Leather VS Fabric
When you’re shopping for a sofa, you’re shopping for a home staple that you expect to have around for a good chunk of time. It will help you decide your décor scheme, it’ll house your friends and family, and it’ll be a part of your home as a whole. So, begs the question—the eternal design showdown. What type of sofa do you get – leather or fabric?
Both have their advantages, but they both have their disadvantages. Let’s check them out a bit closer.
Life Factors
Before we to a deep dive into material choices for your next sofa, we need to first consider your long-term lifestyle. Here are some helpful questions:
Allergies
If you’re dealing with a serious lack of space in the bedroom, it might be time to invest in a utilitarian headboard.
Family
Do you have children? No matter the age, more people in the house mean more chances of spills and stains.
Pets
Do you have pets? If yes, do you allow your fur-babies on the furniture? Leather will be less likely to hold on to odours from our beloved animals, however, it can be prone to scratch marks.
Allergies
If you’re dealing with a serious lack of space in the bedroom, it might be time to invest in a utilitarian headboard.
Family
Do you have children? No matter the age, more people in the house mean more chances of spills and stains.
Pets
Do you have pets? If yes, do you allow your fur-babies on the furniture? Leather will be less likely to hold on to odours from our beloved animals, however, it can be prone to scratch marks.
Allergies
If you’re dealing with a serious lack of space in the bedroom, it might be time to invest in a utilitarian headboard.
Family
Do you have children? No matter the age, more people in the house mean more chances of spills and stains.
Pets
Do you have pets? If yes, do you allow your fur-babies on the furniture? Leather will be less likely to hold on to odours from our beloved animals, however, it can be prone to scratch marks.
Comfort
Comfort is arguably the most important quality of your furniture. Sure, the style of the items are quite important, but would you invest in a beautiful piece of furniture you hated to sit on? Probably not.
Fabric material tends to be softer and warmer than leather. Think of it as the seats in your car, leather can feel hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Secondly, since fabric sofas are softer to the touch, they often have a “broken-in” feeling right away. Just don’t get something too soft, we want to avoid something that will wrinkle or sag quickly.
Its true leather is generally cold to touch at first. It does, however, absorb heat so it gets pretty warm, fast. Comfort is also extremely subjective. If you’re looking for something a little more firm, something for the straight-sitters, leather is something to consider. As long as you feel good in your sofa, it won’t matter what material you choose.
Leather is generally stain-resistant and can often be cleaned with a damp cloth – hurray for easy cleaning! Considering it’s vulnerability to scratches, this might be a red flag if you have fur-children that like to jump up on the furniture. As long as you take good care of your leather sofa, it can last a very long time.
Plus, leather sofas are hypoallergenic and don’t harbour dust mites, pet dander, and other allergens as easily as fabric does. We can hear the allergy sufferers everywhere cheering.
Colour
When it comes to colour options, fabric sofas often have much more variety in terms of tones, colours, and patterns. It’s not uncommon to find fabric sofas in any colour of the rainbow and then some.
Leather is a bit more limited when it comes to available colours and designs. You’ll mostly find browns, greys, and some whites. This doesn’t mean the colourful leather pieces don’t exist! People everywhere are getting bolder with their design, and the industry is responding. If you’re dead-set on leather and have a colour in mind, you may just need to look a little harder, or go custom!
Check out Dufresne’s My Custom Program for more information.
Cost
The cost for both fabric and leather will be determined on the quality. Undoubtedly, good fabric and framing can be expensive. When considering the same quality sofa side-by-side, the leather one will cost more than your fabric counterpart.
We urge you to consider more than your budget here. The best strategy is to compare not only prices, but features, such as maintenance, comfort, durability, safety, and the duration of ownership to determine which investment is better for you.
So which should you pick?
Both materials come with their advantages and disadvantages. At the end of the day, you need to decide which factors are most important to you and weigh those accordingly. Remember, if you love something, it will work.
