Leather. Suede. Cloth. Cotton.

All materials for clothing. Or furniture. In some cases.

High end products have sex appeal. They draw the eye to the clothes. They stand out.

Some statistics:

• Today, only 2,000 women in the world buy couture clothes; 60% are American. Only 200 are regular customers.
• Roughly 125,000 attend the New York Fashion Weeks shows in person. A little over 2 million watch live streams.
• Haute couture gowns sometimes take over 800 hours to produce.

Leather speaks volumes. It has the bad sexy appeal–a little danger, a little wildness, a little out there on the edge. It has easy clean up–liquid just doesn’t stick to it. A little swipe of a cloth and the leather is as good as new.

Leather goes beyond jackets and cool symbols. Leather goes into clothing, into handbags, into furniture, into wallets. It is a durable material. It comes in many colors–brown, black, red, blue. Any leather-worker will tell you–leather varies in thickness and weight.

More now buy leather for furniture. Some statistics:

• Boomers have lessened in the furniture buying market. They comprised 42% of all furniture and bedding buying households in 2012. 29% in 2014.
• Millenials took more of the market share from 2012 to 2014. 2012: 14%. 2014: 37%.
• Furniture–home furnishing as well–generated about $101 billion in 2013.

People buy furniture for many reasons. Perhaps their furniture is deteriorating and old and worn. Perhaps they feel depressed with the color of their furniture. Perhaps it is as simple as the couches and recliners are not comfortable. Perhaps they have a windfall and remodeling the house it what they want to spend it on.

60% of high end furnishings customers look for items that make them feel calm and comfortable.

Customers look for:

• Material
• Color
• Size
• Positional pieces
• And yes, comfort

Consider the Italian contemporary sofa. It’s often a soft color–white or a shade of gray. It’s sometimes black or a bold, vibrant color. Two cushion, three cushion, a sectional–these sofas are a great attempt at piecing together Italy’s history along with a modern design.

In fact, the Italian contemporary sofa is sometimes made out of “wooden leather”. This is a type of “leather” derived from wood. It is cruelty free. This goes well with contemporary times.

The Italian craftsmanship. Years of experience, passed down from generation to generation. Italian high end furniture. Italian style. Italian experience. Italian skill.

Leather has value. It withstands spills, fades after years, and is durable, for those nights of rain and wind and snow. The high end furniture is no different. With a spill on leather, couch or otherwise, a simple rag will soak up the liquid and make the leather as good as new.

The only direction is to use a conditioner every six to 12 months.

Also

Avoid using normal cleaning supplies like soaps, detergents, and solvents.

For the Italian craftsmanship, search the keywords ‘Italian contemporary sofa’ and take a look at the images. And search ‘cruelty free’ as well. Materials made out of ‘wooden leather’ represent the ethical treatment of animals.