Leather or Cloth Couches?

L

lisa_la_machina

Cathlete
My DH and I are looking to buy couches for our tv/family room. We know the exact couches we want, but can't decide between leather or cloth. We can afford the leather, but I'd love opinions from Cathletes about whether leather is worth the extra $$$.

We are the kind of people who want cozy comfy couches, not museum pieces. We eat, read, nap, watch tv, do crossword puzzles ...you get the idea... on our couches. We have a 5 month old baby and want to have more kids in the future, so that is a consideration too. So, based on your experiences, is it worth paying extra for leather couches? Are they more comfy? Easier to handle with kids or pets? More long-lasting? Help! :D

TIA!
Lisa
 
Speaking from personal experience, DH and I have had leather sofas for nearly 23 years. :D The fabric upholstered sofas that we did own, never held up as well as the leather ones. Good luck w/your decision and enjoy your new sofa!! :D
 
My vote is for leather. I have 4 kids ages 2-8 and we have leather. When the kids spill stuff we just wipe it off. If we had cloth, I can only imagine the spill marks we'd have.
 
My husband and I have had 4 children. We went through so many nice cloth sofas before we finally got a clue 11 years ago and got a leather sofa. We have had that same leather sofa all these years. It has gone through 4 children and it still looks like it could be new and is in great shape. It has been one of the wisest and smart furniture buys we have ever done.... Just be sure you don't get white leather...that is bad...my motherin law did that and it was awful.

If you get a nice darker color you won't regret it. But be sure you get a color you love because you will be living with it for many years to come.
 
I have slip covered ones (3 kids and dog), I have had them for about 9 years and take the slipcovers off about 2-3 times a year to clean them sometimes. The fabric seems to be holding up fine so far even though it says dry clean only and I put them in the wash. If a slip cover isn't an option, hands down get the leather.

Sarah
 
i would go for leather. We have leather in the family room and cloth in the basement. even with stain guard the cloth just doesn't hold up as long.

just my 2$

Jen
 
We have two large bird dogs that both love to lie on the couches with us and snuggle. They have long claws. We have always had leather couches/chairs, and they stand up to the dogs. I was worried the dogs would see them as a great, big chew toy, but they never chew on them. I vote LEATHER!
 
even tho i have cloth-like couches, i would vote leather....especially since u have children.....our couches are a dark color so u can't really see any stains, but if it was a lighter color......oh my.....i'm afraid of what i might see.....lol.....i have two children......this is why i have leather in my car b/c it is so easy to clean......so another vote for leather......BTW...leather will be my next furniture purchase also:)
 
LEATHER!!!

I had leather couches for 10 years and then decided to "change it up" and get a pretty suede 3pc instead.......BAD IDEA!!! I miss my leather couches :(. The suede ones are a pain in the butt!! I have a toddler and 2 cats, what was I thinking???!!

Natasha
 
Leather!!! They will last longer and look better.

We have cloth because we couldn't find leather ones we liked that we could afford--but if we could have, we would have. The cloth has been okay. It's super comfortable and supposedly it's treated to clean up well (my youngest is 12, so not much trouble so far). We've had them 1 1/2 years, and they look good, but it's obvious that we don't use the middle seat on the sofa as much (the other seats recline), because it's about 1/2 inch higher than the other seats.

If I had younger kids or pets (judging by what my hand-me-down couches went through when my kids were younger) it would be leather hands-down!
 
I vote cloth - I hate leather furniture. I do cloth only in my home and if I had a car it would be cloth there, too. I don't like the idea of sitting on dead animals. It creaps me out. We slaughter 11 billion animals a year for food and other stuff and I just can't do it. I also don't like my furniture to make noise every time I move. It gets cold and hard. Blankets and pillows slide off of it. I just would never do leather furniture in my home.
 
Last edited:
NY25 said:
I vote cloth - I hate leather furniture. I do cloth only in my home and if I had a car it would be cloth there, too. Seriously, how many animals have to be slaughtered in this country to satisfy our never ending vanity/appetites? Answer - 11 BILLION. 3 BILLION cattle a year. (stunningly - 8 billion chickens). I won't put dead animals around my house. It's just gross. At least shoes and handbags use small pieces (so the scrap from the poor animals slaughtered for food) but for furniture you need very large pieces - many, many very large pieces. I also don't like my furniture to make noise every time I move. It gets cold and hard. Blankets and pillows slide off of it. I just would never do leather furniture in my home.
Click to expand...

I appreciate your viewpoint. Thank you for sharing.
 
I haven't read the responses, so forgive me if I repeat anything. We have 4 kids and leather is an absolute necessity for us because it cleans up so easily. Cloth never would have lasted. We got new carpet when the triplets were 1 year old and within 2 years it was ruined. Wish we would have opted for the hard wood floors!!
 
Leather! We have had a leather recliner for close to 20 years. At first I thought why would I want the same furniture for 20 years, but now with a child going to college soon, I'm glad I'm not having to spend money on new furniture.

Linda
 
lisa_la_machina said:
My DH and I are looking to buy couches for our tv/family room. We know the exact couches we want, but can't decide between leather or cloth. We can afford the leather, but I'd love opinions from Cathletes about whether leather is worth the extra $$$.

We are the kind of people who want cozy comfy couches, not museum pieces. We eat, read, nap, watch tv, do crossword puzzles ...you get the idea... on our couches. We have a 5 month old baby and want to have more kids in the future, so that is a consideration too. So, based on your experiences, is it worth paying extra for leather couches? Are they more comfy? Easier to handle with kids or pets? More long-lasting? Help! :D

TIA!
Lisa
Click to expand...

Ditto from me on the leather. My husband and I love ours.

Sharon
 
I personally prefer cloth. I put a sheet on top and tuck in the edges for easy cleaning. I hate the feeling of cold leather. Yuck. But, thats really more a personal preference, it is not based on logic at all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top