Helping you to choose: Leather or leather look?
Decisions about furniture are ones you will have to live with for quite some time. In some cases, even a few generations, as often people pass furniture down to their children when they scale down after retirement. Buying new furniture, or reupholstering old ones can leave you feeling at a bit of a loss about what choice to make when faced with the wide variety of options available on the market today.
Leather always seems a mainstay of home decor giving a solid and classic elegance, but vinyl or faux leather can also be a great option for couches giving the same look and feel of leather at a fraction of the cost while allowing even more flexibility in terms of colours and finish.
Leather and leather-type furniture has many advantages over fabric upholstery. If you have children in the house, one of the first things to consider is what will happen to your furniture if children spill something on it. Leather has the advantage that spills don’t absorb as quickly as they would on cloth upholstery and can simply be wiped off with a damp cloth, so it is a lot easier to clean. It also unlikely to absorb odours and is generally considered to be more pet-friendly as a result.
It is common for someone who isn't an expert to be completely unable to tell the difference between a good faux leather-look upholstery and genuine leather. When buying antique or second-hand items, it can also be hard to distinguish as there isn't the tag identifying it as leather or man-made. However, if you are reupholstering you can easily tell if the covering you are using isn't authentic leather by how it is presented either in pieces or on a roll in the case of man-made leather-lite or phlether (phonyleather), or even leatherette, as some suppliers call it.
Vinyl comes with many beautiful choices of colours and designs that are difficult or too expensive to get in leather. A good vinyl will last 10-20 years depending on the use, whereas leather is the gold standard in long-lasting style in furnishing. It is very common for the public to be fooled into thinking they have bought real leather because of how hard it can be to tell the difference. Generally, the price is a good indicator, but with some imitation leathers being extremely high quality these days, even that might not be a clear indication.
Here are some ways to tell if you are looking at genuine leather or vinyl:
Leather gets softer over time – vinyl gets harder depending on the quality and the use it is put through
Leather breathes, staying cool in summer and warm in winter – vinyl tends to feel cold in winter and hot in summer
Leather comes as a hide (odd shaped depending on the animal) – vinyl is on a roll (anything on a roll is NOT leather)
Leather is very strong and durable, lasting 30+ years. Good vinyl will last 10-15 years, and a cheaper low-grade vinyl will become hard and begin to crack after just a few years
Leather has a distinct smell – Vinyl does not
All real leathers have a suede back – if the back is fabric or foam, then it isn’t leather
Different types of leather
Full grain leather which shows all the natural marks and imperfections from the natural hide is generally the most expensive to buy. Layers of leather underneath haven’t been removed, so the leather is in a state as close to natural as possible. It can breathe, and is very durable and it ages, oxidation causes it to develop a patina. It isn’t very resistent to stains, so needs to be carefully looked after.
Top grain leather is more commonly used in high-end items than full grain leather. It has had the split layer of the hide removed, so it is thinner and more flexible than full grain leather. The resulting hide is sanded creating an even and smooth texture without evidence of any of the natural imperfections. Sometimes it is stained or dyed, after the sanding process and coated with a finish to help it resist stains. This type of leather is the one most people see in high-end couches and furniture. It offers the best feel and comfort along with the best color depth.
Split leather is made from the layer of hide left once the top grain portion has been removed. A tannery generally gets several sheets of leather product from just one hide due to the production process shaving the layers horizontally. Split leather has an artificial layer applied to it which is then embossed to simulate the look of top grain leather. It still falls into the category of leather, although it is far cheaper than the other versions and less long-lasting. Split leather is also used to create suede.
What about vinyl?
Good quality vinyl can feel very soft and look a lot like leather. It can really fool you. To tell the difference, look at the back of the material. If you see a woven fabric backing, it’s man-made. Vinyl is generally very water-resistant and easy to wipe clean, which is why it is often used to upholster car and boat seats as well as budget-priced furniture. It is frequently embossed to simulate a leather grain or dyed with a pattern that looks like leather.
Different types of leather
Full grain leather which shows all the natural marks and imperfections from the natural hide is generally the most expensive to buy. Layers of leather underneath haven’t been removed, so the leather is in a state as close to natural as possible. It can breathe, and is very durable and it ages, oxidation causes it to develop a patina. It isn’t very resistent to stains, so needs to be carefully looked after.
Top grain leather is more commonly used in high-end items than full grain leather. It has had the split layer of the hide removed, so it is thinner and more flexible than full grain leather. The resulting hide is sanded creating an even and smooth texture without evidence of any of the natural imperfections. Sometimes it is stained or dyed, after the sanding process and coated with a finish to help it resist stains. This type of leather is the one most people see in high-end couches and furniture. It offers the best feel and comfort along with the best color depth.
Split leather is made from the layer of hide left once the top grain portion has been removed. A tannery generally gets several sheets of leather product from just one hide due to the production process shaving the layers horizontally. Split leather has an artificial layer applied to it which is then embossed to simulate the look of top grain leather. It still falls into the category of leather, although it is far cheaper than the other versions and less long-lasting. Split leather is also used to create suede.
What about vinyl?
Good quality vinyl can feel very soft and look a lot like leather. It can really fool you. To tell the difference, look at the back of the material. If you see a woven fabric backing, it’s man-made. Vinyl is generally very water-resistant and easy to wipe clean, which is why it is often used to upholster car and boat seats as well as budget-priced furniture. It is frequently embossed to simulate a leather grain or dyed with a pattern that looks like leather.
The Frankenstein’s monster
Bonded leather is neither leather nor vinyl. In many ways, it is the Frankenstein’s monster of leather-looking upholstery types. While it begins the production as real leather scraps of waster from tanneries, the scraps are then milled and spray glued onto the back of a manufactured material which can trick people into thinking the artificial leather is real because of the back of the material feels like suede. When bonded leather is made with a good polyurethane material, it can be difficult to tell the difference between it and real leather.
Bonded leather is being made more and more cheaply and is best avoided if you are reupholstering furniture as it will not last much longer than a few years. Bonded leather is listed as containing leather and sometimes sold as “recycled leather” or “eco-friendly” leather because it doesn’t harm the environment as it is made. However, it tends to peel and degrade very quickly, so it ends up needing to be scrapped and replaced more often, contributing to extra waste which is not good for the environment at all.
