Antique furniture in the home looks absolutely amazing and it can add a real sense of class and luxury to any room. The biggest challenge with antique furniture however is caring for it, as a single scratch or loss of color could completely diminish the quality of the piece, and it may be irreparable, or very expensive to repair. We have a piece from Hampton’s Style furniture and before I bought it I made sure to check out everything that I should have been doing to keep the piece looking great. Antique furniture care is so important and today we are going to take a deeper look into what you can be doing to ensure that your furniture remans in great shape for as long as you have it.
Placement
Something which you should always look to avoid is placing your piece of furniture in front of the window where it is going to be hit with direct sunlight. The UV rays from the sun are able to penetrate the window and this can turn the color of the material and the wood. Curtains and shades should always be used to block direct sunlight from touching the piece, otherwise you can expect some discoloration.
You should also avoid placing the piece in front of heating vents as this can cause the glue to weaken and then the joints will be compromised, the wood may also shrink as a result of the heat. Finally you should ensure that you don’t leave the piece in an area where the air is moist, the moisture in the air can cause wood to contract and expand, which will over time ruin the piece.
Cleaning and Polishing
Many think that antique furniture needs plenty of oil to prevent it from drying out, but this is not strictly true. Oil should be used for presentation purposes but beyond that it should be avoided. The best option here is a high quality paste wax, which is going to ensure that the wood stays moist, apply this once per year to protect the piece.
Usage
There is a temptation to never use your antique furniture but as long as this is not some ancient, million dollar piece, it is important that you do make use of it from time to time. When you do use the furniture be sure that you are careful, that you don’t have anything on your clothing which could leave a mark on the piece such as a button. If anything is spilled on the piece then clean it immediately, beyond this, use the item with care.
Moving and Cleaning
You should always use professionals when it comes to moving your antique furniture, the risk is too great not to. In terms of cleaning the piece, do this regularly with a lint-free cloth, this will both ensure that the item looks good, but also reduces dust build up which over time can be damaging for the wood.
Treat it with care if you want your piece of antique furniture to stand the test of time.
