and are not as fussy on spills and stains as the Aniline hides.

Thank you for your time.
Any thoughts on the differences between the grade 1 vs 2 finished leathers from BY for wear and feel? I am looking at a Addison Bay vs. Bentley Place in a dark brownish/burgundy color way.

There's not a big leap in BY from GR 1 to GR 2 in either price or offerings. Remember that Grades are pricing grades, not quality, and its based on what the maker has to pay for the leather. There are some decent ones in the Addison collection (stay away from anything labeled "Bycast") but overall I'd say in my store only about 10% of sales are in that handle, 60% are in GR2, 20% in GR3 and 10% in GR4. The Bentley Place collection is the most popular, by far.

About 30 new leather samples arrived yesterday, the swatches from the fall market. Half were GR2, and the other half GR3.

I felt the few BY's i tried out, to be hard as a rock.. I don't know if it is just the few I sat on, but there was literally 2 BY's next to an H&M sundance sectional at a store I visited a week ago, and the sundace was like sitting on a cloud in comparison. Is this typical?

It was odd because they looked like they would be plush, and I hopped on one, and was like "thud".