Brown Leather

We here at Brown Leather are of the very strong opinion that everyone should own as much brown leather as possible. While just about anyone can afford to outfit themselves with a brown leather jacket of some sort, when it comes to investing in leather furniture, the decision is a bit more difficult. Yes, most people understand that its nice and wouldn’t mind having it, but are a bit unsure about spending the money it takes to upgrade to this level of luxury. We assume this is because they just haven’t really thought it out, or, maybe, no one has taken the time to explain all of the benefits to them. If you fall into this category just sit back and allow your imagination put you into that beautiful, butter soft, leather chair while we paint a picture of elegance and explain why we feel the way we do.

Good Value

Leather furniture can be one of the most valuable pieces of furniture in your home, and when it’s well maintained it can last a lifetime. While you can buy a chair for less money, five years from now that chair will have worn down and you will need to buy a new one; whereas a leather chair would still look new and have years of life above and beyond. In fact, well maintained, even slightly neglected, leather furniture looks better with age as it develops a natural patina that cannot be duplicated by machines.

Naturally Beautiful

This reason might strike some wrong, but it’s true. Leather is all-natural, and it’s truly beautiful. Leather has been used by men since the dawn of mankind. I like all that rich history under my skin. Also, the older leather gets the better it looks. Unlike any other upholstery, it actually looks better after 20 years than when it was new. Can you say that about your blue plaid loveseat?

Brown Leather Goes With Everything

I like to redecorate a lot. But I don’t want to replace my favorite chair every time either. The other leather color choices are black (Done-To-Death), white (Are you kidding? White furniture?) and the occasional reddish tan (Eww!) — none of which really please me. My brown leather armchair is always perfect no matter what my room colors are this season. Brown is always a neutral color and accent pillows can tie everything together.

Easy to Maintain

Yeah, I’m lazy. I admit it. But taking care of a leather armchair is very simple if you stick to it. Even I can manage that! You need to make sure to clean it regularly with a dry cloth to keep the dust off, and if you spill something on it make sure to clean it up right away.  A common mistake is to use a lot of soap and water, but this is the biggest mistake that you could ever make on your leather furniture, because this speeds up the cracking of the leather and damages it.

Conditioning your leather furniture is also the perfect task for us lazy housekeepers because you only have to do it every 6 to 12 months. Use something mild — you do not want anything too strong for leather. Conditioning cleaners especially for leather are best! And most importantly, keep your armchair away from strong sunlight and fire. There is a reason that you always see leather furniture in a dark room, but you can still have it in a sunny room if you just make sure to keep it where the sun does not shine directly on it.

photo credit: tacker

My Dog Won’t Damage It

A lot of people worry that they can’t have leather furniture because they have a pet. However, my dog’s nails have never done one speck of damage to my brown leather armchair. Leather is actually pretty durable, especially when you consider that it was made to protect the original wearer from serious injury.  If you’re still nervous you can purchase protected leather for your furniture, which is just leather that has had extra finish put on it to help protect it from pets and kids. Then you don’t have to worry about who sits where.

Leather Furniture Breathes

Because leather is natural, made from animal skin, it has pores, just like our skin. So it breathes; meaning air can pass through it from both directions. This makes it cool in summer and warm in winter, because the air quickly moves the temperature of your body or the environment to the leather surface. Of course, this is only the case because I have a good quality leather chair. If it were an inferior grade of leather it would not be so nice. But I have never regretted spending the money on the best armchair I could find.

Of course, there is nothing quite as satisfying as that soft “whoosh” when you sit down on a leather chair or sofa. Don’t tell anyone, but I have been known to make my chair go “whoosh” over and over again, just of the fun of hearing it.

My Leather Armchair Will Never Leave Me

As I mentioned before, leather furniture outlasts every other kind, usually by a ratio of four to one times longer. That means it will still be with me when I take my last breath, and I hope do so within its embrace. That may sound strange, but stay with me a moment.

I remember the times we visited my grandparent’s house when I was young. I would tiptoe into my grandfather’s study where he sat in his leather armchair and I would creep up into his lap. As he talked to me about magical things, I immersed myself in the aromas of him and his old leather chair. That smell today still makes me feel safe, secure and loved. That’s how I want to feel when I slip away into the long, long night.

Now, you may revive yourself from the dream and face the reality that you don’t yet own one of these timeless pieces of classic furniture. That’s Ok. All you need to do is start visiting furniture stores in your area so that you can ‘test drive’ a few different styles to find the brown leather armchair that suits you. We know that when you do, you’ll be figuring out what it takes to make the purchase and join us in out appreciation of the perfect piece of furniture that will last a lifetime.