Favorite BY Leathers

[rexfire]

I have seen where you have marked what your favorite leather choices are for HM but do you have the same recommendations as to which leathers you prefer for BY?

[drcollie]

I will do that when time allows, thanks for reminding me !

[rexfire]

Than you for your time. I do have another question that i dont know if its been already answered or not. This my be subjective, but is it better to buy a lesser quality sofa with a higher grade leather or a higher grade sofa with a lower grade leather? Such as a by sofa with a grade 3 leather vs a h&m sofa with grade 1.

[drcollie]

Remember that leather 'grades' are pricing grades and not indicative of quality or use, its based on what the manufacturer has to pay for the hides, and that can be because of country of origin, currency conversions, transport costs and a host of other factors. However, I will always champion buying the best built sofa that you can comfortably afford. It's never smart to over-extend yourself monetarily, but if you can step up to a brand such as H&M you won't see a premature failure in the piece and likely the overall cost of ownership will actually be less over the usable lifespan of the piece per year of ownership. Why?

> Solid hardwood frame means minimum frame flex
> If the frame stays tight, the the webbing on the base will be taut.
> If the webbing is taut, the springs (8-way) have a stiff platform to attach to
> If the springs stay in position, then the sofa doesn't sag when you sit on it

And that's the just of a high quality sofa build in summary.

[wsujason]

As I get closer to a purchase, I would love to hear your input on your favorite leathers - if you've had time to revisit the question. I was initially heavily leaning toward protected but like many other people I've had a change of heart after doing some research.
Thanks,
Jason

[drcollie]

I may be the wrong person to ask , because I don't even buy painted or finished leathers for myself, I'm a die-hard aniline kind of person. In B-Y the series I like are the 9055 (GR4) and the 9085 (GR6). Really nice and soft aniline hides with great colors and hand.

[vbnet]

I would like to weigh in here with a been there done that. Bought the less quality sofa, it eventually poops out in the springs and the thing sags. Bought H&M in document as part of T&C and it is holding up SO much better.

I have to add though, wish I'd bit the bullet and gone with an aniline. I had a good salesperson. She tried to explain it all to me but I just couldn't get it back then.

[wsujason]

Thanks, Duane, I will check out the 9055. Might be slightly outside of what I wanted to spend but amortized over the life of the piece that really isn't that big of a deal.

vbnet - I escaped protected leather, but just barely, had nearly placed an order but when I went back for a second look I just couldn't get past the fact that the finish looked like a really bad spray paint job. I'd love to jump up in the H&M line but this just isn't the right time. The BY options are lesser but still leaps and bounds above the sad, saggy, 2yr old Lazy Boy excuse for a sofa that it will be replacing.

As the ultimate destination for the pieces I'm purchasing now will be a rec/family room, I'm inclined to go with an Aniline-Plus, and with BY the only two I've been able to see thusfar are 9012 and 9019. If anyone in the forum has any experience with either of these I would appreciate input!

[vbnet]

I'm sure you are going to Love Love Love whatever BY piece you choose. We too are looking at a chair and it's so hard to research because there really isn't one place you can see a whole bunch other than the Keeping Room! Wish it were summer and I could justify a road trip =)