Leather Furniture Buying Guide

When shopping for leather furniture you should know the definition of two terms:

Aniline: Leather that is colored all the way through with a transparent dye. The effect is applied by immersing the leather in a dye bath. Because the finish is transparent and shows the natural markings of the leather, only the best quality hides can be used. Aniline Leather is a tanning process used on high end leather. It is a natural tanning process often leaving original markings on the skin, such as mosquito bites and fence marks. It has a soft feel, or as they say, a soft hand. Although aniline leather is the most luxurious it needs to be babied and is not the most family or pet friendly leather.

Semi-Aniline: Aniline leather to which a matching pigment layer is added to even out the color and add protection. Semi-Aniline Leather is preferred if you have pets or children. It is corrected leather, which means all the imperfections have been buffed out and a protective coating is added to make the skin non-porous and very durable.

There are two questions that people have when deciding about leather or upholstery.

1. Is leather cold in the winter and warm in the summer? The answer is that it is as warm or cool as the temperature in your home. Leather acclimates, almost instantly, to the body temperature when someone is sitting on it.

2. What happens if my child punctures it or if it gets scratched? Leather is considered the much more durable than the strongest fabric. You can cut a hole in it and for less than 100.00 it can be repaired to perfection.