I have many customers who agonize over the color of a specific leather hide, and go to great lengths to bring in cushions of existing pieces, paint chips, and curtain material to ensure the perfect match. They take the flagged samples and move them from room to room in my store to see how different lighting affects the colors.

Folks, let me tell you something, Leather hides vary not only in color, but in sheen as well. You can expect several shade variances from batch to batch in leather, so when you see that swatch, keep in mind that what actually arrives will typically be a different hue or sheen or contrast than what you saw on the swatch.

Finished leathers (also called semi-aniline) are "painted". The color is shot on with a spray gun during the tanning process, so they tend to be the most consistent and true to the sample swatches.

Aniline dyed leathers vary greatly. As they are vat-dyed, each group takes the color a little differently.

Most every leather house will let you have a 'cutting for approval' if you absolutely - positively, have to have a specific shade. However, this will always increase youre production time from 2 to 4 weeks, and the cutting will NOT be mailed out until you have placed an order through your dealer.

Even with that cutting for approval, the finished product will look somewhat different as pulling a hide tight over an arm (in aniline dyes) typically lightens the hide where taut and looser areas on the piece usually show darker.

Remember, if you want perfect, BUY VINYL !!

Duane Collie

The Keeping Room