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Tips Assembly - Be sure and keep the special tools, such as wrenches and extra screws, that come with your furniture in a place where you can find them.  You may need them if you move the furniture.  My husband likes to tape them to the furniture itself in an inconspicuous place using a big piece of plastic wrapping tape. Bedrooms - Be creative when it comes to the tables you place by your bed. Matching furniture in bedrooms, or other rooms, is expensive and just makes your home look like a furniture showroom. If you need more storage, think about shelves or drawers, covered with a round piece of plywood and a fabric table skirt. Another idea is a large trunk, or suitcases stacked on top of each other. Creative, economical tables can also be made out of furniture intended for other purposes, such as printer stands, a small chest of drawers, or even a luggage rack, topped with a serving tray or piece of glass. Coffee Tables - Use a little imagination when it comes to choosing coffee tables for your home. If you have children, it is best not to buy tables with sharp edges. Upholstered ottomans make great coffee tables, You can place trays on them when you want to place food on them. You can also buy tables with baskets underneath them for storage- great for toys. Trunks are another options, depending on the size of your sofa, or even stacked suitcases. Being creative will keep your home from looking like a department store showroom. Humidity - Protect the wood furniture in your home by keeping the humidity as level as possible. Wood expands and contracts. Extremes changes will crack and warp your wood. This is one reason pianos go flat. The sound board is made of wood. As it expands and contracts, it pulls on the strings, causing the piano to go out of tune. In some cases, you have to install humidity control machines under pianos so they don't loose their pitch. Leather - Be sure and maintain the leather in your home, whether it is your shoes, clothes, or upholstery. Leather needs to breathe, and it needs to be keep soft and supple. Never enclose leather clothes in plastic. If you have leather furniture, apply leather softening agents on a regular basis so it doesn't crack. Scratches - Here are a couple ways to try and disguise scratch marks on wooden furniture. Wood expands when heat is applied to it, so you can try putting a a lightly damp cloth over the wood, and pressing it with the iron. You can also try shoe polish. Finally, you can purchase crayons at the hardware store that are designed to fill in wood. Sofas - When you can afford it, buy furniture with classic lines. Not only can you use it for years before it starts looking dated, but it is much easier to slipcover It also looks wonderful when reupholstered. Buy a well-made sofa, and you can use it for years and potentially even pass it down to your children. Sun Damage - Protect your furniture from the damaging rays of direct sunlight. The sun will fade out both upholstery and curtains. It will also dry out and warp wood. Rearrange your furniture if the sun is beating on it and you don't want to close the drapes when the sun hits it. Water Damage - I buy my furniture from the "scratched and dented" department of furniture stores (if not IKEA). However, I don't like to intentionally inflict damage on it. If someone places a cup on a piece of wooden furniture, and it drips water, you will get water damage. If you attend to it as soon as possible, you may be able to keep the water from harming the finish. Apply a paste of vegetable oil and salt, let it sit a few hours, and then try buffing it smooth.

 

 

 

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