3 more reasons to love leather

The leather on this Danford sectional is inviting you to sit down and relax!

It shouldn’t come as too big a surprise to learn that we think leather is great for covering furniture. It is, after all, part of our name.

Leather has been such a big part of what American Leather has been doing these past 23 years that we occasionally find ourselves assuming that everybody already knows what makes leather such an excellent choice in home furnishings. But we still find ourselves explaining the advantages of leather: It’s a combination of things, actually, ranging from esthetic appeal to enduring value, but here are some of our faves.

There’s a reason Rod Stewart wore those pants: We’re just going to put it out there: Leather has sex appeal. Something about leather makes most of us want to touch it, see how it feels. It’s appealing to the eye like few other natural materials, and it draws us in. We usually recommend that shoppers fondle our leather so that they select the one that looks and feels best.

Leather wears in; it doesn’t wear out:  It lasts four times longer than most upholstery fabrics, and while a fabric sofa will never look better than the day it is delivered, leather gets better looking all the time. As we use our leather sofas and chairs, an attractive patina develops, and the leather seems to develop more character.  Few things in this world look more inviting than a well-used and loved leather chair.

Good leather breathes: It’s cool to the touch in the summer and warm in the winter. American Leather uses only top-grain and full top-grain leathers. Without getting too technical, we’ll say that these are top quality, and like all good leathers, they “breathe.” What that means is that natural oils and moisture moving back and forth in the leather – transpiration -- which keeps the material soft and supple. Your skin won’t stick to it, and it will adjust quickly to temperature changes because it breathes.

We could go on and on about why we are proud to make beautiful, comfortable furniture covered in leather, but we’re going to get back to filling our Christmas orders so that everybody gets what they want when Santa arrives with his delivery truck.

5 more reasons you'll love Ultrasuede

The Malibu sectional in  a chocolate Ultrasuede with a Pink Ribbon chair in the foreground.  With 97 colors, Ultrasuede lets you go radical or keep it on the down low.

American Leather has been offering Ultrasuede by Toray for more than a decade. It was the first fabric we added to our line because of its unique combination of luxury and performance. Simply put, it’s got a great hand and it tailors beautifully. But the beauty of Ultrasuede, which just feels better than any microfiber, is more than skin deep. Here are five reasons why:

You can’t kill it: Ultrasuede carries a 10-year warranty, but that’s the minimum life expectancy. It does not wear out. Period. Our mother has an Ultrasuede pants suit from the 1970s in her closet, and it looks great, even if the lapels are a bit wide. We could bore you with the overwhelming scientific data about double-rubs in fabric-testing labs, but the point is that it stands up to use as well or better than any other upholstery cover, which makes Ultrasuede a great value.

More colors than the rainbow: We use Ultrasuede HP, formerly Ultrasuede Ambience. There are 97 colors in the line. From earth tones like Pebble and Maple Wood to brilliant eye-grabbers like Pink Ribbon and Robin’s Egg, Ultrasuede has the colors that make beautiful rooms.

Unlike the rainbow, these colors don’t fade: Besides being soft, supple and sensuous to the touch, Ultrasuede is also resistant to stains and discoloration. It's even machine-washable or dry-cleanable. The color-fast properties of Ultrasuede make it suitable for demanding use in office furniture and even automobiles.

It’s pet friendly: Nothing will protect furniture 100 percent from aggressive claws or gnaws. But Ultrasuede is better than most. It resists scratching, there are no threads to pull or fray, and it won’t absorb stray hairs. In the event of pet “accidents,” Ultrasuede also resists staining and odor absorption. Most still-wet stains will come up with some gentle patting with a paper towel.  For dried stains, start with gentle brushing, and if that doesn’t work, try wiping the stained area from the outside in with a well-wrung cloth dampened in lukewarm water.

It’s environmentally friendly: American Leather takes pride in being a responsible manufacturer, minimizing the resources we use, recycling wherever possible and leaving the smallest possible impact on the environment. Toray, makers of Ultrasuede, share our values, and Ultrasuede is almost entirely a recycled product, purely reconstituted from such post-industrial material as scrap polyester film. And Toray’s production process reduces both energy consumption and CO² emission by as much as 80 percent compared with conventional recycling.

Bonus reason: It goes great with leather. For subtle yet sophisticated looks, Ultrasuede

can be matched up with leather beautifully, creating a sumptuous monochromatic look or an appealing contrast. Many of American Leather's sofas can be two-toned, with leather on the frame and Ultrasuede seat and back cushions. Your choice! 

 

Menlo Park chairs in two colors of Ultrasuede. Yummy!

Some of you might find this weird, but sometimes while watching a movie or TV show I find myself paying more attention to the furniture than the characters. Beautiful, charismatic Ryan Gosling can be on the screen but all I can think is “OH MY GOODNESS THAT IS OUR MALIBU SOFA IN THE BACKGROUND!!” (See photo evidence for proof). 

I guess that’s what happens when you work in our industry. Everywhere we go, whether it’s a friend’s house or a restaurant, we take note of the décor and layout of each room. It’s a gift really, because what you surround yourself with is an expression of where you’ve been and who you are.

The only problem with falling in love with a room on screen is not knowing where to find the furniture. Set designers are great at scouring through hundreds of options to find the perfect piece, so why not take a note from them and recreate your favorite room scenes found in the movies? This will be our first installment of movie room inspirations, and for this first round we are focusing on the very stylish and mod influence of the 1960s.

Down With Love

Set in 1962 New York City, the film definitely shows off the flair and colorful appeal of this the era. Here’s a great shot of the apartment set up for the main character, Barbara Novak (Renee Zellweger).

Want to bring the spirit of the 60s in your home? Check out our Menlo Parksectional. This is just ONE configuration, the options are endless! In the image below, the piece is covered in Ultrasuede Hot Pink which helps give it that cool, groovy vibe!  

Mad Men

I don’t think this show needs an intro, I think we all know why we watch it…

Just kidding, there’s a lot more to the show than just the ever-so-cool Don Draper. Set in 1960s Manhattan, Mad Men’s set decorators bring the ‘60s to life with every episode. This show has so many great room settings we couldn’t pick just one inspiration.

The first is the Draper formal living room before Betty’s redecoration in Season 3.

How cool is that sofa?! The clean lines, interesting shape, and colorful pattern make it the perfect piece to play off of throughout the room. Want something similar in your home? Check out one of our newest additions – the Oliver. Here it is covered in classic Bison White leather, with an updated design and added comfort of down seats.

Next we move into a Mad Men office. Again the mid-century modern look of the 1960s comes through with the low, clean lines of both the upholstery and the coffee table. Not to mention the vertical wood panel walls, lamp shades and interesting artwork. 

Want to bring a bit of that charm into your office or home? Easy! Here’s our Parker sofa in Haven Pesto leather, and the Tristan chair in Haze Oyster fabric. The Parker shares the clean lines and tufted look of the Mad Men office all while keeping you comfortable with the plush foam seats. Tristan has some of the same great angles of the Mad Men office chairs, but with a little modern flare of the wood base and metal legs. 

From the office to Don Draper’s new apartment, the classic ‘60s style carries through. A person can only dream of having an apartment as spacious and beautiful as Don’s in NYC. Even Don knew the best way to fill the space was with a big, open sectional. Some people might think of sectionals as a bulky addition to small rooms, but as you can see in the picture below there are several types of sofas that can keep the small scale with the benefits of extra seating.

The low profile look seen here can be recreated with our Quincy sectional in Phoebe Café. The Quincyis perfect for a nice, upright sit and totally fits into the mid-century modern inspired look. And bonus for the short people – the seat depth is only 21”!

 

If you want to check out any of these or one of our over 4 million options (no joke!) then head on over to www.americanleather.com and browse through our catalog. Don’t forget to use our dealer locator to find a retailer close to you. 

-Laleh Kadjar, Marketing Coordinator & TV addict.

Square pegs, round holes – We have them both

Uno ottomans, now available round as well as square, continue to be among our most functional and versatile pieces.

Whether you employ them as TV-dinner trays or overflow seating, the Uno makes life easy, rolling smartly into position on casters and always looks good doing it.

We’ve been making these adorable little scamps for the past decade, and they continue to be crowd pleasers, especially since last year when we added the cylindrical version to go with the long-running cube.

 

A seat, a table, a stylish way to store your extra stuff…The beauty is that you can have it any way you like, and the top is an upholstered cushion or, flip it over, and it’s a tray table.

This assumption could be a shot in the dark, but we strongly suspect that the hidden storage under the lid is frequently a quick-and-easy catch-all for table clutter just before the guests arrive – at least, it is in our house.

We have seen that Uno’s work really well in pairs, and more than a few times, people have put four squares together to create a large and extremely versatile cocktail table. For measurements and more information, go here.

Lean back and set a spell – and look good doing it

Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it? American Leather’s Comfort Recliners provide infinite comfort while maintaining a room’s design integrity.

The age-old problem with the recliner is the married couple’s lament - he likes it because it’s comfortable, great for watching games, movies or for snoozing, and she objects to furniture with all the style and shape of a marshmallow man. To make matters worse, when the chair opens, the metal mechanism has all the charm of a medieval torture device.

Comfort Recliners are the solution to settle both sides of that argument. They sit just as comfortably as any recliner. In fact, because each style is available in four sizes and can be adjusted any number of ways, the Comfort Recliner provides a custom fit. Here’s how:

·      The height on the swivel version is adjustable from 19 inches seat height to a bit more than 21 inches.

·      The headrest pillow slides up or down and it can be tilted forward for optimum TV-viewing posture.

·      The footrest operates independently from the reclining back, allowing users to prop their feet up without leaning back – great for reading newspapers and magazines.

·      Infinitely adjustable. Set the footrest as high or low as you want it with our patented Comfort Release handle. The back operates intuitively. It goes back only as far as you want to lean back.

Just as important, they just look great. Open or closed.

Even when they are closed, the seven Comfort Recliner styles have more design panache than the typical recliner, but when they open – oh, my – that’s when they really sparkle. 

You see, the footrest is fully upholstered so there’s no comfort gap under your legs. This helps hide the mechanism, but even if you duck under the chair to look, you will see that the mechanism under the foot rest is entirely in a polished stainless-steel finished metal. It bears repeating: the Comfort Recliner looks great open or closed.

And you have tons of options to further customize your best seat in the house. Such as:

The swivel base is available upholstered with the same leather or fabric that the chair is covered in, or you can have it in metal with a stainless finish, or you can have it in wood with Espresso, Acorn or Walnut finish.

If you don’t need or want a swivel base, get it with wood legs in Espresso, Acorn or Walnut.

With the four distinct sizes, we have one to fit everyone from petite women to LARGE men.

Visit one of our Comfort Recliner gallery dealers to sit test this innovative new product.

Resolved: A more beautiful, more comfortable home

Make a bold style statement for 2013!

Many of us have made promises to ourselves pledging to be better, healthier people in 2013. At the same time, quite a few of us are also looking to give that same sort of attention and effort to our homes.

It makes sense: We’ve enjoyed some free time at home, often with holiday guests, and attended parties at the homes of friends and relatives. All this socializing helps us see what’s right and what’s not so right about our homes. It also helps that the visits to our friends have exposed us to new ideas in colors, design or furnishings.

Perhaps we don’t make home-décor resolutions with the same solemnity that we use when we pledge to eat less and exercise more, but most of us recognize that a more attractive and comfortable home cannot hurt our pursuit of inner peace and calm.

So, knowing that January has always been a big month for redecorating – whether because of New Year’s resolutions or just because folks want to spruce up for the Super Bowl, we would like to offer a few suggestions.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew: Work one room at a time. Make a priority list and try to make orderly progress. Nothing’s more discouraging than starting too many projects at once and never really finishing any of them.

Remember that a redo can be almost effective as an overhaul: A new paint color, a few new accent pieces, or a new arrangement of your furniture can refresh a room nearly as well as if you renovated everything.

Put the strongest accent on comfort: American Leather has built its business with great style and innovative design, but underneath it all, we know that we can never lose sight of the comfort imperative. As you consider new furnishings or new room arrangements, always ask yourself: Is it comfortable?

Have fun with colors and style, but always keep it comfortable.

Be fresh and have fun: For some adventurous souls, this advice is unnecessary, but many among us are quite cautious about taking style risks. Still, we believe the use of vibrant colors and style makes a room more beautiful and more comfortable. If you aren’t sure what works, there are tremendous resources available in the form of design professionals, books and the web. Don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest for a bit extra inspiration, http://pinterest.com/americanleather.

Don’t forget the most important rule, have fun!