Leather sofa in a modern interior
Like several decades ago, furniture with leather upholstery today is considered a sign of respectability, status and practical approach of the owners to the arrangement of their homes. A leather sofa in any room becomes the main subject of the interior, the basis of the design concept and the center of attraction of all glances. That is why the choice of such an accented piece of furniture must be approached with all seriousness and thoroughness. The practicality and versatility of sofas with leather upholstery allows them to become part of the design of a wide variety of rooms - living rooms, bedrooms, study rooms and even kitchen spaces. Obviously, for rooms with different functional backgrounds, sizes and design, it is necessary to choose different models of sofas. Let's get to know together which sofas with leather upholstery are popular at the moment, which ones to choose, what to pay special attention to and how to fit organically into the interior of a modern room.
Advantages and disadvantages of leather upholstered sofas
Compact and large-scale, folding and stationary, incredibly expensive and budget, neutral in color or bright - there are no variations in the performance of leather sofas. But are they really that good and how are they fundamentally different from their “brothers” with a different upholstery? Let's get it right.
The obvious advantages of sofas with leather upholstery include the following:
- respectable appearance, giving not only the piece of furniture, but also to the whole interior a touch of luxury, high status;
- simplicity in the care of natural skin - it is enough to wipe the surface of the upholstery with a dry cloth every week and process the upholstery with special products once a year to preserve color and extend the life of the product;
- if the house or apartment has small children and / or pets, the furniture with leather upholstery will give the owners the least amount of care;
- high wear resistance of genuine leather allows the use of furniture with such upholstery for years;
- the sofa does not need additional textiles, without a bedspread, the leather upholstery looks luxurious (even sofa cushions can not be used in models with an adjustable back)
- natural material is durable and reliable, has a high environmental friendliness;
- leather upholstery does not create a favorable environment for the appearance and reproduction of dust mites;
- a leather sofa can organically fit into any stylistic interior design, you just need to choose the right model, size and color of furniture.
But, like any other piece of furniture, leather sofas have their drawbacks:
- high cost of models with genuine leather upholstery;
- if the quality of the artificial material for sofa upholstery is low, then scuffs and even cracks in the skin will be difficult to avoid and replacement may be required after a year of using the furniture;
- it is inconvenient to use a leather folding sofa as a permanent berth for one of the households - additional textiles (a mattress cover and a sheet with an elastic band) are required to prevent slipping.
Types of leather sofas by design
In terms of the availability of a folding mechanism, all sofas can be divided into folding and stationary (non-folding). As a permanent place to sleep, the use of a sofa with leather upholstery is impractical, but for a single use for late guests is a very real option. Therefore, some owners of apartments or private houses prefer to “play safe” and install a sofa with a folding mechanism in the living room or spacious kitchen. Currently, the following types of folding devices are most popular:
- sofa eurobook;
- click-gag mechanism;
- folding design "accordion";
- dolphin;
- french clamshell.
And yet, in most cases, a leather sofa is purchased exclusively for relaxing in a sitting position. Initially, leather sofas were used in reception offices, hotels and other public places. Having undergone minor transformations, models with leather upholstery began to be actively used in home interiors, bringing with them a touch of respectability, luxury and, at the same time, seriousness and even severity. Non-folding models are used in living rooms, bedrooms, offices, dining rooms and kitchens, even in the spacious hallway of a modern home you can find compact models such as a sofa.
In a separate group, sofas can be distinguished that do not have a folding mechanism, but with an opening seat. Storage systems are never many and the ability to fill the cavity under the sofa with bedding, blankets or any other household items becomes a priority when choosing a furniture model for many owners of houses and apartments.
Variety of shapes, colors and sizes
The following criteria influence the choice of a specific sofa model for your room:
- the size of the room itself and its layout (somewhere, a large semicircular sofa will effectively fit, in another room it is necessary to fill the corner with the appropriate model, and only a compact sofa will fit in a tiny space);
- the purpose of the sofa is whether it will be used only as a resting place or should it periodically become a sleeping place;
- stylistic design of the room and its color palette (it is necessary to decide whether the leather sofa will be an accent element or should organically fit into the existing gamut of the interior);
- budget for the purchase (an important aspect, because models with upholstery made of natural material are not cheap).
Corner sofas
Angular modification sofa is the best option for creating the maximum number of seats on the minimum number of square meters. The corner sofa can be placed in the corner of the room, effectively using the difficult area near the window, in which it is rarely possible to arrange pieces of furniture. Also, corner sofas fit perfectly into the interior of the combined rooms, conditionally zoning the living room space as part of a studio room.
The corner sofa, divided into sections - is not only a stylish element of the interior, but also a part of the upholstered furniture that is comfortable from the point of view of practicality. To care for the surfaces of individual pillows, it is convenient to remove each from its place - it is enough to clean the opened space with a vacuum cleaner. But there is one small drawback - the number of so-called pillows implies a certain number of seats - it will not work to accommodate more people (for example, at a party or reception), comfort will be lost.
Compact models
Compact double models of sofas with leather upholstery are the best option for arranging a relaxation area in small rooms. Even a modestly sized living room can be effectively decorated with a small sofa. Experts recommend for small forms not to choose very bright colors, unless your room is decorated in the style of avant-garde or pop art.
Color schemes
Despite the fact that this criterion for choosing a leather sofa is the last on our list, it is for many owners of apartments and houses, almost the most important. What color upholstery to choose for upholstered furniture? Currently, there are a lot of options - from the "classic" shades of brown, black and white to complex tones with no less complicated names. First of all, you need to build on the color palette of the interior of the room in which the sofa will be installed and decide whether you want to make this piece of upholstered furniture a key emphasis.
Almost all shades of brown are a palette for sofas with leather upholstery that does not go out of style.Warm natural shades - from light beige to dark chocolate color, not only organically fit into the interior of the room in bright colors, but also bring the warmth so necessary to small spaces. Such leather sofas are easy to combine with upholstered furniture in other textile upholstery variations. Given that leather sofas (if we are talking about natural upholstery material) last longer than their counterparts with textile design, then additional elements will be selected specifically for the model of the main interior item.
The gray color and its many shades is an incredibly practical solution for choosing leather upholstery for a sofa. Gray color is neutral and will organically fit into any color palette of the room. Even if you have to purchase a sofa for an already decorated room, the gray color will be a worthy addition to the image. It can be used as an accent except in a very bright interior design, but not every living room needs brightness.
With the phrase "leather sofa", many of our compatriots represent the model in black. Such an association is not accidental, because it was with black leather sofas in offices and hotels that the glorious procession of these pieces of furniture in our country began. To this day, a black sofa with leather upholstery is considered a symbol of status and respectability. It perfectly emphasizes the severity of the interior or contrasts in an eclectic setting.
Snow-white leather sofa - symbols of cleanliness, lightness and style. The luxury of snow-white color and the naturalness of the upholstery are combined into a single, elegant image that can decorate any interior with its presence. In addition, it is difficult to imagine any other material for the upholstery of white upholstered furniture, with which there would be the least problems with care.
A brightly colored leather sofa is an option for courageous owners of spacious rooms. It is in the rooms of medium and large area that the upholstery of a large sofa will look most organic. If the main element of the living room is executed in a colorful coloring, then neutral shades will be the best background for it. Leave the palm to the largest piece of furniture in the room - a sofa with bright leather upholstery.
Where to install a leather sofa
Traditional for most Russian apartments and private houses, the place for installing a sofa in the living room is against the wall. This arrangement is caused, first of all, by the small area of the rooms. In apartments of standard layout (and even more so - small-sized) there were simply no other options for installing a sofa. Currently, apartments have become larger (improved layout), and private houses are being built for the needs of the owners with spacious and bright rooms. However, most homeowners prefer to install the sofa against the wall, thereby freeing up the maximum amount of space in the room.
A sofa by the window is a great and most obvious opportunity to use this useful space of the room. After all, only low storage systems or sofas with a small backrest can be installed near the window without losing the level of natural light. But you need to be careful in the proximity of the leather upholstery of the sofa from the radiators (in most apartments and private houses in our country they are located precisely under the window sills).
Another obvious possibility of arranging a recreation area in the living room is installing a sofa in front of the fireplace. It is logical that the owners will want to watch the game of flame in the hearth, settling down with maximum comfort. But the location of such a large-scale piece of furniture almost in the middle of the room is possible only in medium and large rooms (a lot depends on the scale of the sofa itself).
If your living room shares the space with the kitchen and dining room, then it would be logical to use a leather sofa as an object of zoning. Corner models do an excellent job of this task, outlining the conditional boundaries of the recreation area on both sides.Linear models do just as well complete with chairs, ottomans or ottomans.
If a large family lives in an apartment or house (or receptions, parties, gatherings are often held in the living room), then a small sofa and an armchair cannot be dispensed with. Installing two absolutely identical (or different in color, but in the same design) sofas will help solve the problem of arranging a recreation area. Sofas can be installed parallel to each other. If the room is small (for example, long and narrow), then sofas will be installed against the walls.
In a spacious room (or combined with a kitchen and dining space), sofas can be installed in an angular manner, thereby outlining the boundaries of the living room segment.
Corner sofa is obviously more appropriate to install in one of the corners of the room. It all depends on the location of the window openings, the presence (or absence) of a fireplace and a TV zone. But this principle applies to small rooms in which only a segment of the living room is located. In studio apartments, where several functional segments are combined in one space, corner structures are most logical to use for zoning the room.