A leather colour on a screen is only an approximation. Monitors differ in brightness and colour balance, product photographs are taken under studio lights, and a small image cannot show grain, sheen or how soft a hide feels. On a sofa, the colour you choose covers several square metres and stays in the room for many years, so a physical sample is the most reliable way to decide.
At Sitdesign we send leather samples on request before an order is confirmed. This guide explains what to look at when the samples arrive, how to test them at home, and how to narrow 76 colours down to one.
What a sample shows that a photo cannot
A sample answers the questions a photograph leaves open:
- True colour. Browns can lean red, yellow or grey; greys can lean blue or green. These undertones are often lost on screen.
- Finish and sheen. A pigmented leather has an even, slightly satin surface, while a semi-aniline leather shows more natural grain and darkens a little where it is handled.
- Hand feel. Thickness, softness and the way the leather folds tell you how a seat cushion will look once it has been used.
- Natural marks. Genuine leather carries small grain variations and healed scars. Seeing them on a sample tells you what to expect on the finished piece.
Our leather materials page describes the leather groups we work with; Italian leathers form our top group. The sample is where those descriptions become something you can judge with your own eyes and hands.
How the leather range is organised
We work only with genuine leather, in 76 colours grouped into 12 colour families. The families keep the choice manageable: first pick one or two families that suit the room, then compare the shades inside them. A practical way to request samples:
- Tell us which piece you are considering, for example the Platon sofa or another model from our leather sofas collection.
- Send a photo of the room in daylight, with the floor and the wall behind the sofa visible.
- Name the colour families you lean towards, so the samples cover the shades you are really choosing between.
Three to six samples are usually enough. With more than that, the differences become hard to judge and the decision takes longer.
How to test samples at home
Look at samples in the room where the furniture will stand, not at a desk under office lighting. A few simple checks:
- Place them where the piece will go. Lay the sample on the floor or tape it to the wall in that exact spot, so it sits against the real flooring, rug and wall colour.
- Check three times of day. Morning daylight, late afternoon sun and evening lamps can make the same leather look noticeably different.
- Compare against fixed elements. Hold the sample next to the floor, a curtain, a wooden table top or a stone surface, and check that the undertones work together.
- Touch and fold it. Press a thumb into it and bend it. A softer leather gives a more relaxed look; a firmer one keeps a crisp, tailored outline.
- Look from a distance. Step back three or four metres. A shade that looks dark in your hand often reads lighter across a full sofa.
Scale: a small swatch on a large piece
A sample is typically the size of a hand, while a three-seater sofa is often 200 to 240 cm wide. Colour tends to intensify over a large surface: a mid-tan can feel very warm on a full sofa, and a pale grey can look almost white in a bright room. If you are torn between two neighbouring shades, the calmer one is usually the safer choice for a large piece, and the stronger one works well on a single armchair or a pouf.
Consider the pieces next to it as well. The photo at the top of this article, taken at CNR İMOB 2018, shows a walnut sideboard with a brass inlay beside an upholstered armchair. Combinations like this are exactly what samples help you check: the upholstery of the chair against the wood tone of the cabinet beside it.
Fabric and your own material (COM)
Leather is not the only option. Our upholstered pieces can also be made in fabric, and we accept customer's own material (COM), for example a fabric chosen to match curtains or another room. If you plan to use COM:
- Ask us how many metres your model needs before you buy the fabric.
- Choose an upholstery-weight fabric made for seating, not a curtain or dress fabric, so it holds its shape.
- Note the pattern direction and repeat; large patterns need extra material to line up across cushions.
Test a fabric sample with the same checks as leather: in the room, in different light, next to the floor and the wood.
From sample to order
Once you have decided, keep the sample. It becomes your reference for later choices such as a rug, curtains or a second piece in the same leather. Confirm the colour name and code with us in writing, so the order and the sample match. Every piece is handmade in our own factory in Büyükçekmece, Istanbul, on a kiln-dried beech frame. Upholstered pieces take 3–4 weeks once the order is confirmed, and custom dimensions are available on request.
If you are planning a sofa, an armchair or a complete seating group, contact us with the model, the room and the colours you have in mind. We will send leather samples and prepare a quote.
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