Can This Old Leather Sofa Be Brought Back To Life? We Tested Two Products To Find Out

Hello, friends! Gretch here. It’s been a while since I’ve taken you inside my apartment, and admittedly, you won’t see much of it in this post. But we’ve got a new friend in the mix, and just like me, she could probably benefit from a little cosmetic work! This little leather beauty here is what you might call a “hand-me-down”, but to me, she’s an absolute treasure!

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted a leather sofa. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a house with one (identical in color, too) and I’m a sucker for nostalgia. A sleek, leather seat is also very “cool girl” in my eyes–a sofa you might find in a real city girl’s loft apartment. And there’s just something so nice about its buttery texture and wipe-ability. In a lot of ways, leather really gets better with age…with proper care, of course!

A brief origin story–if you don’t recognize the sofa, you may recognize this room! This is our photographer, Kaitlin Green’s living room. And this cutie sofa that is now mine was once hers. For 10 years! She and her husband bought it brand new from West Elm for their first place (and yes, it is still available). It was one of the first bigger purchases they made together. A special one. Over the years, this sofa saw lots of love: friends coming over to watch the game, a shared bottle of wine, or cuddles with their pup, Remy. Eventually, even more snuggles (and maybe a few stains too) came along with the addition of their two daughters.

They really treasured it–something I think we should all strive for when it comes to picking out the pieces for our homes! And for being 10 years old, she really ain’t looking too bad. But there comes a time to invite in some newness and when we re-did Kaitlin’s living room, she was generous enough to pass this sofa on to me.

But if you too have inherited or found a piece of leather furniture that could use a lifeline, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve watched enough YouTube tutorials to predict that with a few affordable products, I could more than likely bring this baby back to life. Or at least give her a little boost. I haven’t done this before so I wasn’t sure which leather cleaner/conditioner solution would be the best to use, and there are quite a few on the market. So today I’m putting two of them to the test.

Here’s our starting point. The leather looks and feels quite dry, but thankfully, there are no rips or tears. A few minor stains here and there, but honestly, I have been living with it in this state for a while now and it could be way worse. While the center seat cushion definitely looks the roughest, I left it untouched until the end of my rigorous testing to see which of the two products worked better to finish the job. Also big shout-out to Marlee for helping me do this and taking all the photos!

We tested out two products. On the right top and bottom cushions, we used Leather Honey’s cleaner and conditioner. And on the left, we went with Lexol’s cleaner and conditioner combo. Both of these came highly rated, but I will go ahead and spoil it for you–there was a clear winner in my eyes.

It was a super easy process if you want to see it in action (the video will play after a couple of quick ads)

Step One: Cleaning

We went in with the cleaning solutions first (obviously) and a couple of microfiber cloths, like the instructions said. Right off the bat, I will say, you’re probably better off using a white microfiber cloth if you’re gonna do this. I imagine you’d see all kinds of satisfying grime coming off onto your rag, but I only had these gray ones, and with both of the products, I couldn’t really tell what it was doing in terms of cleaning.

Lexol’s cleaner said to pour a small amount onto the rag and rub it in. It applied smoothly and pretty evenly. Because my leather was pretty soft, less taut, it was a bit tricky to pull the rag across in a big sweeping motion without it bunching. But I was able to fully coat the seat. It said to wipe away the excess with a damp cloth, but the couch absorbed the product pretty quickly, so there was no real need for that.

Leather Honey’s cleaner worked about the same, but it had a spray bottle instead. It took a little longer to saturate the cloth enough to use. Again, I tried big sweeping motions and coated the cushion as best I could, but it was hard to tell if it was actually doing anything. With both of these products, I viewed them more as a “prep step” rather than essential to making the sofa come alive again. Both sides looked maybe a little more moisturized and even after cleaning, but it was an underwhelming step.

Step Two: Conditioning

But step two with the Lexol conditioner was a breeze! The product comes out kind of white, but goes on clear and is reallllllly easy to move around and buff into the leather. Again, I kept pouring little dollops onto the rag, rubbing it into the leather in circular motions until the whole cushion was coated. This product was super easy to use and was clearly adding some moisture back to the leather, getting me excited for the end results.

This is how it looked immediately after. It definitely evened out some of the leather’s discoloration (hard to say if that was from the cleaner, the conditioner, or both). But I was most impressed by how soft and smooth the leather was feeling after conditioning. Like butter! I didn’t notice any funky smell, and I can’t stress this enough, the product was REALLY easy to move around on the material.

But Leather Honey’s conditioner? Not so much. The instructions were virtually identical to Lexol’s: a small dab of product onto the rag, rub in until evenly coated. This one did mention that the product would work better if it was warmed up, and after going in with it straight out of the bottle and STRUGGLING, I did try zapping it in the microwave. It helped a little bit? Maybe? But this product really did feel and move like honey–sticky. It was thick and hard to wipe around the leather. I felt like I couldn’t get it to spread evenly because the product was clinging and soaking into the leather too fast. And the only way to combat that was to keep adding product.

Doing this side was genuinely a little scary because it was coming out SO dark. Like so dark. I for sure put on way too much, but also felt like I didn’t have a choice if I was to coat the cushion evenly, like it said. It felt splotchy and I was so worried it was going to permanently change the color of the leather…

Because just look at how dark it was!!! This was after coating each of the side cushions with just one layer of the conditioners. I was joking with Marlee that at this stage, it was really feeling like the Neapolitan ice cream of couches. The left side compared to the super dry middle seat and the perfectly buttered right seat? Insane.

The instructions should’ve said “remain calm and let it dry down” because here’s how it looked the next day. Way better! Phew! Now these are iPhone shots, so the coloring will look a bit different, but it was for sure lighter and more even-toned in person once it had the full 24 hours to dry.

BUT I will say, I think the Leather Honey did actually darken the leather a shade or two. Don’t love that!! It’s not so bad to me that it’s super noticeable, but the Lexol right cushion was definitely the winning solution. So much so that I decided to go ahead and clean/condition the super-dry center cushion with the Lexol combo to finish the job. That is the difference you see above. But let’s pull back a bit and see the full before and after:

Here’s where we started…

And here’s how she looks now! I don’t know about you, but I DEFINITELY notice a difference between these shots (and in person, for sure). Before, the sofa was just so crusty, looked quite wrinkled, and felt super dry. Now that the sofa cushions are fully conditioned (this was shot a week later), I can say I both feel and see a difference. Did it give me a brand new sofa? Not really. But I’m happy I did it and it was truly so easy, I think it’s something I’ll try to do every six months or so.

I think the Leather Honey would’ve worked better on a tighter leather upholstery, but it was the big loser here. I am however a BIG FAN of the Lexol combo, how it moved and how it transformed. I still have a ton left over for future applications, plus it’s the less expensive option! If you’ve got a piece of leather furniture, a car seat, or even a leather purse that needs a little lift, I really recommend giving Lexol a try! Let me know if you do and if you’ve got questions, I’ll do my best to answer them in the comments Read More