Missy Elliott wore these in the 90s. More on reddit.com

Furniture loses value very quickly and is a great place to buy used. You can probably get a "this sat barely used in our formal living room for a few years and now we're moving" kinda deal for less than half of new price with a little patience. More on reddit.com

I recommend you avoid the box stores. If you want quality, find a local interior designer with a showroom. They will carry some of the top manufacturers like, Stickley, Highland House, Wesley Hall, Sherrill Furniture, Taylor King, Century Furniture etc... You can visit a website like Furnitureland South to get an idea of what is available from the above manufacturers. More on reddit.com

I have had leather pieces from West Elm (Austin swivel chair + ottoman, Erik wing chair, and Mid-century show sofa) and CB2 (2x Abruzzo chairs, Cuppa chair, and Alfred sofa). I’ve used cleaners, conditioners, supposed scratch removers, even tried restoring/dying a used Pottery Barn chair that was obliterated by a cat. I’m by no means an expert or authority. But I can shed some light on buying from these kinds of mass production companies. If you’re able to, try to see the pieces in-person. West Elm has stores, so if there’s one even sort of nearby…call and find out what they have on their floor. Even if they do not have the model you’re interested it, test drive any leather pieces they have and ask the exact leather type so you can then order the style you want in the material you prefer. Every one of these companies usually have a variety of different variations of leather from certain suppliers, but as long as it’s Aniline I think you’re ahead of the curve in terms of quality. You could also look on Craigslist/OfferUp/Facebook Marketplace to see if someone local is selling a leather piece from some of the other companies on your list that do not have a brick and mortar near you let alone at all. Go check them out, and if you don’t want to lead them on about a potential sale, be transparent and offer them financial compensation ($10-$20?) to take a look and ask them about it. I’m pretty sure you can also request/purchase swatches of specific leathers from some of these companies. It’s worth spending on swatches to ensure you end up with a sofa you truly love. Most complaints with these companies are about delayed delivery or damage during delivery. I get it, because if I invested thousands of dollars in a sofa that’s supposed to be delivered in a 6-8 weeks, but shows up 5 months later, I’d be pissed off. Oh, and when it arrives, one of the legs is bent or the wood trim is cracked? I’d post awful reviews anywhere I could lol. As for quality/feel complaints…Anyone who spends $5K on a sofa based solely on website pictures and no other research is flipping a coin. For those unfortunate souls who were misled/lied to by the companies or let down by their QC, well that’s just fucking ridiculous and I hope folks in here let you know which ones not to trust. That’s all I can think of for now. Good luck on your search, and congrats. Hopefully others in this sub with more expertise will chime in, I’d love to learn more about leather! More on reddit.com