Choosing a Chesterfield Suite

To help you choose the right Chesterfield Suite for you we have compiled an overview of the main choices you will face.

The Chesterfield Suite

With its deep buttoned back and arms, soft, supple leather and distinctive shape, the Chesterfield suite is one of the worlds most popular designs of traditional suite.

Which type of chesterfield suite is best for you?

There is no single answer to this question as it can only be answered by personal preference. For many, the suite should always be a tight sprung and fully buttoned interior in a dark colour. For others, comfort is a priority, so a suite such as the Kendal is the order of the day due to its overstuffed body and soft, hand stuffed cushion. Then there are the crested back options, flared or straight armed chairs, and even un-buttoned club suites. You might even want your club chair to be upholstered in a velvet or other material? We really can manufacture all our chesterfield suites to order, right here in the English countryside, you can be assured that no request (no matter how bizarre) is too obscure or difficult for us.

Choosing the right leather for your chesterfield suite and for you.

At distinctive chesterfields, we offer three types of leather as standard for your suites - Antique, Premium, and Hand Dyed

There are many factors to consider when choosing your chesterfield suite. One of the most difficult is always the leather choice. Traditionally a suite would be upholstered in antique green, antique red, or antique brown, but these days the sky is really the limit. And something as simple as choosing a brighter colour can transform a leather suite. The Dorset club chair for example is covered in our special premium white leather, which gives it a very contemporary feel which is at home in any London loft apartment. Or the Cumberland club chair, in our hand dyed chestnut leather, gives a more homely, and rustic feel, whilst retaining that classic charm for which a club chair is known.

Antique leather furniture

The process of creating a new chesterfield and then making it appear to be an original, traditional sofa is known as antiquing. An antiqued piece of leather furniture gives the appearance of an old sofa but with the benefit of being a brand new piece. This process was pioneered in England in the UK many years ago.

Then the leather which is to be applied to the furniture is put through the first of stage of antiquing. It is blacked with a special treatment which makes the whole of the hide appear very dark, in fact almost black.

This is then applied by hand to the frame of the chair.

Once all finishing has been done the next stage in the process of making your traditional chesterfield appear to be an antique piece of furniture is the rub-off. In this stage, the leather is rubbed lightly by a professional leather worker with a special solution to reveal the lighter colour below. This is done in such a way as to replicate the look of a traditional, antique leather chesterfield or chair.

Once this painstaking process if finished, the final step is to seal the leather. This is done so the antiqued leather settee does not lose its effect over time by becoming too light.

Due to this process, as detailed above, there is finally a viable alternative to having an old chesterfield settee or wing chair in your home.