LEATHER SOFA OR FABRIC SOFA – WHICH ONE WORKS BETTER IN INTERIOR DESIGN?

A sofa is a huge investment that one makes while Interior Designing or Decorating their living spaces. Selecting the best sofa for your space is indeed a task in itself. During the process, one is faced by the big question or confusion – whether to go in for a leather sofa or a fabric one. To be truthful, the choice totally depends on the user’s preference. The choice of materials is determined by various factors such as usage, budget, look and so on and so forth. At Simplinteriors, one of the top Interior Design Training School, Lagos Nigeria, we teach our students on how to make good choice of materials and fabrics that will suit the purpose of a space. Both materials have their sets of pros and cons. These do not render one material perfect as compared to the other. The following article enlists and elucidates the pros and cons to make the choice a few steps easier.

• Maintenance

Leather sofas are easy to clean and maintain. Just wipe the sofa with a damp cloth and you are done. The ease of maintenance makes it children friendly.

Fabric sofas have a moderately high difficulty level when it comes to their maintenance. These can be stained or torn easily, therefore, need a lot of care when there are kids or pets in the house.

Despite the fact that leather sofas are easy to maintain, one needs to moisturize the leather periodically to keep the shine and calm intact.

Although, fabric sofas have high difficulty level for their upkeep, yet there are options like dry cloth dusting, vacuum cleaning etc. to take care of your sofa on a regular basis. To keep the color intact, one should refrain from exposing the fabric sofas to sunlight.

• Comfort

There are many factors that determine the comfort of furniture. The type of textile and the support system, such as cushions and frames play a huge role. In this case, the fabric pieces are more comfortable than their leather counterparts for several reasons. The main one is that fabric is overall more comfortable than leather. Like your car seat, leather absorbs heat faster than fabric. The same is with leather furniture; it will feel warm after sitting on it for a while. Leather furniture however, is firmer than the fabric ones.

• Color Durability

Both materials offer varieties of option. Fabrics provide unlimited tones and pattern choices that will fit any décor; the downside is that colors tend to fade out quickly in time. It can be due to excessive use of the sofa, frequent washing, or the fact that it simply fades out with age. On the contrary, leather’s color palette is more lasting – but only if you don’t mind the slight sheen that comes with the material.

• Budget

The cost of both types of sofas is determined by the quality. Undoubtedly, good fabric and framing are expensive. At the end, however, the same leather price will cost you the same if not more as buying a high quality fabric sofa. The best strategy is to compare prices and features such as ease of cleaning, comfort and durability. When making your decisions, take into your account your own preferences.

• Appearance

A leather sofa, with its sleek and classic appearance, adds certain elegance to the room. You can hardly achieve the same effect with fabrics. Fabric sofas are available in many hues and designs and tend to add a contemporary vibe to a home.

• Hypoallergenic Sofas

The leather sofas because of its molecular form do not attract dust mites, pet dander, and other allergens, as compared to fabric and is therefore suitable for spaces that cater to people with allergies.

Fabric sofas attract dust mites, pet dander, and other allergens, and should be avoided where the people with allergies use the space.

• Pet Peeves – the contemporary Leather Sofa

The sharp claws of pets can easily damage leather, so it is a negative choice when you have cats and dogs in the house. The leather sofa once scratched appears ugly and one needs to get the entire sofa reupholstered to get rid of the scratches.

Fabric through a little resistant to the claws of the pets is still prone to damage. However, the claws pose a lesser threat but pet dander does get on to the fabric easily which can easily be cleaned by dusting or vacuum cleaning the sofa whenever the need arises.

The Contemporary Sofa –‘Wear in’ or ‘Wear out’ – Over Time

Leather wears in with age and gets better. It is made to last for years together. As the years pass, the skin of leather develops a natural patina that adds on to the beauty of it thus rendering it more attractive.

When it comes to fabric, it is an understood phenomenon that it ‘wears out’ over a time- period. The fabric is more susceptible to ripping and stains. The rate of wear and tear of the fabric is also determined by the grade of the fabric that was used. Therefore, the quality of the fabric should be well determined before buying it.

To make the fabric upholstery last long, one can even go in for removable covers to protect their main upholstery from wear and tear, which remains for special occasions only. This helps in increasing the overall life of the fabric upholstery.

Although, both the materials carry their sets of pros and cons, but the chosen material for the sofa should be in compliance with ones choices and needs. One should be extremely chuffed while in the lap of their sofa, The sofa is one piece of furniture that one does not buy everyday hence, getting it right in one go is quintessential. One should gauge in all the points prior to the final purchase. There is an array of choice to suit ones taste and most importantly the budget. These are but a few points that help one make an informed decision while buying a new sofa. While the budget matters, the materials help in achieving the desired character of the space by means of the sofa set. One can even opt to go in for the best of both materials if it is done in a balanced and rhythmic manner.

Lastly, to get the best sofas at affordable prices be it leather or fabric, Simplinteriors and Decor has got you covered, please visit our showroom to make your choices at no 27, Akerele road, off Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, or no 7, Taiye oluwu street off Admiralty way, Lekki phase 1, Lagos, Nigeria and you can also visit our online store at www.simplinteriors.com/shop for more.