Growing appreciation

February 5, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

By Stacy Downs

McClatchy Newspapers

KANSAS CITY, Mo.

Whether it resembles a well-traveled saddle or a buttery smooth burst of cherry red or lime green, leather furniture is classic and strong.

As upholstery, leather lasts four times as long as fabric, according to American Leather. The Dallas-based manufacturer creates furniture in fabric and leather for stores including Crate & Barrel, Design Within Reach and Macy’s.

“Try to tear this,” says Lonnie McDonald of Grandview, Mo., holding a tanned leather hide. He cleans, repairs and refinishes leather furniture and leads maintenance sessions for the Leather Pro division of the Textile Care Group. He has served as liaison between the American furniture and cleaning industries to rewrite labels on leather care.

The leather in McDonald’s hands is resistant. “It has a tensile strength of more than 200 pounds per square inch,” he says. “So yes, it’s durable.”

Doctors also recommend leather furniture for allergy sufferers because fabric harbors dust mites. Besides swapping carpet for tile or wood flooring, the Mayo Clinic’s website recommends replacing fabric-upholstered items such as sofas, chairs and headboards with leather.

The look and feel of leather are the characteristics that draw most people. For more than two decades, Steve Maturo has sold leather furniture at Museo in Kansas City, Mo. He has a 20-year-old black leather sofa and leather dining chairs in his own home.

“They get better- and better-looking with age,” Maturo says.

In Europe, leather is used in wall coverings, flooring, tables and even countertops. Maturo and Museo employees have toured leather furniture factories in Italy and the Netherlands. The experience has given him an appreciation for how each cowhide is unique, similar to fingerprints and wood grains. Under a magnifying glass, you can even see pores.

Leather is so comfortable and soothing because it is skin, McDonald says. Through the natural process of transpiration, leather absorbs and releases moisture through fibers and pores. Leather can absorb and release about 15 percent of its weight in water. And it becomes more supple and comfortable with use.

However, leather furniture is not for everyone. For starters, it costs 25 percent to 50 percent more than fabric upholstery. Because of the expense and lifestyle considerations, interior designer Sallie Kytt Redd of Lenexa, Kan., isn’t a fan.

“Buckles in children’s shoes can scratch and puncture it,” she says. “In the summer, if you have bare legs, it can feel sticky, even in an air-conditioned room. And it’s not cuddly and warm in the winter; it’s stiff. I don’t have many clients who use leather.”

On the plus side, Redd says leather can simply be wiped off, and it does look nice.

McDonald appreciates the positive characteristics of leather and owns a leather sofa with fabric seat cushions. Over the years he has learned the tricks of the trade and is now teaching others.

The biggest problem McDonald sees is that people tend not to clean their leather and protect it from body oil stains on head and arm rests.

“Leather is the Mercedes of furniture,” he says.

Although leather is a luxury product, sales were up 20 percent in 2011 at American Leather, spokeswoman Jennifer Green says.