Help! Clueless about Leather LR furniture...

HeyJune

We have a toddler who is potty training and another little one on the way. 

I've had it with fabric living room furniture. Mine has removable cushions that can be unzipped and washed, but I feel like I've been washing them non-stop since we brought our first child home from the hospital. Between the spit up, diaper accidents, sticky peanut butter/jelly hands, and sippy cups left upside down...I'm ready to switch to leather. Our sofas look fine, but they just feel gross to me with all of the clean-up they require.

The problem is, I really have no idea what would look good. It seems like everyone who has leather furniture has a totally different style than we do. Our home has a very coastal feel to it. We have white trim, light gray/blue walls, light colored wood floors, and some oil rubbed bronze fixtures/lamps. Our house's colors are similar to the living room on the main page here: http://www.potterybarn.com/

DH is asking if we could find leather furniture that has built in recliners. He hates ottomans, and I don't like the look of most recliners.

Are these completely out of style? Will they look horrible with the style our house is? Any advice on where to look? Is bonded leather instead of top grain leather a really cheap/bad decision? 

http://www.adamspiercefurniture.com/catalog/item/6718529/7488984.htm

http://www.wolffurniture.com/Item.aspx?ItemID=-2141668159&ItemNum=755-30 

 

TarHeels&Rebels

Yes, bonded leather is a huge mistake. It'll come apart and unglued in just a couple years.

If you really do aspire to a PB look, I don't think the sofas you've selected will get you there.  Seats that look like first class airplane seats have always seemed out of place to me in any home, but that's definitely my personal bias, so take it for what it's worth.

Have you looked at regular recliners lately?  They look nothing like the bloated recliners of 20 years ago.   Just as an example, this one from Ballard is pretty standard nowadays.  You can find something like it in any furniture store.

If you've never had or seen a recliner sofa after a couple years, I'll tell you they don't wear well.  The ends with the recliners get constant daily use and no one ever sits in the middle, so the ends are smushed, worn, flat, and creased, while the hump in the middle invariably looks like it does when it came home from the store.  Not cute.

So my rec is a leather sofa like PB's Austin or Manhattan with fabric upholstered recliners.  (Btw, we all agree that PB is ridiculously overpriced, so find a sofa like these at a store near you.)

2bjam

We have living room furniture that looks almost identical to what you chose...

This was the set we bought:  http://www.jordans.com/Sofas/L36112500.aspx

It has held up beautifully so far and we have 2 dogs that run the house, so yes, they do test the durability of our furniture daily... 

I realize that our style isn't what everyone would choose, but it is SO comfortable and my DH wanted everything to recline. He is also 6'4" and needed larger furniture. Half of the recliners he sat in, the footrest came to mid-calf on him... so we went with this set- it is large! 

Although I love PB looks, I don't find any of that stuff even close to comfortable. And that was what was most important to us and we love what we chose. 

(PsIB if interested)...   

Pamela05

We just ordered a leather sofa from Ethan Allen in a more traditional style. Finding one that's a recliner and would fit your style might be hard. What about a couch and a couple of non-overstuffed recliners?  

Christy062009

We also have living room furniture like the ones in the OP.  I regret it now but mostly because we moved and it doesn't feel like it fits the room.  Also, we paid $3k and it is junk.  I don't think its the most stylish but IRL we have received a lot of compliments on it.  Of course, I live in a LCOL area and most of our friends are not into decor.  They just like how comfortable it is and that 4 people can recline at the same time!

TheBridesMom

Honestly, I think those sofas are really far off from your style.   They don't have a coastal vibe at all.