| |
| |
|
Interior Decorating Information |
|
|
|
7 Tips to Care for Your Antique Furniture
During your spring cleaning, don't forget to think about your antiques. In this month's column, we'll give you seven tips to help you care for your antique furniture. 1. Use paste wax Every couple of months, wax with a good quality paste wax that can be found in any hardware store. If you wax too much, it can dull the finish and attract dust. To remove a waxy build up, apply varesol with a clean cotton cloth. Proper waxing will bring up the color and grain of the wood and protect it. Rub a small amount on a soft cloth and apply it in circular motions. Let it dry then buff with a clean cloth. 2. Don't use aerosol sprays Avoid aerosol spray polishes because they can contain silicone oil and other agents that can be harmful to your furniture. For daily cleaning, use a clean cloth or a clean duster. For those who like to use something more, I recommend Orange Oil because it works well to clean and polish wood finishes. I like it because it doesn't leave a wax build up and doesn't contain linseed or silicone oil. 3. Use coasters A great deal of surface damage can be prevented if you always remember to use coasters, mats and trivets and avoid placing hot and/or wet items directly on furniture. 4. Avoid scratching furniture Never slide anything (vase, plate, serving dish etc) across a surface because it will scratch. A very light scratch can be treated with Restore-AFinish, a great multi-purpose product. Deep scratches require the skill of professional restorers. 5. Clean liquid spills Spilled water should be thoroughly wiped up immediately. Alcohol and solvents (nail polish, nail polish remover, perfumes) should be dabbed, not wiped because they can act like a furniture stripper and damage the finish. White rings left from either a hot drink or a wet glass should be attended to right away. A little Brasso applied with a clean cloth may do the trick. Or, I have found that Restor-A-Finish works well to remove white rings. Always test on a small area first. Remove candle wax - Wait for the wax to cool then gently loosen using a fingernail to remove. 6. Draw the drapes Just as sun damage to the skin is cumulative and permanent, its effects on wood are just as destructive. Diffused sunlight over a long period of time can be as detrimental as direct sunlight over a short period of time. Sunlight can turn a clear finish yellow.The only good news about sun damage is that it's easy to avoid. Draw the drapes, pull the blinds or have an UV-filtering film applied to your windows. 7. Don't ignore relative humidity Central heating is the worst thing to happen to antiques. A warm inside and cold outside makes life comfortable while wreaking havoc on antiques. It's the fluctuations in relative humidity that central heating creates which cause the problem. Wood responds to relative humidity by expanding and contracting as it tries to maintain a balance with its environment. It's not the rapid changes during the course of a day that cause the most damage. It's the long-term seasonal fluctuations, which cause the serious damage. During the dry winter months when it is cold outside and warm inside, wood tends to shrink. During hot damp summers when it is warm outside and cooler inside, wood tends to expand. Long-term exposure to these conditions leads to cracking, warping and splitting. To guard against the fluctuations in relative humidity in your home, use a humidifier during the cold winter and a dehumidifier in the damp summer. Think twice before putting a good piece of furniture in a basement, attic, near heating vents or near fireplaces. Keep fresh air circulating. Maintain a constant room temperature and turn it low at night. Martin Swinton owns Take-A-Boo Emporium located in Toronto, Canada. He does furniture restoration; caning and rushing repairs; appraisals and has teachescourses on antiques. Martin can be reached at http://www.takeaboo.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Interior-Decorating - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Nursery Decorating Ideas: Creating a Timeless Retreat Decorating a baby room is a wonderful opportunity to create a carefree hideaway - a place of slumber and lullabies.BABY ROOM THEMES?From Tropical Jungle to Noah's Ark, Teddy Bears to Winnie the Pooh: There are many delightful baby room themes to choose from - any one will spark enthusiasm and generate exciting nursery decorating ideas. Fruit Basket Delivery Probably the single most important component responsible for making the fruit basket the most popular gift in history is the modern technology applied to the delivery of the product itself. Overnight delivery from almost anywhere in the world, is what makes the fruit basket the most versatile and exotic of gifts available. "Too Much Stuff" Syndrome or How Decorating and Organizing Can Help Your Sanity This area of home life is different from others in that it involves all the senses and to that degree it is successful, engendering varying emotions. Decorating isn't really a hobby, nor is it merely an activity; it's a driving force of many people to live in comfortable and pleasing surroundings while they regenerate from a stressful world. Trash or Treasure: Assessing Your Possessions One personal junk is another personal treasure. Never is that more true than when you are doing a spring clean up. How to Choose Kitchen Sink Faucets Choosing appropriate faucets for your kitchen sink is as important as choosing the shape and size of the bowl. Faucets come in all shapes and sizes. Decorating The Bathroom - Dress Your Mess For Less The bathroom may be the hardest room to decorate. Its use and nature make the room decorative uninspiring, and its limited size and necessity of function make it difficult to add very much. Decorate Yourself Happy: How to Decorate For Everyday Pleasure/Joy Because psychologists relate true happiness to joyous occurrences happening frequently, decorating your home to promote everyday pleasure makes sense. If you're planning a home makeover, provide for the cumulative total of all the little pleasure moments. Wall Clocks Tell Time and Decorate! Clocks can be of any type - they could be wall clocks that not only decorates the walls, but also tells time or a mantel piece resting on one's table etc.. Furniture Placement Secrets The easiest and most inexpensive way to invigorate the design of your living room is to rearrange the furniture items you already own. Furniture placement can be a daunting task, no matter how big or small the room. Vinyl Mini Blinds Vinyl blinds are the perfect choice for high-humidity locations such as kitchens, bathrooms, or waterfront homes. Horizontal vinyl blinds with standard braided cord blinds and non-textured gloss slats are easy to clean, unbreakable and highly resistant to sun bleaching. Finding a Cuckoo Clock Repair Service Weights hanging from the bottom of your cuckoo clock keep it running smoothly and accurately. Some cuckoo clocks have two weights and some have three. Childrens Furniture Children's bedroom furniture and nursery furniture can help turn a bland and boring bedroom into a fun and cozy retreat. Since there is a wide range of designs and materials available, you can find the perfect children's furniture for your child's bedroom, whether you prefer a whimsical decorating style or practical, sturdy pieces. Pizzazz Your Front Door and More! Want your front door to really "sing?" Then paint it a color to make it the outside focal point of your home.Now, just what color would that be, you ask?Here's the way to know: Look at the color scheme you are using in your entry, living and dining room. What is a Duvet Cover? A Duvet Cover is actually just another name for a Bed Comforter Cover. It's like a very large pillow case, is is normally used to cover a down comforter. Save Money & Time... Plan Home Decorating Projects Why is planning home decorating projects important? Let's start by asking the following question.What do the following have in common?1) Boxes of odds & ends collecting dust in the basement2) Bags of discarded curtains, bedspreads and pillows in the attic3) Half empty paint cans stacked against a wall in the garageIt could mean you have a hard time parting with anything, however, in this case all these point to decorating attempts gone astray. The Stress-Free Way to Add Color to Your Walls Looking for the most impact from a small decorating budget? Or are you tired of the 'builder's white' that is still on your walls since the house was built? Painting walls a color other than white can be both exciting and daunting, here's how to do it and get the job done without having an anxiety attack!Painting Walls with Color is Addictive!It's true. Just as many women find that cutting off their long hair releases some hidden desire to cut it shorter and shorter, painting with color can become addictive and you will crave color - bolder and more distinctive. Using Psychology of Color to Influence the Mood of a Room The living room is the setting which will blend the people in your life into the occasions of your home. It is the hardest room to decorate because it has to be versatile, comfortable, and entertaining. Starting Your Own Redecorating Business: The First Key Steps Are you a compulsive furniture rearranger? Do you make distinctive vignettes with accessories? Been complimented on your beautiful home? Give friends and family decorating suggestions even if they didn't ask for your help?Have you ever wondered if you could make your decorating passion into a business? There is a fast growing area of interior decorating called interior redesign or one-day decorating. Varieties of this type of decorating include real estates decorating and home staging. 7 Feng Shui Fundamentals for Childrens Bedrooms Feng shui is a very popular and intriguing concept in home design today. In addition to the life benefits it provides, it also offers a roadmap, so to speak, of not just how to decorate. All About Closet Organizers Most people like you love to keep everything in its place. They like also to clean up every room of the house often.
|
| home | site map | Nautical Decor |
| © 2006 |
