Leather Furniture Styles - From Bari Leather Furniture

Leather furniture comes in almost any size, style and shape just like traditional furniture does. So before you decide to go shopping, take a few moments to examine what leather furniture style will go best in your existing interior decorating scheme or in the new scheme you’re looking to create. The most popular leather furniture styles are listed below.

Traditional piece of furniture, whether leather or not, are generally more symmetrical in nature and have a formal feel. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to have a truly formal decorating scheme to bring in a piece of traditional leather furniture, in fact you can use a traditional piece to dress up a casual or contemporary room, it just takes a bit more skill and creativity to get all of your pieces to work together. Look for traditional leather pieces that incorporate darker wood finishes such as cherry and mahogany and ones that feature a rich brown tone in the leather itself. 

Contemporary leather furniture actually covers a wide variety of pieces and decorating styles, it can range from the retro look of bright shiny colors with metallic accents to a casual contemporary look with soft rounded edges and creamy tans and neutrals. If you’ve already gone down a contemporary road at home or you’re considering it, it’s difficult to cross contemporary styles and to blend them together, so you’ll want to stay within your interior decorating scheme when looking for leather furniture. Not all contemporary styles play well with leather, so be sure you carefully consider your room before making a leather purchase. 

Comfortable, breezy and relaxed are great ways to define coastal style decorating. Natural fibers are generally emphasized so leather is a great upholstery covering for your furniture, but natural and dark browns typically do not lend themselves to the light airy quality of coastal decorating. Look instead for light neutral or cream colored leather, or go out on a limb and pick something dyed in a pastel color. Coastal furniture is not formal so stay away from formal leather furniture and look for softer lines or even pieces that are part fabric and part leather.

Once upon a time country literally meant country with an emphasis on the farm, this is no longer the case as cottage, French provincial and English country styles have become more practical and popular. Anyway you look at it, country styles are relaxed and not formal. Typically medium to light brown and neutral colors of leather work well in a country style room. Antiques usually go very well in country rooms so look for well cared for antique leather pieces or items that are built to resemble antiques.

Simple and straight forward is a great way to describe Americana style furniture. The palette is muted or faded but come from originally rich hues. Leather is a perfect accessory for Americana decorating as it makes a statement of luxury and quality but does not seem overwhelming or distracting. When shopping ask for arts & crafts styled pieces, mission themed furniture, shaker style, or even items that are southwestern in form. Pick colors that are rich and worn looking and reflect nature.

Oriental style doesn’t typically work well with leather furniture especially if you’re trying to achieve a traditional oriental style with fussy silk brocade and lacquer finished woods. But if you’re going for a sort of modified modern oriental then a sleek black or possibly white or red leather couch or chair may work perfectly in your room. Stay with undersized pieces to keep with the oriental theme and look for smooth clean lines on your furniture, no added stitching, rivets, decorative wood elements. Keep your leather furniture very sleek and modern and tailor the rest of your decorating to merely reflect the oriental style of decorating rather than following it specifically.

Often eclectic style is considered everything that isn’t something else, but that’s not necessarily true. Real eclectic design is a collection of styles that work well together and may be inspired by influences from other countries, one or several. Shabby Chic and Bohemian as well as Ethnic styles fall into the eclectic style due to the non-formal, collection style of elements that create these looks. Leather goes well with eclectic decorating styles of every sort, and any type of flooring whether its carpeting or laminate flooring, as it provides a sense of comfort and nature that eclectic decorators are aiming for. If you have some decorating skill and are looking for an eclectic looking leather couch you can make almost anything work, just take the time to evaluate the size and proportions to make sure they don’t overwhelm your collection.

There are as many styles of leather furniture as there are interior decorating styles. Before you decide on which style works best for you make sure you know what style you’re working with in your home and then try to find leather furniture that is complementary and proportioned to fit your decorating scheme.

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