When you are dealing with leather sofas, one thing that you should know is that they have a lot of different categories. You can categorize them into more than 5 types but based on the popularity the ones mentioned in this article are considered to be a major classification.
On the surface, sofas look like a simple object. It is but who would have imagined that even it can be categorized based on the material being used and on top of that again divided into other small categories based on the different types of the material that was used. Sounds complex?
Let us boil it down to a smaller subcategory so that it is easier for you to decide on what you should buy if you were thinking of buying leather furniture.
1. Top Grain Leather
As the name suggests, top grain is a type of leather that comes from the top segment of the hide. This is considered to be the highest quality type of leather. Why? It is because the skin of the animal is the strongest in the top surface. From top grain leather, we can also derive a full-grain leather. Full grain leather would not be buffed or sanded. Along with this corrected grain leather can also be obtained. This one is quite contrary to full grain leather. Corrected grain leathers are buffed and sanded. This removes the natural markings from the leather.
Now, when it comes to the level of quality both of them have a same level of quality but the major difference is that corrected grains are smoother and a bit more uniform in comparison to full grain leather.
2. Split Leather
When we have a hide the uppermost layer of the hide goes for making the top grain and the lower layer for the split leather. This layer actually has a less number of natural markings when compared with a top grain layer. This layer is not as thick as the top grain layer thus a little less durable and a bit cheaper. Top grain leathers usually provide a covering for itself but for the split layer coated split leather is used to add a protective coating layer. This makes this layer a bit stiffer than top grain layer.
3. Nubuck
So this type of leather is from different parts of the hide. Whenever we are referring to a nubuck, suede is also involved. So basically nubuck leathers are of higher quality leathers when compared with suede. The reason being it (nubuck) is the top portion of the hide. Again now since it is from the top portion of the hide it tends to be more durable when compared with suede. But what is suede?
So when you take split leather from the bottom portion of the hide and buff and sand it, you get suede. Both nubuck and suede are treated with chemicals to improve the resistance. This resistance helps to deal with the stains and water.
4. Aniline Leather
Aniline leathers are the most natural looking leathers in the market. What makes this leather unique is the surface that is like pore scars. Aniline leathers are dyed as well but are not coated with additional polymers. For dying they are immersed in a transparent dye bath. A point to note is that still the look of the surface is retained.
Aniline leathers are also referred to as naked leather, this has to do with the only 5 percent selection of hides being used and the rest of the surface still being visible. These kind of leathers are comfortable and soft to touch.
5. Pigmented Leather
This type of leathers is the most durable types of leather. This layer is also called a protected layer. This is because the surface of these types of leathers is coated with pigments that make them very tough. Since they are considered to be very strong, these layers are used for manufacturing furniture and automobile upholstery.
These were the different types of leather. It is very important to have a background idea about the material that you are going to invest in. A detailed furniture list is provided at Bradington Young leather furniture. From here you can choose from different types of leather furniture. Now that you have a general idea about different types of leather, it would be an easy pick.