LA Furniture Blog

Following are a few rules on the proper care of wooden furniture to keep them in tip-top shape.

Polishing Wooden Furniture

Knowing the wood finish will help you to establish the proper caring techniques for your modern furniture. Wood finish is classified into two types: clean soft or oiled finishes and the hard finishes that made use of oil varnish or polyurethane.

It is then vital to ask the store on the finishing used when you buy modern furniture made of wood. Online furniture stores normally have this written on the product description opposite the picture of the said piece. Some manufacturers also include a manual that specifies the finishing used as well as tips on the proper care for the furniture. Alternatively, you can conduct a little test if you do not know the finish of your wooden furniture.

Test an unnoticeable area to perform the testing. The best areas are the bottom side or the lower back of the modern furniture as these areas will not show any unintentional damage.

Put a few drops of linseed oil and pat it lightly on the wood. You will know if your modern wooden furniture has an oil finish if the linseed oil was soaked up. Wood furniture with a hard finish will have globules. Once you have established the finish used, you can carry on with the next step.

Put a few drops of denatured alcohol on the wood. This will liquefy quickly if it has a shellac finish but it will be a bit slower if the finish is varnish.
Use the proper kind of polish for the specific wood finish.

To keep your modern wooden furniture looking new, polishing must be done every three to four months. Do not attempt to polish them too often or to put too much polish thinking that it will make them sleeker and shinier. This will only create a hazy transparent build up and will damage its appearance.

General Cleaning Tips

Regardless of the wood finish, the common cleaning procedure and care for wood furniture is similar.

Do not use wet cloth or fabric so as not to damage the wood. Ensure that you squeezed the water completely out from the cloth.

Dust the dirt on a regular basis with the use of a soft clean cloth, a feather duster or by using the small soft brush dust attachment of your vacuum. This habit will eliminate the dust to accumulate and to dig into its corners. Dust build up can cause the wooden furniture to have fissures or cracks.

Make use of place mats, coasters or saucers when putting anything on top of wooden coffee or dining tables. You can also make use of table runners or table cloths.

Do not put hot objects onto the surface of your wooden coffee, end and dining tables directly. The vapor emanating from these will leave marks on the wood and will cause the finish to tarnish.

Avoid exposing wooden modern furniture under the sun or too much heat or cold temperature. Likewise, do not expose them to extremely moist or dry surroundings.

Make use of flimsy curtains to protect them from the sun’s rays. You can also use slip covers for protection. A humidifier will keep your room temperature from becoming too moist or too dry.

One of the many ways to give your living room a more stylish appeal is to have a sectional sofa. These sofas are designed with different sections which can either be put together or placed separately. When grouped together, it creates a striking and interesting sitting area. They are built in various shapes so you can choose from the L, S or U shapes. What is good about them is they can also be had by people who live in small abodes. Aside from the living room, they can also be placed in lobbies of hotels, or offices.

Contemporary sectional sofas are also available in a myriad of designs, styles and colors. Thus, creating harmony in your living room will not be a problem if you want to have a sectional in it. Their presence in any living room will make it look elegant and luxurious. You can even use it for your accent wall especially the huge ones. They are also easier to maneuver because they are divided in sections, which is the reason why they were called sectional sofas.

Contemporary furniture focuses on the use of color white. Contemporary sofas feature wide flat armrests and square cushions with smooth and sleek textures. The most obvious color that is used for contemporary furniture is white. You will see white-colored contemporary sectional sofas on online furniture stores and physical furniture shops.

Why Choose a White Contemporary Sectional Sofa

Choosing a white contemporary sectional sofa for your living room is a good idea because it can blend with any color. It can mix well with any living room theme, too. Contemporary furniture offers varied choices of white sectional sofas that range from being elegant and luxurious to simple direct lines.

Whichever style or design you choose does not matter, as white would give you more leeway on your choice of wall color and decorations.

It will likewise brighten up your living room. White, particularly, emanates cleanliness and purity. However, do not overdo the use of white in your furnishings so as to avoid a hospital ambiance. They encourage calming sensations. They are easy on the eyes and stimulate emotions that are between cold and warm.

To make your white contemporary sofas stand out, have throw pillows in black or red. You can also have them stand on a dark-colored rug or carpet.

The bedroom and the living room may be dirty but one area that gets a lot of dirt and mess is the dining room. This is actually the busiest rooms in the home particularly if the kitchen and dining room are combined in one area. The truth is the dining room must be kept clean since this is where we prepare food and where we eat. Keeping the dining room organize and clean involves a little system in cleaning and in the choice of modern furniture.

Following are quick easy cleaning guides to keep your dining room spic and span as well as to protect your modern furniture.

Aside from preparing food and having a meal in the dining room, it also becomes a room of all sorts. What does this mean? It can become a work area for children to do their homework, an extension of unfinished work in the office, a play area, etc. Therefore, it gets cluttered with books, paper, pens, bills mixed with food, dining ware and kitchenware. It also becomes a mess in the morning as we rush to work leaving behind an untidy dining table. This can really make you feel dizzy when you arrive home.

This disorderliness can be easily solved by observing the following:

Get rid of all the items that should not be in the dining room and put them in their right places. To make this easier, have a shelf in the room where you can keep them away. It does not have to be a big shelf – just the right size will do. It would be nice if it has drawers so you can better organize these items. You can have a desk organizer or small jars or boxes for pens, pencils, paper clips, staple wires, etc.

Get a buffet hutch for your dining room. Buffets have drawers and shelves where you can store your fine dining ware, silverware, glasses, table napkins and runners, etc. You can even have a nice flower arrangement on its top. It can also be used during big gatherings as a serving table. Its presence will help you to organize your dining ware as well as help to make your party in order.

If you love to read newspapers or magazines while having breakfast, then get a magazine rack and place it in a corner.

Keep the habit of cleaning the dining table right after dinner or a meal. Try to include the chairs, too, as this can be done in a few minutes. Wipe your buffet as you put away table napkins, table cloth and dining ware. If you happen to vacuum the living room then include the dining room as well.

Do not let spills and drips on your dining table or chairs to stand. Get a dry cloth and let it absorb the spill. Do not rub it to avoid it from spreading. If you wait for even a second before patting it dry, it will be harder to clean it and your furniture will be damaged. If the spill has dried, mix soap with tepid water and use a clean cloth to wipe the spill that has dried making sure you wring all the water from the cloth. If you are to use any cleaning product, make sure that it is chemical-free.

Clean the filters of your heating and air units on a regular basis including the air ducts.

Open some windows to let the sun in. This will also help to sanitize the air inside the dining room.

Change your drapes or curtains at least twice a month. Dust clings on curtains easily.

If you have a ceiling fan, make it a point to give it a washing once in a month. Wash the blades with a mixture of soap and tepid water. If the blades are made of wood, use furniture polish after washing the blades.