Leather or fabric sofas? Strengths

Which to choose: leather or fabric sofas? Calia Italia offers a wide range of coverings to satisfy aesthetic taste and practical needs thereby transforming comfort into a unique experience.

However, which should you choose between leather or fabric sofas? Undoubtedly, it is not easy to say for sure whether the best choice of sofa is leather or fabric, since at the basis of this decision there are both aesthetic and practical things to consider. For example, we should think about the long-term cleaning and maintenance of the star of our living room and take into consideration which might be best when having small children or pets. Here is a guide that reveals the strengths of both types of upholstery.

Characteristics of leather and fabric sofas

From the point of view of comfort, the choice of a fabric or leather sofa is essentially linked to the time of the year. For instance, leather is more affected by the cold in winter and the heat in summer. However, there is a very simple solution: you can just add a sofa cover!  In fact, although leather absorbs more external heat than fabric, it does have the advantage of greater durability, provided the material is of high quality. Such quality is guaranteed by Calia Italia with its top models, which are available with real natural leather covers.

One example is the ‘Venere sofa’ from the Calia Italia ‘Mater Familias Collection’. With its essential lines and soft seating, the leather version expresses all the elegance of its design. 

Meanwhile in the Calia Italia ‘Gourmandise Collection’, the ‘Gianduia’ sofa stands out and, as its name suggests, is inspired by the shapes of cocoa and hazelnut cream. It features a rounded, embracing design and like ‘Venere', ‘Gianduia’ also finds its fullest expression in its leather upholstery.

Among the most successful Calia Italia models in the fabric version are ‘Toby Wing’ and ‘Dragées’.

‘Toby Wing’ (also known as 'the sofa with wings’) is equipped with a backrest and tilting armrests that allow the seat to be considerably extended to make the sofa an actual day-bed.

‘Dragées’, the flagship model of the Calia Italia ‘Gourmandise Collection’, is a sofa of extreme elegance, characterised by a very thin base on which the back and armrests rest directly.

The range of upholstery that Calia Italia offers for its models is capable of satisfying every aesthetic and functional need. For leather upholstery, the company selects only genuine leather tanned without the use of harmful products and features a total of 16 versions with 111 available colour variants. For fabric upholstery, Calia Italia offers natural, synthetic and microfibre fabrics with 35 versions and 494 available colour variants.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Choosing sofa upholstery in fabric or leather may depend more on maintenance and cleaning concerns for your piece of furniture. In order to guarantee the maximum longevity of your sofa, you must take care of it whether it is a fabric or leather model and the only thing that changes is the method and frequency of treatment. More specifically, a fabric product requires fairly continuous work in terms of vacuuming and brushing, whereas a leather sofa can have a long life if it is given periodic treatments with specific products.

The best thing about leather sofas is that a slightly damp cloth is sufficient to remove dust, whereas with fabric models, you need to use specific products (especially to eliminate unpleasant odours) in order not to ruin the material. A further but fundamental precaution for leather sofas is to keep it away from sources of light and heat. Remember also that the best fabric sofas can in any case be completely removed and machine-washed, making it easier to maintain hygiene.

Why choose a leather or fabric sofa?

So let’s try to go over the best aspects of both of these types of coverings. Leather sofas undoubtedly last a very long time and over time they get the 'worn' but never neglected appearance that gives them a very special vintage charm, which can characterise the entire room. 'Nourishing' the leather through good maintenance over the years allows the sofa to retain its softness and pleasantness both to the eye and to the touch. Furthermore, leather by its nature is hypoallergenic, making it an excellent solution for those suffering from various intolerances, including dust and mites.

Fabric sofas offer many different options and not only are they are easily removable but they also have two fundamental advantages. Firstly, the most commonly used fabric covers are cotton and linen and among the many other natural and synthetic options, we mustn’t forget about velvet sofas. Though slightly more difficult in terms of maintenance, they are also quite adaptable and can fit well with both classical and modern contexts, giving an original and unconventional touch to your living room style. The second advantage concerns hygiene and with the great strides made in modern technology, there are now excellent stain-resistant fabrics that have a greater resistance to liquids and prevent them from penetrating the weave of the fabric meaning that you can quickly and effectively clean them. Therefore, even if you have small children, you can keep your fabric or leather sofa clean and (with the right care) you can guarantee its durability.

In either leather or fabric, ‘Regal_e’ has an impressiveness of its own that allows you to place the sofa in spacious living rooms while achieving excellent resistance to the exuberance of not only the little ones in the house, but also pets.

Dogs and cats at home: which covering to choose?

House pets are known to really love the sofa, but how do we maintain our fabric or leather sofa with dogs and cats? The best way forward is to choose resistant coverings that are not too complicated to clean, such as microfibre as it is particularly suitable against paws and scratches from our furry friends. However, those of you who love a leather sofa shouldn’t despair! This type of upholstery is not without its merits and as we’ve mentioned before, stains can be removed without too many problems – and the same goes for hair. Scratches, though, are more difficult to deal with so if you have a kitten, we’d definitely advise taking a few extra precautions such as using a sofa cover.

The ‘Nicolas’ sofa stands out among the Calia Italia models for its refined style and uniquely comfortable upholstered seat. It is also available in many colours and covers, from leather to microfibre. To conclude, with a good adhesive brush or a sofa hoover, this type of furnishing accessory can live perfectly with our four-legged friends! For more in-depth information check out our dedicated guides on dog- and cat-proof sofas.