Please help me choose H&M leather!

[Joan]

Total confusion here and need some expert advice. Had H&C reclining sofa and love seat for 16 years and loved it but had wear on foot rests and wanted to update. So ordered 2 Citizen loungers in Capri Mink (really wanted Nabuk Mink but didn't like cutting color & ultimately was concerned about how it would survive in our family room) & Austin recliner sofa in Document Honey. Chairs are just beautiful but we were very unhappy with the color variance & shading (mottled or what some may call spray paint effect) so the dealer we purchased from will take it back and replace. Our dilemma is which leather should we order? Here's what we are looking for 1. want a contrasting color to the Capri Mink chairs 2. want something that is serviceable/durable/cleanable 3. Italian leather please 4. not too shiny 5. don't mind showing the natural grain of the leather and color variance but please nothing like the document honey effect! (a contractor working at our house who was there for the delivery, asked if it was real leather!) 6. The room has lots of windows & sun-exposure. We are considering Berkshire Tobacco, Capri Harness, Cavalier Henna, Capri Butternut but would love some direction on this & are open to other suggestions. Thank you so much for any help you can provide. Had i found this forum earlier i could have ordered from someone who is more knowledgeable hence saving time & effort. THANK YOU!

[drcollie]

That shading and mottling is called "Special Effects" and has a value number on the back of each swatch. For Capri and Document, its "4" - the most extreme. So what you really want is less of the Special Effects and to look at something around a "2" or "3" value. 'Montana' for example, is butter soft like Capri and is a "2", which means its pretty much devoid of any swirl or darkening agents in the hide.

Suedes and Nubucks are a bad idea in Motion Furniture. They really can't take the wear very well and cannot effectively be cleaned.

If you want something that is durable and cleanable, Capri was not your best choice, they should have told you that at the dealer. Its a marvelous, elegant leather that can handle medium duty service, but its not a wipe n' go (nor is Montana). Durability is the Serviceability grade on the back of the swatches. "2" is fully cleanable and protected, "3" is marginal, and "4" means fragile.

Document Honey has been dropped from the line, along with Document Smoke and Sage.

Now that you know the codes, look for "2" Serviceability and "1" , "2" or "3" Special Effects.

With a lot of sun, you don't want pure anilines, so again - the Capri is not a good choice. If you do get an aniline, you will need to be sure the pieces stay out of direct sunlight and have UV solar film applied to your windows.

OK, so, here's my list - keeping in mind you like a soft leather because you picked Capri and Nubucks:

Columbia : Grade 1 (don't be put off by the Grade 1 classification, this is a beautiful hide and well-suited)

Caress: Grade 2 (a bit plain)

Equestrian: Grade 3 (my top pick but its a saddle leather and will 'squeak'. Rub it against itself and make sure that noise doesn't bother you before selecting it)

Savannah: Grade 2

There is also the new Dream leathers (GR2) but your dealer will not yet have swatches on those, they have not sent them out yet.

Good luck....

[Joan]

Thank you so much for your quick & thorough response. A few quick questions: 1. My husband wants to know what you think of Berkshire Tobacco in particular? 2. Is that leather or any of the others you recommended from Italy? 3. Can you recommend a specific UV protection product for the windows? 4. is there any way to expedite an H&M order?

BTW, one of the footrests in the couch which is going back is difficult to operate, doesn't close very easily. This isn't the H&M quality we experienced years ago. Are they slipping?

Thank you again and hope you are surviving this hurricane! We lost power earlier today, but thankfully it's back, though lots of trees down and the wind is still howling. But at least no sun shining on the Capri leather . . .

[dwainw]

Hi, Joan. Welcome to the forum.

I would have to agree with your assessment of Document Honey. I've run across it on several occasions while browsing through stores, and it stands out as one ugly hide. I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to blend those particular colors in the Honey palette, but for me they just don't work. Some of the others in the Document line look nice to me, such as Copper.

My wife and I obsessed over picking just the right leather for our Monterey loveseat, and ended up with Caress Burgundy. It truly has the feel of Capri (our first choice) but with the protection we need with young kids in the house. The color variation or mottling on this line of leathers, however, is zero -- truly monotone. This is fine with us for this piece, and you would find similar lack of mottling in the Nabuk line.

One question for you: When your Citizen lounger is hard to close, is it because the front edge of the seat cushion gets caught in the top of the footrest as it closes?

[drcollie]

Berkshire is decent if you want a 'pebbly' texture leather, its no where near as soft in the hand as some of the other hides, but it certainly is durable.

Equestrian is Italian if I'm not mistaken, and one of my top picks for your criteria (again, you have to not mind the noise it makes when sitting on the cushions). Kipling is a great choice (its from an company that has tannery in both Italy and China, so it can come from either tannery) but its more prone to sun fade and slightly less durable than the ones listed above. But it has a great hand and look to it.

No quality control issue that I've seen. What do you mean specifically by the footrest is difficult to operate? How so?

[Joan]

Thank you Dr. C for your expert advice. We are hoping to order the sofa in Equestrian Chestnut, just checking on availability of the leather. Regarding the difficulty in closing the new Austin recliner/incliner couch foot rest, it appears to be just as dwainw described: The front end of the seat cushion gets caught in the footrest. The funny thing is that we had the same type of couch and loveseat for about 16 years and didn't have that problem until about year 12 and only with one side of the couch and never with the loveseat. Any suggestions on how to avoid this? We don't seem to have a problem with the Citizen lounger chairs yet . . .

THANK YOU!

[drcollie]

Sometimes that can occur if the seat cushion is too soft. Cores get soft with use and sometimes need to be replaced. Once in awhile, they are too soft when new as well.

I know if Dwain's case I ordered firmer cushion cores for his H&M Monterey unit - haven't head back from him if that solved the issue, I assume it did?

[Joan]

Dear Dr. C,
Ok, so we're finally going to place the order for the Austin recliner couch in Equestrian Chestnut, and now find out that although the sample from the store states it is a "protected" leather, understand from the dealer that H&C has changed the classification of this leather and it is now considered unprotected and can only be dusted, not cleaned with mild soap (as we had done for years with our other H&C couch and love seat with great results). The good news is the leather is in stock. Any thoughts on this? This couch will be in our window-filled family room which is open to the kitchen and likely someone will be sitting on it every day; though sitting and eating is usually limited to party time. Also, given the problem with closing the footrest, am considering ordering with a 1 X (10-15%) firmer cushion, hoping to solve that issue and still have a comfortable couch. Still a bit bewildered . . . Hope you can help.

Thank you!!

Joan

[drcollie]

Equestrian is technically an 'unprotected' leather, but its one of the toughest 'unprotected' leathers in the line. I've never seen anything that stains or marks Equestrian and I've put all sorts of things on the hide to test it. If you have a sample at home, take it to the kitchen and do some experiments! Spill some coffee, milk, soda, wine on it...smear some mayonnaise on it as well as mustard and ketchup. If you really want to put it through its paces, get out some vinegar and glass cleaner (ammonia) and see if anything stains. If it does, you have your answer and can decide if its for you or not. I think you'll find all the products I mentioned above will wipe right off for the most part.

You can DEFINITELY clean Equestrian with mild soap or one of the leather kits from LeatherMagic. At the end of the day, there is a product to clean virtually every leather, including suedes.

I would buy the Equestrian without hesitation for my own home, its far more durable than the Capri that was on your original order from that store. +1 firmness on the seats would be fine in the recliner as well. It should be noted that most recliners do not have plus 1, nor do they need it. I don't have it in any of my H&M recliners at home (and I have three).

Good luck!

[dwainw]

The new seat cushions that H&M sent me, thanks to Duane, were +1 and extra full. They have helped in reducing the amount of pinch that we experienced with our Monterey loveseat.

I have planned to post details about my new seat cushions and mechanism, but just haven't found the time. The short version is that the new inserts are just firm enough to stay up out of the footrest when it is closed. They do require some adjustment after a few weeks as the cushion covers tend to slowly slip around the inserts, but having a firmer insert has definitely helped.

Duane, I'll try to get a full write-up posted soon. Thanks for you help in getting me the pieces I needed.