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Talk me out of a suede couch!

6 years ago

I haven't spent much time on this page, but thought I'd throw out a question. I am looking to purchase a new couch. We have decided we want to go for leather. The couch has to serve double duty. It is both a couch for entertaining and a couch for lounging/movie watching. I popped into Restoration Hardware today and totallly fell in love with a couch upholstered in full grain leather suede. It was like sitting on a soft baseball glove. It also looks very fancy. I am aware that suede runs the risk of being stained and difficult/impossible to clean. Setting cleaning issues aside, how will suede wear over 10-15 years? Is it likely to dry out? I ask because I know that it is very difficult to condition suede the way you would a normal leather couch. If anyone has a suede couch, I would love to see photos and especially if it is a few years old.

A few notes:

I am unlikely to actually purchase the couch at Restoration Hardware. I am aware of quality issues and find the price a bit high for the quality of the product. I am having a difficult time finding a couch maker that provides the quality I seek at a reasonable price.

I am comfortable with high maintenance things. Most of my other furniture is reclaimed wood, I have marble on my kitchen counters, and I love patina.

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Comments (3)

Mrs. S
6 years ago
There are all different qualities and finishes of suede, a natural material that will wear where you use it. I'd love it on a jacket. I love, love, love leather on chaps and bridles and tack, but know this: suede on chaps wears smooth wherever it is used (where you sit on the horse) . On chaps it looks fine, but on a couch....I wouldn't like that. If this is a couch that gets used, I wouldn't do it, based on a lifelong interaction with suede and leather, though admittedly, I haven't had it on a sofa. Maybe someone else has.
rjknsf
Original Author
6 years ago
Good tip. I had not thought about the suede rubbing smooth. However, I think the kind of use a couch receives is much less intense than that visited on a saddle or chaps. There is constant friction when a horse is in motion, where as the couch mostly suffers under immobile potatoes who are mostly stationary, lol.

I really am not enjoying the couch buying process. It is worse than remodeling kitchens and worse than designing custom furniture.
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Mrs. S
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I guess it depends on the use the couch will get. In front of a TV that is watched every night? Whether you have kids? Is it going in a seldom-used family room?

People generally sit on the ends of a couch, and use the arm rests to lean against. I'd be worried about the arm rests, and the abrasions from behind your knees--getting up and down. Yes, you're right, my experience with suede is certainly not with a sofa. Good luck!!

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