LEATHER CARE
LET’S TALK LEATHER
Leather is a very popular choice when it comes to loungeroom furniture, and when it comes to upholstering quality leather furniture, James Lane is the expert.
Elegant, modern, easy to care for and clean, hypoallergenic, highly durable and flexible, leather has quite the list of pros! But with so many different types of leather available, and it’s important to really understand what you’re buying – and having some specific leather information on hand can be a big help.
LEATHER PRODUCTION
Leather is created from animal rawhide and skin, most commonly from cattle – but it needs to undergo a process called tanning first. The tanned hide leather can then be used for a range of purposes, from clothing to shoes to furniture.
Skins and hides need to be tanned for a few reasons. Untreated, they can be hard and rigid in low temperatures and too soft and flaccid in high temperatures, and may even rot. Tanning with animal, vegetable, mineral or synthetic materials stabilises the proteins in the leather, allowing it to dry to a flexible finished form that won’t rot.
The part of the rawhide that’s processed to create leather is the dermis, which is divided into two layers. The layer closer to the surface is denser than the layer underneath – the reticular layer. When tanning, the upper part of the dermis makes is used to produce full-grain leather, while the under layer is called the split. The split can be divided into thicknesses of two or more and can be finished and embossed to look like full top grain.
Phew! That’s a whole lot of technical leather information, but it will all come in handy when you start to look at the different types of leather and determining the best leather for furniture.
TYPES OF LEATHER
Corrected grain leather is made from a lower selection of hides. They’re aniline dyed, meaning they’ve been through-dyed by immersion in a dyebath and haven’t received any coating of pigment finish. The leather is then machine buffed to remove any imperfections, coated with pigment, and a grain is embossed to recreate that natural leather look. Corrected full grain leather furniture is highly resistant to wear, light and stains, making it a great option in your home. It’s also relatively easy to clean (though you should always clean up spills on any leather as quickly as possible).
Semi aniline leather is produced using finer quality hides. It is aniline dyed in drums, then slightly covered with organic pigment. This makes the dyeing more uniform and increases the leather’s resistance to wear, light and staining, making it a high resistant quality leather. One of the biggest challenges with semi aniline leather is getting a highly resistant finished product that is as supple as pure aniline leather.
Pure aniline leather is also produced using top-quality hides and dyed in drums, and is one of the softest leathers to the touch. However, pure aniline leather isn’t as light resistant as other types, as well as being very elastic and highly susceptible to staining.
Suede split leather can also be used for furniture upholstery and is produced using the under layer of the tanned hide, the ‘split’. Suede is also aniline dyed, then buffed to give it its characteristic velvety look and feel.
IDENTIFYING IMPOSTERS!
If you’re in search of authentic leather furniture or other genuine leather products, keep an eye out for the term ‘bonded leather’ or ‘reconstituted leather’. This material isn’t actually classed as leather, and is created by layering a fibre or paper backing with a pulp of shredded leather and a polyurethane coating that is embossed to look like real leather.
Of course, when it comes to James Lane leather furniture, Australia can be sure our products are genuine, top quality and will stand the test of time.