The Popularity Of Recliners

The Recliner – the ultimate in masculinity – a place to relax, leave all your troubles behind and find your inner peace! 

Perhaps with the huge popularity of TV shows such as ‘Friends’ featuring these fantastic pieces of furniture as a status symbol this may be the reason for why the industry has seen a massive rise over the last few years in the demand for such items. There are two main rules when purchasing a recliner. 

1) It must be made from quality leather that will last for years to come. 

2) It must be the most comfortable seat you have ever sat on!

Leather Sofa World has also seen a huge rise in interest in recliners over the last couple of years so not only do we have a range of single recliner chairs but also stock reclining sofas! So now the whole family can enjoy the benefits of a reclining seat! 

We have a lucious recliner sofa set recently added to our signature range. The 'imperial' is available to buy direct from our website, view this reclining sofa here.

The imperial reclining sofa set

The UK Toxic Sofa Scare

There has been a huge amount of press over the last 12 months now in regards to the ‘itchy sofa’ scare so we have delved in to researching just exactly what happened to bring you the facts!
Late last year (2007) reports starting emerging that a number of people were starting to complain of skin irritations, not that unusual, until you find out that there was one common factor with all of these peoples mysteriously sudden cases of rashes – they had all purchased leather sofas from 3 major high street stores. Again, it was surprising to find out that each of these companies had been selling leather sofas supplied to them by the same major Chinese company. There seemed to be a definite link between the Chinese sofas and the terrible skin complaints that were being reported across the UK.  

As time went on more and more cases seemed to be brought forward and the extensive list of symptoms included rashes, blisters, dermatitis, weeping wounds, eczema and in some very extreme cases blood poisoning; there were even reports that the sofas had in some way effected family pets to the point that their fur was falling out at a dramatic rate! Many people suffered from depression out of being totally unaware as to why they had these awful burn-like rashes all over their bodies that would just not go away. Finally an answer came. It had been discovered that the Chinese company had used an anti fungal chemical called Di-Methyl Fumarate (DMF) which was stored in sachets and inserted in to the leather sofas in order to prevent moisture and mould whilst in transport. Unbeknownst to the major high street stores concerned as well as their customers who were buying these sofas, the DMF was causing all of these terrible and unrelenting symptoms. It was found that when subjected to a warm environment the DMF crystals in the sachets were evaporating in to toxic gases which penetrated the sofas and passed through clothes on to the skin of the person sitting on the sofa where it created an allergic reaction.  

The story was covered in February of this year by BBC’s Watchdog programme in which the Chinese manufacturer denied the allegations and with over a thousand people complaining they had ‘itchy sofa’ syndrome many started seeking compensation. Eventually, solicitors Russell, Jones & Walker (RJW) became the main campaigners for this compensation, representing now over 1300 people in their claims. Joined in group litigation against the companies supplying the effected sofas, it is the largest ever defective product action ever recorded in England and Wales.

The information came as a relief to many people who were undergoing treatment for their traumatisation including creams, antibiotics and steroids. They now knew what was causing their terrible skin outbreaks and were able to do something about it by disposing of their effected sofas immediately. However, some experienced great difficulty in having their sofas replaced by the companies they had purchased from – some were even left for weeks with nothing to sit on! To date the battle is still ongoing with more and more people coming forward with complaints about their toxic sofas. Infact, RJW believe that there could be over 50,000 homes that are harbouring a defective sofa so there is no telling when these problems will cease, even though all of the effected models were eventually recalled.  

One reason why we wanted to bring you this important update is to ensure our customers that Leather Sofa World has never had any dealings with the Chinese manufacturer concerned and that we have never had any sort of complaint in regards to skin conditions associated with any of our products, we also felt that it is our duty to create more awareness of this issue as many people are still suffering in silence having no idea that it is their sofa that is causing them so much distress. We make health and safety a priority when selecting new sofas for our ranges and always ensure that they exceed British Safety Standards.

If you feel that you may have been affected by the ‘itchy sofa’ syndrome then you can find a list of bad sofa batch numbers at the RJW website along with some useful information on what to do next www.rjw.co.uk . You can also read the BBC’s Watchdog report here.

7 Top Tips To Buying Your First Sofa

Leather Sofa World not only provides exceptionally low discounted leather sofas and furniture, we also like to advise our customers on what sofa choice may be best for them by offering professional advice and opinions. Our 7 steps to buying your first sofa are a few suggestions about what you should take in to consideration if this is your first time buying a new sofa.

1) Budget: It is really important that before you even start looking at sofas that you decide what your maximum budget is to spend. Be realistic with what sort of investment you want to make in a piece of furniture that will hopefully last for a number of years. Once you have organized you budget you may be surprised at what you can get for your money!

2) Space: Don’t make the mistake of being disappointed when your chosen sofa won’t even fit through your door! Measure carefully your doors or windows to make sure that you will manage to get the item in to your living room. It’s also vital that you choose a sofa / suite that is not going to completely take over your room, so have a good idea about how much space you have to play with and how much of this space is going to be filled up by your chosen sofa. For small rooms why not think about purchasing a corner sofa unit? These are compact and a real space saver - take a look at our ‘Rio’ model which shows this brilliantly.

3) Users: Who is your sofa going to be used by? If you live on your own you may feel that you only need maybe a single 2 or 3 seater sofa, if you are a family with children then you may want to opt for a 3 piece suite to accommodate for all those people.

4) Comfort: It is imperative when selecting a new sofa that it is comfortable for you; after all, you are going to have to sit on it practically every day for the next few years! The majority of our leather sofas have pocket sprung seat technology made from independent springs allowing them to individually adjust to your body weight and position for a supremely comfortable and supportive seat.

5) Leather: When buying a leather sofa you should always do a bit of homework to see what type of leather you are actually buying. For more information on this you can check out our blog on Leather Types. It is important to keep in mind that leather does need looking after so we strongly recommend our leather care kits to make sure that you get the best out of your sofa for years to come. Also, little things like keeping your sofa away from heat sources that can induce cracking and splitting of the leather is a great way to keep it in good condition.

6) Rented Accommodation: If you are living in rented accommodation it is critical that your sofa meets British Standard UK Fire Regulations as it is against the law to have an unsafe sofa if you are renting. All of Leather Sofa Worlds products exceed these regulations as safety is a major priority when we select our new sofa ranges.

7) Style: Remember that you are going to have to live with your sofa for a few years to come so choose a style that will wear well with the future trends that may come about…for example…in five years time will you still love that lime green low backed sofa that you love so much now? Maybe not, so think wisely and purchase something that will blend in with whatever décor you may subject your home to in the future!

Leather Sofa World advises taking these 7 factors in to consideration before buying your first sofa

Predictions For Living Room Style Winter 2008 / 2009

Leather Sofa World understands the needs of their customers so as well as offering astonishing discounted prices on many of our sofa and furniture ranges we also like to keep one step ahead in the fashion stakes. Through research in to the upcoming ranges of leather sofas and furniture becoming available on the market, this winter we predict that all that glistens will be gold – well, antique gold! We will be seeing a sudden step away from shiny steel and chrome finishes that have made such an impact on the way we present our homes. Gone are the perfect right angles and loud colours!

This winter it is all about going back to nature – imagine natural woods, burnished bronzes, dirty golds and tree bark browns, added to a hint of creamy straw and your there! This new wave of relaxing and rich colours will bring warmth and life to your home and we have a few items that may come in useful for you to achieve this look! Take, for example, our range of Shesham wood products made from the finest Indian rosewood that will add instant atmosphere and authenticity to your surroundings. Couple that with one of our unbeatable value chocolate brown or cream leather sofas to make a central relaxation place for you and your family – all you need now is some rustic looking mirrors and a shabby chic gold chandelier to finish the look!

Stand out from the crowd and enhance your home this winter using Leather Sofa Worlds predication for Winter 2008 / 2009 – you can visit our site to discover our new ranges to complement your living space now.

Beating The Credit Crunch

With so many increases in bills and rates at the moment with the current ‘Credit Crunch’ situation its becoming increasingly difficult to find good deals on home furniture that will really save some pennies - if not pounds - as a number of large retailers are hiking up their prices to cover their huge overheads. As a purely online retailer, at Leather Sofa World we have stuck to our incredibly low prices and are still making even more discounts day by day! 

We can afford to do this because we don’t have the expense of running multiple showrooms; we do in all online from one site. That’s also how we promise to deliver within 7 days – we keep a huge stock off all of our ranges in one place and our own drivers deliver straight to you – simple! With things looking drab for the near future in relation to energy costs and the like at least you can rely on us to continue providing quality leather sofas at exceptional prices.