Leather or fabric sofa?

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Hi,
Long time reader, occasional poster. I'm hoping to post more often, if I can overcome my shyness.
Anyway, I moved into my first appartment 7 months ago and I'm finally able to get a sofa.

However, I cannot decide whether to get a leather or fabric 3 seater sofa with 2 single chairs . My walls are cream and I'm thinking of getting a light brown carpet with chocolate coloured vertical blinds. I hear brown is very popular these days.

I'm 29 and have suffered from agoraphobia most of my life, so I have not seen many living rooms to use as a point of reference. My main source of reference has been TV. Black goes with everything and leather is easy to clean, but fabric is softer and more cosy. I have no friends, but when I get some, I want them to enjoy relaxing at my place.

Please help
Thanks

I would go with leather myself, just cause I think it's more comfortable, but I think you should pick what you find more comfortable. I also think brown is a very good color and might go with the rest of your decor.

That's a tough one. It really boils down to your personal likes and dislikes. Personally, I think black leather sofas scream 1980. Tan leather sofas are much more modern and just as manly. I also think leather is just as comfortable as fabric, unless you are in shorts and it is 100 degrees in the house. If I could afford it, I would have a leather sofa. I'm sick of shampooing mine.

I prefer soft fabrics and leather and cats do not play well together.

I wouldn't get leather. Doesn't it require periodic conditioning?

Leather also has a plasticy feel (relative to fabric) that I don't like much. I do think leather has some very good uses, but furniture cushion coverings is not one of them.

Hi Bester! Welcome.

Go with the one you would be most comfortable relaxing on and I don't think you can go wrong.

My sofa is microfiber suede (read: fake suede) and I LOVE it.

Microfiber is really cool actually. My office chair is microfiber and I absolutely love it. My old one was leather and I absolutely loved that one too.

I love brown, it is my favorite color! I have a leather sofa, and I love it! It is sooo comfortable! But I would also like a really nice and soft fabric sofa too. I can never make up my mind, they both seem comfy too me. And my answer does not really help

I really dislike leather furniture. I hate how leather feels on the skin, and the furniture never keeps its shape - I like to be able to lie down and relax, not have to constantly shift around until it retains a form that I like. Once I move out, I want to get furniture that's firm, but with a soft surface. I have funky tastes, though. Once I find a home I'm going to do it up eighties-style.

Wow,
Thanks for all the great responses.
My cousin is visiting tomorrow I'll ask her if she will take me to the leather shop one last time.
I think I'll pick fabric but I want to clear all doubt from my mind first.

I don't like leather furniture for sensory reasons =/ Too cold and hard.

But whatever you're into. Leather seems to be popular these days, I see it all the time out shopping, and in commercials.

Bester, you can get leather in just about any shade of the rainbow from bright white to black & almost anything in between! I have seen sky blue, purple, red, green, etc. (No throwing fruits or veggies my way! I like classic colors personally!) I have a dark chocolate brown leather sofa & I am spoiled rotten! It's a thicker leather, but also soft & very comfy! Yes it needs conditioning which I do about 3 times a year to maintain it. Yes it can fade, but so can fabric. The only thing that I would change is that I ordered it with standard firmness seat cushions. I wish I had gone with firmer cushions. I don't recommend getting leather furniture from China though....the quality is not very good.

I personally prefer classic colors that go into any decor. My furniture is my anchor in the room. Becuase the color is "neutral," I can dress it up with any color throw pillows. Leather is not necessarily cold...it's cool to the touch, but warms to your body temperature. In winter it is cooler, in summer it is warmer, but you don't stick to it like you would vinyl unless it's a bicast leather. Fabrics can be really itchy or otherwise uncomfortable depending on the type, & they also get dirty.

Good luck to you! Let us know what you choose!

Personally I'd go with real leather. Fabric rubs me the wrong way.