Who hasn’t seen leather used in all the traditional ways? Upholstering Chesterfield sofas, elegant lounge chairs, banquettes in steakhouses. These are all classic applications and for a good reason! They look sophisticated, feel luxurious and boast exceptional sustainability and durability. At Jamie Stern, we love leather and we love these timeless uses.
However, upholstery leather is a remarkably versatile and wide-ranging product that features virtually no limitations. It can be used in countless ways to enhance a space’s visual appeal and comfort. Below, we have highlighted ten truly unique applications of some classic Jamie Stern leathers that we feel beautifully illustrate this point. From the guest suites and lobbies of luxury hotels to the accent décor in corporate headquarters and private residences, a wide variety of Jamie Stern leathers have been used in impressively creative ways over the years. So without further ado, here are 10 Unique Applications of Leather:
Located in the 1st arrondissement, the Cheval Blanc Paris is a luxury hotel that offers guests views of the Seine and short walks to the Louvre and Notre-Dame. New York City’s Peter Marino Architect specified over 10,000 square feet of Jamie Stern’s Natural Blonde Hair-on-Hide leather to upholster a set of lounge chairs and ottomans for the hotel’s guestroom suites. The irregularity of the HOH’s coloration and hair length adds an eye-catching element to the already beautiful suite, one that is rugged and luxurious in equal measure.
For the Irvine, CA offices of Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, Jamie Stern produced over 1,000 square feet of Durango Pony Express, a rugged, full grain leather that evokes the Old West. Each hide of Durango is finished by hand, creating an organic sense of irregularity and a comfortable, worn-in aesthetic. When Gensler Newport Beach specified this authentically western leather for a wall display in this corporate lobby space, the 84 identical panels were transformed in a holistic work of art featuring unique characteristics, lighter and darker areas, dramatic mottling and varying grains.
For the backdrop of a stylish product display at their showroom in Tampa, Florida, Priano selected Jamie Stern’s embossed Deco Quartz leather. This classic pattern features a subtle two-tone effect with just a hint of metallic luster. The leather adds a touch of drama and textural splendor to the space without distracting from the primary products in focus.
A pair of floating egg chairs were upholstered in Jamie Stern’s classic Verona Tuscan Brown for One Cardinal Way, a luxury residential building in St. Louis’ Ball Park Village. Specified by Baltimore’s RD Jones, Verona is a refined pull-up leather with a waxy finish and a luxurious sheen. These features exquisitely juxtapose the flashy modernity of the chair’s design to create an undeniably original element in this public space.
Our Komodo Dragon Foil-on-Suede is sure to draw the eye in any space and the living room of this gorgeous San Francisco apartment is no exception. Specified the Golden City’s own Tineke Triggs, this one-of-a-kind article can be seen here upholstering Jamie Stern’s Lynette Ottoman, featuring a sliding wooden tray.
Over 20,000 square feet of our distressed upholstery leather, Triple Crown Pasture was used to upholster the headboards in all 112 guestrooms of the Crawford Hotel. Located in Denver’s iconic Union Station, the Crawford features extensive exposed wood and brick detailing. Triple Crown’s gentle distressing and worn-in characteristics beautifully complement these elements, creating a sense of timeless elegance through the century-old hotel.
In addition to a number of natural fiber area rugs and a great deal of custom furniture, Jamie Stern produced two dozen black Hair-on-Hide rugs for the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Specified by Gensler Austin, the 24 organically shaped hides were simply pure aniline-dyed a single color and draped on the floors of private boxes throughout the recently built arena. They can be seen here paired with a bespoke version of the Alicia Banquette upholstered in our Celeste fabric.
For the stunning Kingpin Suite at the Palms Casino Resort, Jamie Stern produced over 2,800 square feet of various leathers including the arresting Shagreen Aquamarine. This iconic embossed leather features a pattern based on natural stingray hides which is then emphasized by a two-tone finish applied by hand. The leather was specified by Rockwell Group and can be found upholstering a series of bowl-like lounge chairs next to the luxury suite’s pair of bowling alleys!
Originally opened in 1902, the Algonquin Hotel is a true New York City landmark. During its recent renovations, Jamie Stern manufactured a series of wholly custom leather banquettes featuring precise curves, channels, serpentine frames, exposed wood detailing and more. A number of original colors of our essential Caribbean Spice leather quality were used to upholster these various pieces. Selected by Stonehill Taylor for its gentle color mottling and enhanced durability, Caribbean Spice made for an ideal selection for the project’s high traffic public spaces such as the main lobby, its famed Blue Bar and Hamlet’s Residence (home to the hotel’s 12th Resident Feline).
As a custom banquette manufacturer, one of our most popular pieces is the Frisco. With its traditional tight seat and wood frame, the banquette’s key feature is an exposed metal rod from which leather straps hold up loose back cushions. It’s a stylish, modern look that is equally suited for restaurants, private residences and corporate office spaces alike. Everything from our budget-friendly Barcelona and In The Fast Lane qualities to our classic distressed Triple Crown have been used for the striking leather strap details. Dallas’ SJL Design, Greenwich, Connecticut’s Locus Design Collaborative and Seattle’s Board & Vellum are a few of the firms that have specified Frisco Banquettes with Jamie Stern leather.
It was difficult to whittle this list down to just ten entries. There is an amazingly diverse selection of leathers that can be found in our collection. Semi-aniline leathers, pure aniline leathers, top grain articles, full grain articles, Hair-on-Hide, suedes, nubucks, embossed patterns and more. The looks, feels and performance characteristics are unlimited and we never cease to be impressed by the innovative ways our partners in the design community utilize them.
Learn more about Jamie Stern leather here.