Ladd Upholstery Designs - Gainesville and Lake City Fl.

Is Having My Sofa Recovered In Leather More Affordable Then Buying A New Leather Sofa?
Often when we quote a price on restoring a piece of furniture in leather the customer is very surprised at the cost compared to new leather furniture.

Leather hides are split to make it suitable for working with. How many times it is split determines the thickness. The thickness is usually measured in
ounces. One ounce equals 1/64 in thickness. A good thickness for furniture is 3-4 oz The leather furniture you see at discount stores is usually much thinner
than this and may not hold up more than 3 or 4 years. Top grain leather is the most desirable and last longer. Split grain is often used on cheaper furniture
and tends to crack after only a few years.

Dyeing process. Although there are many different chemical processes to get different results in leather, most leather is categorized into three groups.
1. Aniline dyed is the most natural. It leaves noticeable scars and wrinkles. Aniline dyed leather is dyed all the way through the hide. If a scratch occurs
it will be the same color as the dye. The problem with aniline dyed leather is it has no topcoat. This causes variations in color throughout the hide's
surface.
2. Simi-Aniline dyed leather is the same as aniline dyed leather except a thin protective coat is applied to the surface to make it more uniform.
3. Pigmented leather is the most expensive, durable and desirable in upholstery. A protective topcoat is applied to protect it from spills and scratches.
This coating also hides blemishes and makes a nice smooth surface that eliminates variations in color.

Is your upholsterer skilled? Even at discounted prices good leather is expensive. Choosing an upholsterer experienced in working with leather is important.
Ladd spent two years working for Hickory Business Furniture upholstering leather executive office furniture. Ladd Upholstery Designs has reupholstered
many pieces in leather for our customers. Including the pieces pictured above.

Bonded Leather Reconstituted Leather Blended Leather Coated Leather PU Leather Recycled Leather

For more help call Ladd Upholstery Designs today. We will give you a quote on labor and estimate how many hides it will take to transform your sofa
into something you will be proud to own and will last for years to come.

They are all the same. Leather fibers are mixed with resin and bonded to a layer of fabric. It is then topped with a
layer of polyurethane. A recipe guaranteed to fail.

None of these products have the unique characteristics of genuine leather.

Genuine leather gives you breath-ability, strength, elasticity, retention, flexibility, softness, and durability. And
from an upholsterers viewpoint, workability including the shrinkage process with a heat gun or moisture. Genuine
leather gives you the added benefit of aging gracefully with developed patina and wrinkles and stretch marks.

When looking at new discounted leather furniture often you are looking at composition leather. Composition leather is man-made from leather fibers.
This is not genuine leather and cannot legally be marketed or suggested to be the same as leather. But misinformed salesmen still do. Composition
leather is inferior to leather hides and we have seen many problems including delaminating of the top layer.

And something we all need to consider when handling composition leather. Substantial concerns have been
expressed over the safety of some plasticizers. Especially because several ortho-phthalates have been
classified as potential endocrine disruptors with some developmental toxicity reported.