Call a professional and get a couple of quotes. You might be better off taking the cushion to them because these guys usually charge to come out to make a quote. Call and ask. I know because I used to repair leather. The colorant costs about $75 a quart and you have to mix it to get the right color. Also, there are different procedures for diferent types of leather. This is not a DIY repair, but if you want to try, there are several sites on the web that will explain how to do the repair and sell you the kit.

Furniture manufacturers are in business to make money, just like everyone else. Your local furniture store buys from the manufacturer through the manufacturers sales representative. This representative also earns a percentage of all sales in their territory. So it should be common knowledge if you can purchase directly from the manufacturer you can avoid the retail store markup and also the representative take from each sale. I suggest that to partial38, the features your looking for may not get you the best deal, or fall with in your budget. A high quality frame? What this is, is not a pine plywood frame stapled together. Solid hardwood 4/4, 5/4 is better or hardwood wood plywood thats same thickness, minimum of 12 plys. This frame should be double-doweled and glued. Now the seat springs is where most everyone makes the mistake that it has to be coil springs that are 8-way hand tied. And thats simply not true. A no-sag sinuous wire spring; 8 gauge spring securely fastened to a hardwood frame using the clips that are required by the spring manufacturer, and that are engineered to the correct length and stretched accordingly to the spring manufacturers requirement will result in a seat suspension that will last a lifetime and have the same ride/push-back as the best 8-way handtied coil springs. The only time that a 8-way handtied coil springs suspension is better is when it is a spring edge with the correct rail heights all the way around the frame. At this time I dont know of very few manufacturers building their 8-way handtied coil springs this way, if so the costs for a leather sofa will be upwards of 5000.00 Its just too labor intensive and takes highly skilled worker to build. Truly the only type of seat cushion core that will last for 20 years+ is a 100% natural latex. A true 2.0+ pound density high-resilent foam core will normally last 5+ years. But all will loose some shape because of the wrap around the cushion core is of a softer material: polyester fiber or down blend or a thin foam wrap of same density foam which last better that the first 2 , and all manufacturers dont consider this softening of the softer wrap a defect in any way, but just normal wear. Back cushions are usually of a the same: polyester fiber or down blend and will not last or hold its shape after considerable use. But usually thats a fix the owner or upholstery shop can do to replace this filling to be like new again with minimal costs. If anyone does a search of my name in this forums will realize I have been preaching this for many years. My 38+ years of managing upholstery product design and development for 20+ manufacturers and many years working in re-upholsery. I have always said that your local re-upholstery shop that has been in business for 20+ years with the same owner is the best resource for understanding what it takes to makes a quality sofa. Because they have to repair or junk the ones that arent worth re-upholstering.

I have a velour couch with loose back cushions....it is 25 years old and looks very good. I also have a navy blue leather couch with attached back and cushions. It is about 10 years old and looks as good as new. I think it depends on the fabric you use. If I were to buy a new couch today, I would choose leather. Always looks clean. As for slip covers....mother used a throw type on her furniture....I wouldn't want to have to keep a fitted slipcover tight and in place.

Wellington, Im glad to here your experiences and that you have more knowledge compared to most retailers. And you make some good points and some that are not correct. Example is the link to the Chesterfield sofa. First how to you think they attach the row of buttons thats along the front edge of the seat, thats the first row just above the top seat border? I direct you to your site here: http://www.wellingtonsleather.com/furniture-catalog/sofas-a-loveseats/ball-in-claw-leather-sofa-detail.html I can just about guarantee that this sofa does not have coil spring 8-way hand tied seat. Thus not every sofa has 8-way tied spring coil seating. You mentioned using metal rods instead of twine. Metal rods is not exactly the correct terminology, its metal prong buttons and when a manufacturer (McKinley Leather is one and a number of others) that pre-tuffs; they either use the metal prong buttons or a pre-tied twine in a loop to a length that matches the thickness of the poly and using a slited plastic washer to hook and hold in the button. You said you never heard of "pre-tufting a seat. Pre-tufting is where they glue a piece of FLW or propex to the bottom of the foam that is pre-bored for tufting. Then someone, not an upholster, lays on the material (fabric/leather) where the position of the buttons is already marked by the cutter. This person then locates this mark on the material, takes a prong metal button and pushes the button through the material, through the hole in the foam (this hole must align with the correct mark on the material, through the FLW and bends over the prongs to secure the button into the foam near the bottom, doing all the buttons this way is how you make a pre-tufted seat. This person also folds over each pleat to finish up. Then all the upholster has to do is place it over the springs and staples down along the edges. Saves quit a bit of time and labor costs. This is how most major upholstery manufacturers do their button tufting. As far as how good 8-way tied spring coil seating is, its only as good as they the manufacturer makes it. Please know that the springs are held together with twine. Twine being a string. String can break. It breaks much easier than metal. Thats just the laws of physics. I have seen 100 times more often repairs done on 8-way tied spring coils that are being reupholstered than repairs done on no-sag springs. No-sag springs that are 8 to 8.5 gauge will not ever break or sag. Thats been tested by many of furniture labs. The issue with no-sag springs is how their fastened and what their fastened to. I have seen many times where no-sag springs have either pulled loose from the frame or the frame that holds the no-sag spring is broken. But its never the spring itself. Their is no better seating than a 8-way hand tied coil seating with a spring-edge front. Its the most comfortable, evenly support across the seat and will go a long ways in helping seat cushions hold their front edge shape and increase their life. The problem is very few manufacturers still make a spring-edge front any more. To make a spring-edge front requires at least 3 times longer than a just tying the springs directly to the top edge of all the seat rails. The image you show is close to being correctly tied. The twine should be knot tied at every point, its not in the image, its just every other point on the spring is knot tied. Now they do drop down on the last ring of the coils along the outside edge, thats good. Also should never be less than 4 rows deep and have a slight crown in the center. And this is where now so many upholstery manufacturers, in their spring-up department have gotten away from tying correctly, the way it should be done. The tying it the quickest and easiest way possible, just so they can use the term "8-way hand tied coil seating ". In a nutshell your sitting on the string/twine and not the springs. A seat thats flat with no ride, meaning its so firm that it offers little comfort, so your just sitting on the cushions and the twine, until the twine finally gives out and breaks. My point is don't always buy into the 8-way hand tied coil seat advertising as thats all it is: advertising. Now my case in point for a button tufted seat using no-sag springs. The fabric, buttons with the twine, dacron fiber, poly (foam) and springs should move together as one unit. TOP TO BOTTOM. And that won't happen if you try to button tuft a hand tied coil spring seat. Because the coil springs at the bottom do not move. And thats where you tie off the buttons also, at the bottom, unless of course its a pre-tufted seat. I strongly suggest that you connect with the upholster on this and come and see him actually build a tufted seat. Maybe take some photos and post them here.