Upholstery: Fixing Your Leather Couch

Leather furniture has its drawbacks and benefits, but few people will argue that it can look really nice and it certainly feels luxurious when the air is cool. Of course, nothing can ruin the look of your leather upholstery quicker than a few cuts and tears in the wrong place. If you’ve got such a problem and you’re debating about getting rid of the couch—stop what you’re doing! You may be able to do some light repairs and make your couch as good as new. Saving money is saving money, right? Here’s how to fix those small tears.

Several companies sell standard repair kits for leather upholstery. Purchase one of these and it will give you the tools you need to get started. You can probably find one at your local home improvement store, if not Wal-Mart and the like. You shouldn’t have to spend too much money on the purchase, either—certainly it will amount to a savings greater than you would be able to get if you went and bought a whole new couch. You may even be able to ask your friends and see if they have one you can borrow, as few people will use the entire contents of the kit in one go.

Inside the kit will be a small swatch of sandpaper. Use this sandpaper to scuff up the area of the couch which needs to be repaired. Do this lightly and try to keep the scuffing just to the area where you will be repairing. You don’t want to create a bigger problem than you had to begin with. After you’ve scuffed the area, swab it down with alcohol, something that should have also come with your upholstery repair kit.

From there it is just a matter of using the patch and scrap leather provided in the kit to cover up the holes. Of course, unless you got really lucky, the finish of the scrap leather is not going to match your leather upholstery. If this is the case, you can use the paint provided to match the color of your couch. Will the end result make it look as if nothing happened? Depends on the color of the couch and how big the hole was. Certainly it will make a big difference.

If you don’t get the desired result, contact an upholstery repair shop near you and see what they can do. You may be able to cover the couch with an entirely new material or they may have repair options beyond the scope of a do-it-yourself project.