When I was in 8th grade, we moved from Alaska to Michigan, and my father’s big black couch moved from the waiting room of his legal office to our family room. This couch was office furniture, 1980s office furniture. It wasn’t cozy or warm or even mildly comfortable, which was totally ok for a lawyer’s office (I don’t think you’re supposed to be comfortable there!), but didn’t work AT ALL in our family room. It crunched when you sat down and was hard as a rock. But we had that couch for years because, um, drop ceilings and bright green berber carpet that looked exactly like astroturf? The couch was sort of the smallest problem in that room. But, ugh, I hated that couch, and because of it, I’ve always cringed at the thought of leather. Unless it’s on a cute pair of boots, I’m out.

But! Leather is trendy again, and it’s so, so different from our old family room couch, or that bad bachelorpad furniture we’ve all seen. This isn’t shiny, black, stiff leather from the ’80s. The “new” leathers are softer, warmer, actually a lot older, and way more inviting. I love the shades of rich caramel that look worn and old and like you just want to sink into them for an evening of reading by the fire. Because obviously you can’t have leather without a fireplace!

(via Coco + Kelley — this whole house tour, originally from Country Living, is one of my all-time favorites)

(via SF Girl by Bay)

(via Desire to Inspire)

If you are like me and don’t want to commit to an entire leather couch or chair, accessories are always fun, like this super cute DIY leather pillow from Vintage Revivals (LOVE the hot pink back!) …

Or these shower curtain ties from Remodelista that are absolutely adorable. I really love this idea.

So what do you think? Would you consider decorating with leather or have you done so already? Are you like me and terrified of all the leather furniture you’ve ever known? Or do you love it? What do you think of this trend?

— Kerry