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Does anyone have this crazy problem with your leather furniture?

amicus
5 years ago

Do any of you with leather furniture, have any problem sitting upright on it? O.K. I know that question makes me sound nuts, but I'm being serious. We've always had fabric upholstered furniture. But we decided to go with leather, and I love it, especially since our dog's fur doesn't cling to it.


But If I'm sitting in our leather chair with my feet on the floor, my behind starts slowly sliding forward, and my head sinks lower down the back of the chair. It makes it hard to do my crossword puzzles when my lap has disappeared, lol. If I'm just watching t.v., sitting at one end of the sofa, with legs on the sofa, I slowly start sliding away from the sofa arm that my back was against, as if I was intending to lie flat down on the sofa. I then have to push myself back and up against the sofa arm again.


Putting a throw pillow behind my back does nothing. It stays put, while my body shimmies away from it. This happens no matter what fabric I'm wearing. A friend joked that I need to sit on one of those rubber mesh things that hold area rugs in place, lol. I'm laughing as I write this, but it actually is pretty annoying to have to constantly push myself upright again, every several minutes. BTW, DD liked our leather furniture so much, she got some, but a different manufacturer. I have the same problem on hers, so it's not just a fluky thing with my own set. Do any of you experience this?

Comments (25)

  • Olychick
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    It's one reason I don't ever buy leather furniture, but I suppose it depends on the shape of the cushions, too, I don't like that pillows don't stay put (or they slide down easily) and some that I've sat on, the cushions also easily slide off the foundation or the back cushions slide around.

    In my experience the only thing that helped was to brace myself with my feet on the edge of the coffee table or on a footstool if it's the right height and weight to brace against. I wonder if real suede (not microfiber) might give you some traction? Like a suede throw to sit on? Our skin seems to stick to it, but you probably don't want to hang around naked all the time?

    I supposed you've googled it - lots of complaints and suggestions -someone suggested the stuff football players put on their hands to keep the football from sliding out of it, lol. :

    https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+keep+from+sliding+on+leather+furniture&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-ab

    amicus thanked Olychick
  • Fun2BHere
    5 years ago

    I don't have any leather furniture, but it happens in my car often. I'm always having to lift up and scoot back at stop lights. I need fabric seats!

    amicus thanked Fun2BHere
  • bpath
    5 years ago

    Our skin seems to stick to it, but you probably don't want to hang around naked all the time?

    Thanks, oly, now I've spilled my coffee lol!

    The only one who uses our leather sofa is the cat. He sleeps on the back cushion (now squashed to his dimensions) or on his blankie on "tthe crack" between two cushions. Most of us find it too squishy; can I get stiff foam inserts for it?

    DH has a Danish leather recliner that we all like, and we don't slide out of it. But it's pretty firm.

    amicus thanked bpath
  • chispa
    5 years ago

    I have the perfect theme song for when you are sitting on the leather sofa ...



    amicus thanked chispa
  • amicus
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    Thanks for your responses! I've learned of a product called 'Ruggies" that keeps leather sofa seat cushions in place, but not much to prevent humans from sliding off the cushions...well, maybe I'll buy one of those rubber mesh mats for area rugs, and place it on top of where I usually sit on my sofa. It's better than sewing them to the back of all my clothing, lol! This video could be me, haha!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lS3KrUOV8c

  • amicus
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    chispa, I can't watch the video, as 'The uploader has not made this video available in your country.' (Canada) But I loved S&G, so I know it's 'Slip Slidin' Away,' lol!

  • party_music50
    5 years ago

    Maybe seat belts would help. Lol! I've got leather sofas and have never found myself sliding.... but when I sit down a cat usually appears on my lap to help hold me in place. :)


    amicus thanked party_music50
  • party_music50
    5 years ago

    omg, Allison. I'd favor and treasure that chair forever!

    amicus thanked party_music50
  • 3katz4me
    5 years ago

    We have a couple leather Morris chairs and another big comfy leather chair. We don’t slide out of them. I don’t think I’d buy any more leather furniture with cats though. They don’t scratch it but they spring off the chairs from time to time leaving a few claw marks and scratches.

    amicus thanked 3katz4me
  • blfenton
    5 years ago

    We bought a leather couch because my DH really wanted one. He sits in it all the time but I slip down in it and so never sit on it.

    Several years ago we were going on holidays and our neighbour was taking care of the cats. To preserve the leather couch I put a couple of blankets on it and then some heavy pillows on top to hold them in place so the cats couldn't get at it. Our neighbour never did see the cats but knew they were around as they ate the food. But, when we got home they had taken the pillows and blankets off the couch and had torn the thing pretty much to shreds. Turns out it can't be repaired. We still have it and the cats haven't attacked it since. They apparently, were pretty mad that we left them for a week.

    amicus thanked blfenton
  • amicus
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    I think I'll kind of hijack my own thread. Allison, I agree with party_music50, that you will treasure your 'decorated' recliner chair forever, lol! I have a similar lifetime memento. We always used our den, more than our living room, which didn't have as comfy sofas. I kept a beautiful silver plated vase on the floor in my living room. One day we were getting snacks in the kitchen, to bring into the den for some t.v. watching. I thought my 3 year old had gone into the den before us, but apparently he had gone into the living room.

    He came walking out, holding the silver vase, saying that we should put some pretty flowers in it. (It was only used as a decor piece, so always empty.) I put it back in the living room, and forgot about it. Several days later when I was dusting in the living room, I noticed the perfect imprint of his hands, on either side of the vase, showing even the detail of each fingerprint.

    I almost instinctively grabbed a cloth to polish the vase. But thankfully I paused a second, and thought 'Do I really need to re-polish this vase?' I decided it would be a beautiful keepsake. Twenty-five years later, his 3 yr. old hand prints are still perfectly preserved on the vase, which is now on a shelf, as a loving display, rather than on the floor, as a 'decor piece.'

  • Bonnie
    5 years ago

    We have had two leather sofas in our family room, both were back when we had kids at home. I don't recall either being particularly slippery for humans, pillows were always slipping off though.

    amicus thanked Bonnie
  • Allison0704
    5 years ago

    Oh, amicus, that is lovely! And no, I will never get rid of the chair!

    amicus thanked Allison0704
  • ravencajun Zone 8b TX
    5 years ago

    Are you using any type of spray or cleaner on it? I know some of them can make it slippery. We have had only leather furniture for many years and don't have any problems with it. Occasionally the decorative pillows will slide around but sometimes my little dog helps them move around.

    amicus thanked ravencajun Zone 8b TX
  • amicus
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    raven, I don't believe it would have been cleaned or conditioned yet, as it's quite new. We'd decided to get leather for our next furniture, but hadn't budgeted it yet, when an amazing offer came up. A friend's (wealthy) friend, wanted to move back home (overseas) but didn't want the hassle of listing and selling all their furnishings. She was giving away everything FREE, to anyone who could use it. Of course, we were thrilled to get a lovely leather set, that is in excellent condition

    I slip on my DD's sofas as well, but just realized that my DS has a leather sofa too. I never slide on his, and apparently it's Nubuck leather. It's very comfortable also, but provides more traction. My leather set obviously can't be returned to a store to buy a more suitable set. But maybe I can buy a piece of Nubuck leather to just put under me, when I sit. If I put it top side down, so that it won't slide on the leather sofa, perhaps I won't slide from the Nubuck piece, lol!

  • winker58
    5 years ago

    I have a leather sofa that does not make me slide off but two leather chairs that we have do. One thing i noticed is that the leather on the chairs is a shiny leather that is also pulled tightly around the wood frame. You could not sink into it one bit. I can see that sitting on top of something that is slippery and does not allow ypur body to sink down into a bit would cause this.


    Could this be your situation. Maybe we could both velcro sandpaper to the back of our pants to give it a little gripping effort. Just kidding of course.

    amicus thanked winker58
  • amicus
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    winker, I know what you mean about shiny leather furniture, especially when the leather is pulled tightly. My DD's set is like that, which is understandable why it's 'slippery' to me. But our set isn't very shiny and the seat cushions have a nice 'give' when you sit. So it's strange to me that I would still tend to slide, on cushions that aren't taut.

    The leather is buttery soft and all the pieces are very comfy, so I don't want to use canvas (or some other non slippery fabric) to cover them. I have a black, non shiny leather skirt somewhere, that I wore years ago...maybe I'll cut a square out of it and make a 'placemat' to sit on, lol!

  • PRO
    Panter's Hardwood Floors, Inc.
    4 years ago

    I have the same problem with a leather sofa. I spoke to an upholsterer about it and he suggested the cushions may be too firm. I am going to try adjusting the filling until I don’t slip off. Will let you know how it works!

  • hooked123
    4 years ago

    I have seen this many times, you're not crazy.

  • Karen Stuart
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    I just found this article and think I’ll try the method on our new leather furniture. https://www.hunker.com/12606656/how-to-make-a-leather-couch-less-slippery

  • sjk6
    3 years ago

    We have the same problem.

  • petalique
    3 years ago

    Double sided tape or sit on thin silicone potholders (or a silpat).


    i like the “idea” of leather furniture, but the slip slide and cold feel is a dealbreaker. Although we do have an Ekorns Stressless .

  • Karen Markins
    2 years ago

    Yup! All the time! Found recommendation for wiping it doen with an alcohol and vinegar solution to break down a wax layer on newer leather furniture. I’m going to try it.

  • Lisa Benjamin
    last year

    We had an executive that left and I took his big executive leather chair, I put it back by the end of the day, as my butt kept sliding forward. I found myself have to readjust my position every 10 minutes or I was going to slide on the floor <LOL> Yup, the chair just looked comfortable and important, but I felt like Ally McBeal <little kid, playing grown-up at the big table>

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