Leather

A material of durability and improving character, used wherever a surface of genuine quality and longevity is required.

• Banquette seating
• Dining and bar chairs
• Headboards and bed surrounds
• Desk surfaces and writing tops
• Cabinet and wardrobe fronts
• Wall panel inserts

The hide, the tannage and the finish each leave their mark. Read together, they tell you how a leather will wear, age and feel over the years it is in use.

Most upholstery leather is bovine, prized for its size, consistency and strength. The grading sits in layers. Full-grain uses the complete top surface and is the most durable and characterful. Top-grain is lightly sanded to reduce surface marks, then refinished. Split leather comes from the lower layers of the hide and is weaker, often coated or embossed to imitate a grain. Where finer scale or a particular hand is wanted, calf, goat and sheep are also used, though their smaller hides suit smaller cut parts.

A single hide is not uniform. The bend (the back and rump) is the firmest, most consistent area and is reserved for seats and other parts under load. The belly and shoulder are looser and more stretchable, better suited to less critical panels. We plan cutting so that the strongest sections fall where wear and tension are highest.

Tanning stabilises the hide and sets its character; the finish then determines colour, protection and how the surface will age in use.

Chrome tanning produces a soft, supple leather with good colour consistency and water resistance, and accounts for most upholstery leather. Vegetable tanning, using tannins from bark and other plant matter, gives a firmer leather with warmer natural tones that darken and patinate strongly; it suits desk tops, strapping and detailing where that ageing is wanted. The two are sometimes combined.

The finish is applied over the tannage and defines the leather's behaviour:

• Aniline: dyed through with no surface pigment, so the natural grain and markings remain fully visible. The softest hand and the most expressive patina, but the least resistant to staining and light, so it is best in lower-traffic settings.
• Semi-aniline: a light protective topcoat over an aniline dye. It keeps much of the natural look while adding stain and fade resistance, a practical balance for most residential seating.
• Pigmented: an opaque, coloured surface coat giving the most uniform appearance and the highest resistance to wear, light and staining. The standard choice for contract, hospitality and heavy-use furniture.

Embossing changes the surface, not the substance. A pebbled grain can hide minor marking and add a tactile rhythm without sacrificing the leather beneath.

Embossing presses a pattern into the surface under heat and pressure. A natural pebble grain adds depth and helps disguise small inconsistencies; finer patterns such as fine grain or a saffiano-style cross-hatch read as more formal. Plain, unembossed leathers show the most honest surface and are usually reserved for the cleaner-marking hides. Hand-antiquing and two-tone effects can be applied to give worn, aged tones across the surface or concentrated at edges and seams.

Colour is matched to a designer's reference, with the understanding that a natural surface accepts colour with slight variation across and between hides. We recommend approving a production sample, not a swatch alone, before a run is cut, so the grain, sheen and tone are confirmed on the actual leather.

Used well, leather outlasts most upholstery textiles and improves rather than degrades, provided the finish is matched to the demands of the setting.

Leather is hard-wearing and resistant to abrasion, and a quality hide will serve for decades in residential use. Aniline and semi-aniline surfaces soften and deepen over time, the patina that many specifiers choose leather for; pigmented finishes hold their original appearance for longer and are easier to keep clean. Leather is sensitive to prolonged direct sunlight, which fades and dries it, and to heat sources, so placement away from radiators and unshaded glazing matters.

Care is straightforward. Dust regularly and wipe with a slightly damp cloth; address spills promptly by blotting rather than rubbing. Aniline leathers should be conditioned periodically to keep them supple and may be treated with a recommended protector. Solvent cleaners and household detergents should be avoided. We provide finish-specific care guidance with each commission.

We treat leather as a material to be planned, not simply applied: hide selection, cutting layout and seam placement are decided before a single panel is cut.

For upholstery, our makers cut and stitch to pattern, placing seams and natural markings deliberately and reserving the firmest parts of the hide for seats and arms. For wrapped panels, desk tops and drawer linings, leather is skived at the edges and bonded to a stable substrate so it sits flat and turns cleanly at corners. Tooled borders, blind embossing and contrast stitching are available where a detail calls for them.

It depends on the design, the cut parts and the grain direction. We calculate the requirement per item against a standard 50 to 55 sqft hide, allowing for pattern matching and cutting waste, and confirm the figure before order.

A pigmented or protected semi-aniline leather is the usual choice for contract and hospitality work, as it resists staining, fading and wear. Where the natural look of aniline is wanted in a busy setting, we discuss the trade-offs in appearance and maintenance first.

We can work to a colour and finish reference and provide a production sample for approval. A natural surface will carry slight variation between hides, which we account for in selection and layout.