Do you like your current sofa? Maybe you do, because it was specially made for the room. Or perhaps you are indifferent; it’s what was available at the time. We tend to view couches as a necessary piece of furniture for our living rooms, dens, and offices, but only devote the minimum amount of time required to make a decision. This is a mistake. The average sofa lasts between seven and 15 years depending on its construction and maintenance. That is a long time to be stuck with a big ugly piece of furniture you don’t really like.

But what if you could have the sofa you wanted? What if it could be made of fine leather upholstery? Before you click away, here are a few points you should consider.

Well-Made Furniture Is an Investment That Will Last You Decades.

Furniture that is cheap for the consumer to buy is usually cheaply made. It is not meant to last one generation to the next. It is meant to help a poor college student “make-do” until they can afford better, or it breaks. Unlike a quality piece of furniture, these cheaper versions are not meant to be repaired. It has to do with two factors: the materials used for its construction, and the method of its assembly. Some materials are hardier than others, and some forms of fabrication hold up better over time than other methods. This is the main difference between low- and high end furniture.

Solid construction comes down to the wood. Solid wood is the most durable, especially when joint construction is used. This means that the wooden pieces are formed to fit into each other like puzzle pieces at the corners. Good fabrics are ones meant to be touched, to be rubbed, and hold up over multiple cleanings. Some linens, wool, and velvets hold up surprisingly well, although leather is universally acknowledged to be the strongest of the bunch.

Quality Leather Furniture Vs. Bonded Leather Upholstery.

Not all leathers are equal. If you have ever noticed a major price difference in seemingly similar pieces of furniture, it is because the leathers are not the same. Bonded leather is when small pieces are seamlessly bonded together to create what seems like a bigger piece. It can be used everywhere that genuine leather is used, but it does not always stand up the same over time. For a small belt or leather bound book this may not be a big concern, but for a large piece of leather upholstery that will see quite a bit of use, it does not pay to be cheap.

Your Sofa Takes a Beating Year in, Year Out.

The average person spends about four hours on their couch every day. We eat about 13 meals each month on our couches, which computes to about 1,200 meals over its total lifetime of 15 years. It will suffer over 1,600 spills, from us and our more than 700 visits from outside guests. Is your sofa easy to clean? Genuine leather upholstery is surprisingly easy to keep clean actually, although it may need to be conditioned bi-annually to stay supple.

After your mortgage and your car payment (and maybe student loans), a good quality sofa is likely the biggest purchase you will make starting out. It may be fine Italian leather furniture. It will likely be a well-constructed non-Italian furniture piece. Just remember that when buying furniture, it should serve you well over the years. Find out more at this site. See this link for more references.