Deciding Between Fabric Or Leather Furniture For The Home

By Author: John Cavers
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The right type of seating for a home may be more difficult than it sounds. For one, comfort is viewed differently by each person. Seating positions by person can change thereby changing their preferred mode of seating. Furniture is a large purchase for most families so it is critical to make the right decision. There are some general rules that you can follow to ensure that the purchase suits your family's needs.

The first consideration is what type of family do you have. If you have kids, their ages are important as well. Younger children tend to be harder on furniture. They enjoy jumping, pillow fighting, wrestling, and other activities which may not be in the best interest of proper long term product care. Fabric becomes a consideration as well. Lighter colors show dirt and stains more easily. For example, white is a fantastic color for home decorating creating a clean sterile look that works in almost all homes. The challenge will be in keeping white clean when you have children. Thus, the choice of color can be important for the family. Darker colors work better in more active families since they should ...
... wear and tear less.

Besides color the type of fabric matters as well. The two main choices are fabric upholstery or leather. Now many people have a comfort preference between leather and fabric. The truth is that either one of these options can work in most households. Today's manufacturing techniques focus on treating leather and fabric with additives which strengthen the product against tears while also making it more resistant to staining. Spills are a concern for most families. The upholstery treatments today repel liquid much like carpets do. It is important that the liquid be wiped up quickly as any product can stain if exposed to liquids for a prolonged time.

There are other considerations between leather and fabric. Leather tends to be naturally cooler than fabric. Thus, in warmer climates leather may provide extra coolness in the furniture. On the flip side, leather can be much colder to sit on in winter time. In general, fabric more consistently takes on the ambient temperature of the room. Another thing to consider is whether or not if you have pets. Pets have claws which can damage furniture. Cats often have their back claws and if they are prone to jumping up on the furniture that could potentially damage your leather sofa. In general, fabric seems to do better against claws as it may not show the wear and tear as visibly. The best thing you can do is to have scratching posts for cats so that they will hopefully use those to sharpen claws on as opposed to your furniture.

I spoke with a manage of several Houston furniture stores to get a sense of what is more popular amongst his clients. He stated that usually a family's preference is what counts the most. Families equally choose leather or fabric for their home. She did indicate that color is more sensitive where lighter colors do tend to favor more mature families that do not have small children.