Over recent years in order to attract more clients to their premises many bars, restaurants and pubs have chosen to refurbish their interior with leather sofas and leather dining chairs. As leather furniture has always been regarded as expensive and opulent, this gives an instantly classy look to any setting and the comfy look of deeply upholstered leather sofas make any room look very informal and welcoming that encourages customers to stay longer and hopefully spend more money!

Leather dining chairs have become extremely popular over the past few years for restaurants and for bars and pubs that rely on food sales to generate income. Licensees have been attracted by the expensive look of leather and also because they perceive these chairs to be low in maintenace and strong. However, the leather dining chairs and leather sofas available on the market now, vary greatly in quality and frame strength and it is important to ask the right questions before parting with money.

To reduce costs some suppliers buy chairs from manufacturers who use rubberwood to make the frames because this timber is cheap but does not give the same strength and longevity as more traditional timbers like beechwood, ashwood or birchwood. People often do not consider the frame structure of a leather sofa, but if it is badly constructed or made from inferior timber this can greatly reduce the life of the sofa as often a broken frame is uneconomic to repair. The same applies to leather dining chairs, which if the frame becomes loose are at best uncomfortable to sit on and may become dangerous unless costly repairs are undertaken.

Now there are many types of leather and faux leathers available that are very difficult to distinguish from the real thing so it is important to know exactly what has been used. Aniline and semi aniline leathers have a natural look and feel, are breathable and give a high comfort level. Nubuck leather is an aniline leather where the face has been brushed and has a velvety feel, is breathable, soft to the touch and comfortable. Bycast leather is made when the leather skin is split and usually the bottom layer is used upon which a process is used covering the leather with a protective polyeurethane coating. It is very hardwearing, has an attractive uniform appearance, and has the advantage of being lower in price than conventional leathers. This is most often used now for commercial settings where price is often an important factor. For Pvc imitation leathers, a woven fabric base has a coating of polyvinylchloride applied and the grain effect is made by a pressure roler running over the material. In this way any number of designs can be applied, depending upon the design on the roller. The feel of this material is generally harder and less giving than PU fabrics. Today faux leather non woven Pu leather like fabrics are so effective in imitating the real thing, that even people within the leather industry may find it difficult to differentiate them without very close inspection. There are types of PU faux leather that imitate suede and nubuck too with limitless grain patterns being available.

Of course it is important to ensure that the material has a fire retardant coating and that certificates are available for this and for the foam filling too. The foam filling comes in many different hardnesses (called density), with 30 Super Soft being typically used for chair backs and 40 Hard being used for the seat. For the heaviest applications 50 or 55 Hard may be used. On leather dining chairs the seat and back foam are often supported by webbing woven from jute or artificial fibres. For harder applications steel springs can be used.

For the heaviest use a plywood or fibreboard makes the base for the seat although this is not the most comfortable option.