What is the best type of leather upholstery to get
Today, many people have decided to go with leather upholstery instead of your traditional fabric upholstery. Like anything else, there are pluses and misuses.
First, let us consider why people would feel this way. Most, probably have had upholstered fabric that either didn’t hold up well or got soiled and or stained from spills that they just could not get cleaned, so thought leather would be a better choice. The truth is, there are three main types of leather, Protected, Aniline, and Nubuck. Each one is different.
Protected leather is the least expensive and the leather hide may have many marks or imperfections, so a topical colorant is applied to give a uniform appearance then and a protective finish is applied to protect the color from wearing off. This finish will crack over time and when the finish wears off the color will soon wear also. The plus is that it is fairly easy to clean general soil from.
Aniline leather is of a higher quality than protected leather and is quite often finished with different applied finishes such as soft waxes. With fewer imperfections in this type of leather, you will be able to see the natural grain in the leather giving it a more natural look. This type of leather usually requires more care and is easily stained from any liquid spills.
Lastly, we have Nubuck leather. This is the best quality with the least imperfections. In the process that this goes through, the top layer is sanded to cause the surface to have a fine nap. This enhances the feel of the leather. For looks and comfort, this is your best choice but also the most expensive. This is also very hard to clean and easily stained, so it is not a good choice for someone with little kids or pets.
In summary, I would have to say that with upholstered fabric, you have many more choices and in all honestly, most are much easier to clean and remove stains from than leather.