Fabric and Leather Design Resource

Leather and fabric furniture are an essential design element in creating a cozy and inviting space. Our extensive library of fabrics, finishes, and vendor catalogs allow you to select the perfect options for your home along with the guidance of our home furnishing experts. We have a wonderful assortment of upholstered and leather furniture for you to try out and thousands of leather, fabric, and wood samples in our showroom to select from. Our furnishings become your perfect design solution and are customized to suit your style and taste.

The Characteristics of Leather and Fabric

We strive to display a wide variety of leathers and fabrics in our showroom to best represent what each manufacturer has to offer. Sometimes a sofa or chair calls for a high grade leather or fabric to evoke the feeling and style of our Luxe department, at other times a durable starting grade fabric is used to evoke a family room setting. The choice is yours and the final price of each piece will depend on your selection of fabric or leather. We specialize in customization to suit your style and budget.

Some fabrics will feature a beautiful pattern while others have a unique weave or texture. The fiber content and weave will affect how your fabric performs and change the look and feel of each piece. You might select a warm and cozy velvet, a durable tapestry weave or a beautiful floral print. We have thousands of fabrics to choose from and the capability of using custom order materials between vendors.

Not all leathers are the same. Some are extremely soft and buttery such as a pure aniline lambskin which comes in smaller hide sizes and may require additional seaming. Hair-on-hide and embossed leathers are great for accenting the outside back of a chair, and pure aniline leathers allow the beautiful natural characteristics of a leather hide to show through. Protected and pigmented leathers are available in the widest variety of colors and are more cleanable and forgiving for heavily used areas, while waxed pull-up leathers offer a rustic appearance that will show more character and develop a beautiful patina with use.

Considerations for Leather and Fabric

Fabrics and leathers can be used on hard working family room sofas, chairs, and sectionals or they can be applied to more decorative jewel pieces used in a guest room or a front hall. Always keep in mind the function of your furnishings as you begin selecting from our extensive library of fabrics and leathers. In the end you may edit out some beautiful options if they do not meet the functional requirements for your furnishing needs.

For heavily used family room furniture, protected leathers make the most sense and will stand up the best to heavy daily use. Recent innovations in production have allowed, even well protected leathers, to have a soft buttery feel. From supple pure aniline leathers to hard working high performance varieties we have the best selection to choose from.

If your style is more suited to fabric, you have thousands of options to choose from. Many of our manufacturers feature performance fabrics that offer durable construction and are stain resistant. So don’t be afraid to live in your living room anymore, our design associates can help you select the perfect fabrics and leathers for your needs.

Fabric and Leather Furniture Types and Materials

Leather

• Pure aniline leather features a full color dying with aniline dye all the way through the material and does not include any additional coloring.
• Semi-aniline leather is likewise aniline-dyed, but it is then given additional coloration with slight pigmentation. This extra coloration ensures a greater stain resistance and a more consistent palette.
• Pull-up leather includes a natural appearance and tends to lighten in color over time. This appearance is thanks to the oil, wax, and dye treatment it receives.
• Protected leather is one of the most durable forms of leather available on the market and features a polymer surface coating containing various pigments.
• Embossed leather is less of a type of leather and more of a process. This leather is fashioned with a design that’s applied with tremendous pressure.
• Suede leather is highly delicate when compared to other forms of leather. This material is crafted by producing a nap through a buffing process.
• Full-grain leather furniture is a natural option that does not feature any sanding or buffing, allowing you to experience all of the upholstery's imperfections—considered to be the highest quality option.
• Top-grain is one of the most commonly seen types of leather used in high-end furniture designs. This furniture style is considered to be the second-highest quality leather option.
• Split-grain, also called split leather, is crafted from the animal's fibrous section once the top grain of the hide is separated.
• Pigmented leather is highly durable but tends to lack a natural look causing the piece to feature fewer imperfections in the design.
• Bonded leather is usually used to create cheaper leather furniture pieces and is often crafted from shredded leather that's bonded into a single piece.

Fabric and Fibers

• Velvet is incredibly luxurious and features a lustful softness. This material is subject to crush marks through regular use; however, these markings can be somewhat quelled through gentle brushing and steaming. Though many individuals find natural wear to be a pleasant visage.
• Silk and satin are natural fibers that have long reigned as the very symbol of prestige and quality. These materials tend to crush over time and can display seam lines or pressure wrinkles.
• Olefin is a man-made material and generally exhibits a highly robust nature when compared to other fibers and fabrics.
• Viscose/Rayon has become one of the foremost fabrics in upholstered furniture. Crafted from wood chip fibers, this material was originally designed as a substitute for silk because of the similar sensation it offers.
• Nylon is an easy-to-clean fabric that is often blended with other fabrics to further increase its strength and longevity. This makes it an excellent option for high-traffic areas.
• Chenille features short fibers twirled around a yarn core, which gives off the signature tufted look.
• Vinyl is a soft and pliable material that is not unlike leather. This option is crafted from petrochemicals, which include plasticizers.
• Cotton is natural and available in a multitude of different colors, making it one of the most popular fabric furniture options on the market.
• Linen is crafted from the flax plant and is often blended with synthetic materials that create a smooth and comfortable sensation.
• Acetate is a synthetic fabric designed to imitate silk, making it an elegant option that offers a luxurious sense with every touch.
• Acrylic is a soft synthetic fabric that imitates wool; this makes it an accessible option that looks great in any living space.
• Polyester furniture is a soft and comfortable microfiber that's available in a wide variety of colors and is known to blend in with other furniture pieces.
• Whether you're looking for a sofa, sectional, or chair, your upholstery option of leather or fabric is vital. Both options feature a myriad of styles and materials from which to choose, and with numerous benefits associated with each, you'll be sure to find the best furniture for your home.