Useful Guide for Knowing Quality Leathers
Wegner-Inspired: JH Lounge Chair
When it comes to furnishing your home with leather furniture, knowing what to look for to ensure you are getting the best quality of leather is key. Simply put, not all leather is created the same. Here is a quick guide about what constitutes quality leather and what cheap alternatives to avoid:
Top Grain Leather: Also known as ‘full grain,’ think of this as the prime rib of all the leathers. This is the top part of the hide, the best part, and is the only leather we use since it is and is best suited for furniture upholstery due to its pliability and unmatched strength and durability.
Split Leather: This is the bottom layer of leather that is left after the top-grain leather layer has been removed (or split, hence the name). It is typically sprayed and embossed to look more like top-grain, but it is not nearly as durable and will show scratches and signs of wear after only a few years.
Bonded Leather: Think of this as the hot dog of leathers. This is the leftover leather that is ground up with glue and recycled (we do not use bonded leather).
Pure Aniline-Dyed: Our premium leathers are all 100% aniline dyed which means the color you see is achieved by soaking the leather in a large drum of non-toxic dye to penetrate the leather’s grain all the way through and still visually maintain the integrity of the leather’s natural surface. Between our premium leather and standard leather options, the premium leather is the softer.
Semi-Aniline-Dyed: With the same durability as our premium leathers, our standard leathers are semi-aniline dyed. This is the same process as mentioned above, though a small amount of pigment has been added to achieve the desired color and imperfections are corrected on the leather where necessary.
You can come see, smell, feel and sit in our wide variety of leathers at any of our showroom locations in Bellingham, Chicago or Dallas. If you are not able to visit we can always mail you any swatches of our leathers by filling out our Material Sample Request Form.