I'm just wondering what you decided to do with your Italian leather sofa. I have an American made leather sectional with attached cushions, top grain leather, heavy frame, but it's two years old and the cushions are sagging, the leather creasing, and I'm afraid I'm going to have tear in the leather sooner or later. It's a bear trying to find info on re-stuffing a couch with attached cushions, but from what I have gleaned it involves disassembling the couch, separating the seats from the backs, cutting the dust cover, removing and replacing the seat cushions, re-stapling the dust cover, and re-assembling the couch. I've been unable to get anyone to come to the house to take a look, let alone give me an estimate for the repair. It sounds way too complicated to DIY, but I believe I'm going to try it anyway. The leather is great, the frame is great, but the poor quality foam is going to make it unusable, so why send it all to the landfill without even trying? Of course my fear is that I won't be able to put it all back together again!

Thank you both for the support. The sofa I saw in the store was a similar leather to the one you linked to, postum. The cushions were a very dark paisley and I thought it look quite nice. I know I'm making this old sofa sound awful but I'm sitting here looking at it now and it's not that bad. I have a throw over it that covers the cracks in the seat cushions and throw pillows at each end. I'm just thinking that if I get a good coordinating fabric on the cushions it would eliminate the need for the throw that I'm constantly readjusting after DH has his nap.

Microfiber is very durable. We just purchased a sofa that has a microfiber that looks and feels like suede-very soft to the touch. With children, I'd definitely stick with a medium to dark shade. Mushroom, green and burgundy or brick red would all look good with Ivoire, IMO.

Key questions to ask & answer before reupholstering: Do I really really love the shape, size and format of this piece? Does it fit perfectly in my room? Seat height & depth excellent? Style adorable/charming? Is the frame really well made? I.e. hardwood, preferably doweled in corners. Is it (still) very sturdy? If I lift 1 corner 12 inches off the ground, does another corner come up the same distance (or is the frame so loose that I can feel it flex and bend as I lift, and the lifted corner is higher than any other)? Do I feel confident I can select a fabric that will look fantastic on this particular piece of furniture? Do I know a really good, talented, artistic upholsterer with room on his/her schedule? (a good artistic eye is needed for decisions on centering, seaming, alignment, welting, tufting, buttons etc.) Am I willing to pay as much or more for the upholstery job than it would cost to buy a couch new? Will I be happy with the result because it is much more awesome than the new couches currently available to me and therefore worth the extra price & risk? If all of the answers above are a strong YES, then go ahead and upholster. But even a single No would be reason to reconsider.