I like two chairs to match. I especially don't like having sofa in one leather and a chair in another leather. If you have room for one other small chair(a 3rd), then I would change the fabric. If you are doing the chairs in fabric, I would not have them from the same set as the sofa. I guess you will get different answers from everyone, but this is what I like!

I sympathize with how difficult it is to shop with little kids, but for something that will be as well used as a recliner, and for something where comfort is SO subjective, I'd strongly encourage you to get your husband to try it out. There are so many components to comfort: depth and width of seat, back height, firmness, how far it reclines and by what mechanism, etc. We have two, one in our den and one in our living room. I find the one in the den very comfortable and spend hours in it. The one in the living room LOOKS much nicer and the seat itself is very comfortable, but the footrest just hits my calves in the wrong spot and isn't as comfortable--though for my DH, 2" taller, it's perfect.

Count me in as a Lexol user as well, although I got it at the hardware store. When I was a teenager I went to horse camp and spent many, many hours doing chores in a stable in trade for riding time and y'know, if Lexol could return those filthy, dusty, sweaty saddles and bridles to attractiveness, a couch and chair has got to be a piece of cake. We use it on shoes and leather jackets, too. (Can't say how it would work on a Coach bag, I've never even seen one IRL much less owned one.)

While the repair kit has been used forever, it takes some ability for detail work and color mixing. There are a variety of repair kits available, but I think they will look repaired and can make it look worse than the before. An arm cover close to the same material may the easiest way to deal with it. This doesn't help though if other areas start pealing. Perhaps check out a good auto detailer and see what they use or how it is done. Called "Pleather", it is a standard in the auto industry. The shoe repair guy definitely has the answer. Tough to find one here. Most likely uses the same process as the car guys.