Our Top Grain Leather Recliner Collection
Nothing beats getting to the end of a busy day and being able to fully relax and unwind on a recliner. Whether it’s to watch your favorite TV show, read the paper, or simply have a nap, you just won’t get as much flexibility with any other kind of living room furniture. The important thing to focus on is the right upholstery material, and in our opinion, a top grain leather recliner is the best investment with the highest value for money. Yes, these are generally more expensive than other leather sofas and recliners, but let me show you what you gain.
Benefits Of Choosing Top Grain Leather For Recliners
There are three main reasons why you should choose a top grain leather recliner over other leather options.Durability
Top grain is a great leather when it comes to durability, even when you consider that the manufacturing process involves removing the outer grain layer. This is the layer that does contain the toughest fibers, but it makes working with the hide a lot more difficult. What leather manufacturers do to improve the durability after removing the outer grain is apply a sprayed or rolled-on protective layer. This not only protects the leather sofa or recliner from physical damage but also from spills penetrating down into the leather, where it would leave a permanent stain.Easy Maintenance
Compared to all other types of leather, a top grain leather sofa or recliner will make it a lot easier to keep clean and maintain. We already mentioned that protective layer that manufacturers add to make it a higher quality leather. And while the main benefit is that you can simply wipe away most food and drinks you spill, it also provides more protection from environmental factors. It’s important with every leather to regularly apply a conditioner to avoid it from drying out and becoming brittle. But top grain leather is a bit more forgiving and will have that additional barrier to keep your recliner looking its best.Choice Of Finishing Touches
And finally, there are the finishing touches for the color and shading effect that top grain provides. Whether you prefer a uniform color or to maintain the natural shades and imperfections of a hide, with top grain leather, you’ll have the widest range of choices to get a soft leather that perfectly suits your interior design.
How Do Top Grain Leather Recliners Compare To Other Materials?
So we’ve identified that top grain leather is an ideal material for furniture that gets a lot of traffic, like leather sofas and recliners. But how does it compare to other types of leather?Full Grain Leather
The way top grain leathers differ from full grain is that they are not as thick and have the outer grain removed. While this does make full grain a bit tougher, it provides a very different finishing appearance. Full grain is also more time-consuming when it comes to tanning and working it into different shapes for the upholstery. That extra effort then makes it a more expensive leather. The downside is that full grain is a bit more susceptible to stains because it generally doesn't have those extra protective layers that are common with top grain.Genuine Leather
It sounds great, but the one thing we can say is that you would be genuinely disappointed within a few years. It’s a clever marketing name that essentially says that it’s just about still genuine leather. Yes, it’s made from animal hides, but most often involves leftover layers from other leather-making processes. It’s missing those tough upper layers, and while it might look like the real deal, it will wear down quickly. The result would be that you could see holes and tears within a couple of years.Faux Leather
There’s no way around it, but fake or synthetic leather is not suitable for a leather recliner. While it’s possible to make some decent-looking furniture with this synthetic material and cover every possible style, it simply isn’t anywhere near as tough as real leather. It’s often marketed as an alternative for vegans, but if you don’t agree with using animal products for furniture, then you would probably be better off with a recliner that is upholstered with a fabric material.Bonded Leather
From a quality perspective, this is probably as unsuitable as faux leather. Yes, it does contain real leather hide material, but not in the way you might think. It involves a process of shredding leftover animal hides into a powder and then bonding it into an upholstery material. You can still achieve the look and feel of leather, but it’s not a good quality for anything that you’ll be using a lot. And with a recliner where there are moving parts and friction between panels, this material will quickly fade and tear.
American Made Top Grain Leather Recliners
At Leather Furniture USA, we pride ourselves in sourcing all of our leather furniture collections from American factories only. This ensures that we can deliver top-quality leather and handcrafted recliners made to the highest possible standards. Everything from the leather to the wood or steel frames was put together in America, and the resulting quality cannot be matched by imported furniture. Making such a decision might come at a higher price, but it can save you a lot of money in the long term, and you’ll be supporting American workers and their families.Top Grain Leather Recliner Styles
Choosing a top grain leather recliner also has to come down to certain style features to make sure that it fits into your living room or man cave interior design. Now, it might seem like there are hundreds of designs to choose from. But there are a couple of styles that make it easier to categorize recliners.Tufted Design
This has become a popular design feature for leather furniture in general. What it refers to is a button-back design that causes indentations in the leather surface and pulls it back through the foam. Those indentations cause symmetrical patterns and are surprisingly comfortable on a leather recliner.Classic Design
This is a more traditional style of furniture based on French and British designs from the 19th century. Some of the characteristics are ornate features like nailhead trim and carved wood. It’s a style that makes a recliner a centerpiece in your living room, making it very inviting to sit on the chair and relax.Modern Design
Modern recliners lack the intricate details of classic furniture design and focus more on sleek and smooth lines with subtle geometric shapes in both the cushions and the frame. They are about creating an understatement and keeping the center of attention in the room itself or other pieces of furniture or art. It’s not the plush centerpiece like a classic recliner, but it can fill a space in just the right way to make spending time in the room more enjoyable.