Those who enjoy having the best often go straight for leather. There is certainly nothing wrong with that since it is the most durable upholstery material known to man. There are times, though, that I think going with all leather is actually a bit of a disadvantage. One of those times is when you are talking about a recliner.
Don't get me wrong, a leather recliner is nice, but a 100% leather recliner actually presents problems. When I talk about 100% leather recliners, I mean a recliner on which every inch is upholstered with leather. The other option is a leather-match recliner which is one where leather is on the seat, back, and arms (everywhere your body touches)and the rest is a color matched vinyl. Why would this be better than all leather? I have a couple of reasons.
For one reason, it is cheaper. For getting a leather feel, you are paying as much as 50% less than on a 100% leather recliner.
The other reason is functional. Leather, as you may know, will stretch. As a recliner goes back and forth to positions, leather can have a tendency to get stretched out and tend to wrinkle. Going purely on what I have seen time and time again, the look is ugly and customers (that's you) end up unhappy. The vinyl on a leather-match, though, has more of a chance of maintaining its look and shape for a longer time.
Hopefully this will help you make a more informed decision when it comes to leather recliners. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with all leather, but just know going in that you may end up with a wrinkly back and sides on your chair.
Hope this helps,
The Furniture Guy
