Buying a leather lounge suite down under is a fairly straightforward process if you live in one of the cities. The options are to either buy from a furniture store, or else to order one to be delivered to your door. Just like anywhere else, however, actually choosing a sofa suite can be a little tricky due to the large variety of styles, designs, and features to be found in the lounge market today. Unless you already know exactly what you’re looking for, do yourself a favor and research some of the different models out there. A little tip- whereas the term “lounge” is widely used in Australia, this is not the case in other English speaking countries and it would be wise to use “sofa” and “couch” in place of “lounge“. This will yield a wider variety of styles from which to narrow down your choice.
Sofa suites come in many different combinations. The “3-piece suite” generally consists of a loveseat (2-seater), sofa (3-seater), and two armchairs and offers versatile seating with multiple arrangement possibilities. Of course, other combinations are also possible and a sofa plus loveseat combination, or this combination plus an upholstered armchair or recliner is also very popular. A more modern choice is the sectional living room sofa or corner sofa, which is basically a sofa and loveseat joined together to form an ‘L’ shape. These can also be joined via a wedge, and offer a continuous seating surface. These are generally television-oriented, as the opening of the ‘L’ is set to face the television. Not surprisingly, these sell like hot cakes in America, land of the television addict. However, these types of sofas do offer practical, stylish seating and some of them make good sleeper sofas because the wide and flat seat cushions can be used for sleeping on directly without relying on a pull-out type sleeper sofa. American furniture tends to be very large, and this should be kept in mind if you are checking furniture dimensions online especially if you are going to order a corner sofa suite without first having seen it.
Getting a leather sofa suite has its own considerations due to the different grades of leather. Although Australia is a major producer of beef and thus cow hide, most sofas nowadays are made in China, the factory of the world. This means a variable leather selection, some of which may be from animals other than cattle or even mixed with synthetic materials like PVC and vinyl (both of which are toxic). A cheap sofa suite will usually be made of low-quality and/or synthetic leather. What you want is genuine, full grain leather. This is the least processed, and therefore most durable leather. It’s also the most attractive leather and will age beautifully. Although the cost for good leather is higher, it’s worth it in the long run because it is natural and will outlast all other upholstery materials.