As the hub of your home, you want your living room to be comfortable, cozy, and a place you go to relax after a stressful day, but an uncomfortable sofa is one of the worst offenders for ruining your evening.
Sitting on an uncomfortable sofa can damage your back, and over time, you could develop chronic back or neck pain if you don’t invest in a good quality sofa.
A leather sofa is a perfect addition to any living room! Not only is it a chic investment, but it is also the best one for your comfort, too!
Keep reading to find out more.
OUR TOP PICK
The Stone & Beam Lauren Genuine Leather Down-Filled Oversized Sofa is a clean and simple silhouette with track arms in durable, supple leather that is built to last.
The simple contemporary design with plush, highly durable materials makes this sofa the perfect addition to your living room.
The durable, padded solid hardwood frame offers support and longevity whilst the down-filled cushions provide welcoming comfort.
Pros
- Easy to set up - When you purchase this sofa, no assembly is required!
- 3-year warranty - Rest assured in knowing that if you’re dissatisfied or your sofa breaks within the 3-year year period you’re covered!
- Hassle-free to clean - Simply wipe away dust and debris with a soft, dry cloth or lightly vacuum as needed to keep your sofa as fresh as it can be!
Cons
- One customer noted that the delivery for this particular leather sofa took longer than they were expecting.
EDITORS CHOICE
The POLY & BARK Napa Right-Facing Sectional Sofa in Full-Grain Pure-Aniline Italian Tanned Leather is a perfect, durable addition to your home that focuses on quality.
This sofa features feather down and fiber blend seat-back cushions and bolsters that are built for maximum comfort!
Boasting a corner blocked wooden frame, this leather sofa also features solid wood legs in a mahogany finish that can contribute to the aesthetic and make any living room sleek!
Pros
- Natural vintage leather - Each piece of furniture is unique and varies in pattern and color tone, meaning that no piece of furniture is the same!
- Easy assembly - This leather sofa is hassle-free to assemble and takes just 10 minutes to set up!
- Feather down topper - On the seating surfaces, this sofa features a feather down topper for maximum comfort.
Cons
- One customer noted that this particular leather sofa arrived scratched.
BEST VALUE
The Rivet Aiden Mid-Century Modern Reversible Sectional Sofa has a modernized, urban look with contemporary colors and slender wooden legs that make it the perfect centerpiece.
This mid-century inspired sectional sofa features a convenient reversible chaise and removable cushions, so you can customize your living room to your taste!
This top grain leather sofa features thick foam padding and supple upholstery for a beautiful, durable piece that is comfortable for you and your guests.
Pros
- Convenient to set up - This sofa is easy and hassle-free to set up, simply assemble it in up to 15 minutes!
- Versatile - This particular leather sofa is available to buy in a variety of rich colors that you can perfectly match to the interior of your home.
- Easy to clean - To keep your leather sofa in the best possible condition, simply wipe with a soft, dry cloth.
Cons
- One customer noted that this specific leather sofa didn’t have as much back support as they were hoping for.
RUNNER UP
The Rivet Cove Mid-Century Modern Tufted Leather Apartment Sofa features durable construction that stands up to daily life.
Boasting a hardwood frame, beech wood legs, foam cushions, and genuine leather upholstery, this sofa features a simple yet stunning design that fits a majority of different decor styles.
This leather sofa features hand-tufted cushions and tapered wood legs that soften and lighten the modern look, making any living room look stylish!
Pros
- Easy to maintain and clean - This sofa features removable back cushions for easy cleaning, to ensure that you can keep your sofa in the best possible condition for as long as possible!
- User friendly and hassle-free set up - Simply assemble this sofa in less than 15 minutes!
- 1-year warranty - Should something go wrong with your sofa, relax in knowing that you’re covered for a whole year!
Cons
- One customer claimed that this particular leather sofa arrived with no legs.
RUNNER UP
The Stone & Beam Westview Extra-Deep Down-Filled Leather Sofa Couch will help you achieve maximum comfort and style in any living space in your home.
This sofa features a solid wood frame and block legs with 100% top-grain leather and down-filled cushions for a quality investment for your home or living space.
You never have to sacrifice comfort for style - this sofa couch has it all!
Pros
- Sturdy, high-quality construction - This leather sofa features a sturdy frame that is built for frequent use and to withstand the test of time.
- Easy and user-friendly to build - Whether you have a tonne of DIY experience or none at all, the easy set up means that this sofa can be built in under 15 minutes!
- 3-year warranty - With a product you’re going to be using daily, you want to ensure the warranty is decent. With 3 years of cover, you can relax knowing that you can cash in on your warranty should something go wrong with your new sofa.
Cons
- One customer noted that this leather sofa was lower than they had been anticipating.
Best Leather Sofa Buying Guide
There are a few things to consider when purchasing a leather sofa, but it mainly comes down to the quality, maintenance, and type of leather.
As a product that you’re going to be using on a daily basis, you will want to ensure that you are investing in a high-quality leather sofa to ensure that it withstands the test of time and regular use.
Often faux leather sofas are marketed as being real leather, but the true test of quality is to smell the leather or if you’re buying it online, making sure that you look at the grain and look for variations.
If it appears to be very uniform then it is likely that it is a faux leather sofa. That being said, corrected-grain leather is often dyed to look uniform so researching whether a company is reputable can also help you determine this.
Read the factors below before making your purchase.
Quality
An important factor to take into account when purchasing a leather sofa is the quality.
As I’ve mentioned above, a good indication of quality when it comes to buying a leather sofa is to smell the leather.
This is because a real leather sofa will smell rich and appealing, as opposed to faux leather which can smell like chemicals a lot of the time.
However, there are ways of telling whether a leather sofa is a good quality when you’re buying it online.
A good indication of quality is to check the grain in the product information and carefully study the product photos to see whether you can see if there are variations or not.
If it all seems the same and uniform, then the likelihood is that it is a faux leather sofa.
Unless the leather has been corrected so that the grain appears more uniform, there should always be variations on genuine leather.
Another good indication of whether a product is of good quality is to check the product reviews section.
Here, customers can leave their feedback, good or bad on the product in question and will give you a better idea of whether it is a durable product that you want to invest in.
Alongside this, product reviews can also tell you a lot about a company’s customer service.
While problems occur that often aren’t the brand’s fault, how they fix that issue goes a long way with customers, and trust can quickly be broken if they don’t deliver on their promises.
If a brand goes above and beyond to make sure that its customers are happy, it is likely that a customer will tell you so in the product reviews section.
However, the same will occur if they experience bad customer service and will give you a better understanding of a brand you’ve potentially never heard of.
That being said, another way to ensure that you are buying a quality leather sofa is to do your own research and to ensure that you are buying it from a reputable brand.
Perhaps a friend or family member has recommended them or their reputation precedes them thanks to multiple five star reviews, but a good reputation goes a long way!
When it comes to buying a product that you know needs to last and withstand the test of time, such as a leather sofa, the most important thing to know is that research is key and knowledge is power.
Bearing this in mind, then, you will feel much better knowing that you are investing in a brand that is known for its quality, over one that you have found that day on the internet.
To avoid disappointment, always ensure that you do your own research and are happy with the results before going ahead with your purchase.
Maintenance
Something that you’ll need to bear in mind when buying a leather sofa is maintenance, as they can be harder to clean and maintain than your average fabric sofa.
All real leather sofas require maintenance if they are to withstand the test of time and you want to keep them looking sleek for years to come.
Semi-aniline leathers and corrected-grain leathers will require less maintenance than full-grain pure aniline leathers, which generally call for specialist care.
This typically includes using good-quality leather protection waxes.
You will need to ensure that you pick a leather sofa that fits your lifestyle well. For instance, some leather sofas cannot be wiped down with water as moisture is bad for the material.
That being said, if you have children, this might not be the right option for you as you’ll need a sofa that is easy to clean.
This is because with little ones running about the place, it probably isn’t wise to buy a leather sofa that can’t be wiped down with ease to get rid of sticky fingerprints and spillages as you’ll just be anxious the whole time and won’t be able to enjoy or use your sofa as much as you would like in fear of ruining the leather.
That being said, how you maintain your sofa will depend on the type of leather sofa that you buy.
Type of leather
When buying a new leather sofa, you will need to think about the type of leather that you wish your sofa to be.
The type of leather will also be affected by your budget, so this is something to be mindful of when you’re shopping.
Below are a few types of leather that you might want to consider when looking for your new sofa.
Full-grain leather is the highest grade of leather you can buy.
It’s the most natural and comes from thick hides that have not been sanded or buffed, and as a result, retain all of the original marks and imperfections of the animal that the leather comes from.
Generally speaking, full-grain leather is typically available in two finishes: full or pure aniline and semi-aniline.
Full-grain pure aniline leather - Full-grain pure aniline leather is soft to the touch and is the most authentic and luxurious leather you can buy, which also means that you can expect it to be the most expensive.
Pure aniline is leather that has been treated with transparent, soluble dyes, retaining the hide’s natural surface so that all the animal’s scars and pores remain visible.
That being said, pure aniline leather is susceptible to stains, scratches, and marks and requires specialist maintenance.
Full-grain semi-aniline leather - Full-grain semi-aniline leather is produced in exactly the same way as pure aniline leather but instead has a layer of top coat added to it.
This not only protects the leather and offers color uniformity, but also allows the natural characteristics of marks and pores to show through.
Although it’s lower maintenance than pure aniline, it still requires you to look after it if it is to withstand frequent use.
Corrected-grain leather - Generally speaking, when leather is marketed as top-grain leather instead of full-grain, it typically means that it’s corrected-grain leather.
Corrected-grain leather is another type of top-grain leather and the second-highest-quality leather that is on the market. When it comes to making corrected-grain leather, the outermost full-grain layer has been removed.
Following this, the hide is sanded and an artificial grain is embossed onto the surface, resulting in an even pattern and uniform color throughout.
Split leather - This type of leather describes leather from the lower layers of the hide after the top-grain layer has been removed.
Split leathers are often embossed and finished to appear as if they are top-grain leathers. However, it is worth noting that they are brittle, and therefore don’t absorb well.
Alongside this, they are also considered to be of lower quality and less durable, therefore having a much lower life than top-grain leathers.
Whichever leather you decide to opt for, make sure that you have done your research and that you choose a leather sofa that compliments your lifestyle rather than hinders it!
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should a leather sofa last?
The answer to this question will depend on how well you look after your leather sofa!
Generally speaking, if you maintain your leather sofa regularly it could last anywhere from 5 to 25 years.
That being said, you will need to ensure that you’re keeping it in the best condition to ensure that the leather remains in as good shape as possible for years to come.
Depending on the type of leather that you opt for, there are different methods to safely clean your leather sofa.
That being said, by caring for your sofa, you can preserve the leather and keep it in the best condition for much longer.
How can you tell if a leather sofa is good quality?
Generally speaking, you can identify genuine leather from faux leather by texture and smell.
Real leather should be soft and warm to the touch and should have a distinctive aroma that is rich, unlike faux leather which can often emit an unpleasant chemical smell.
Another good tip to try is to look at the grain and look for variations. If it's all very uniform then the chance of the sofa being faux leather is much higher.
However, that being said, corrected-grain leather can be harder to judge, as it is made to look a uniform color throughout, so this is something to be mindful of.
