The Great Experiment, let’s put some leather furniture in a covered porch

[drcollie]

Just finished a screened in porch last week with roof at my house, and it’s surprisingly dry even in heavy, driving rains. Our new outdoor furniture we selected won’t arrive until February, so we are stuck using old stuff.

Today we were at Crate and Barrel (my wife shopping for pillows) and I spotted the two leather webbed chairs in their Clearance section at $ 294 each, originally they were something like $599 each. Hey, for that price, let’s buy them and stick them in the porch area, see how long they last.

My plan is to condition the leather every three months to keep it supple, and I will use the Moore & Gile #33 balm which is pretty high quality stuff, and permeates better than most. If they last even five years, I’m good with it. Always wanted to try leather out in a screened in porch but not so much I want to experiment with a $3k sofa.

[SueCT]

Just curious, why have you decided to use Moore and Giles and not the same products you sell and use on your indoor leather furniture?

[drcollie]

I find the Moore and Giles # 33 to be the best overall leather care product when coupled with a mild cleaner, as do most the manufacturers. I use it on my rather pricey Hermes leather watch band and it is more a balm than a liquid conditioner. The problem - it's expensive, which leads to "What's it made of, liquefied gold?" retorts. You have to remember that people think $ 7 a bottle Lexol they buy at Wal-Mart is all they need, and I'm not a pushy salesman type. Either you know, or you don't.

I keep the # 33 at the store, but rarely sell any. I predominantly use it on pieces around the store, it's especially effective on burnished and pull-up leathers.

[EvilJester]

Just finished a screened in porch last week with roof at my house, and it’s surprisingly dry even in heavy, driving rains. Our new outdoor furniture we selected won’t arrive until February, so we are stuck using old stuff.

Today we were at Crate and Barrel (my wife shopping for pillows) and I spotted the two leather webbed chairs in their Clearance section at $ 294 each, originally they were something like $599 each. Hey, for that price, let’s buy them and stick them in the porch area, see how long they last.

My plan is to condition the leather every three months to keep it supple, and I will use the Moore & Gile #33 balm which is pretty high quality stuff, and permeates better than most. If they last even five years, I’m good with it. Always wanted to try leather out in a screened in porch but not so much I want to experiment with a $3k sofa.

Couple years down the line . . . what's the verdict? I'm trying to convince my wife to put *used* leather couches on our covered patio.

[drcollie]

Those leather chairs were only used for about a month until my "real" furniture arrived. Then I sold them!

My opinion is that indoor leather furniture will rot from the high humidity and moisture over time. I think you could get away with it for a couple of years though. I would buy used leather to put out there, because the price of used leather furnture is pennies on the dollar of new and it would be far more comfortable than most outdoor product. Note the cushion cores will rot as well in addition to the outer coverings. I would always push any indoor leather to the center of the room when a store is coming, too.