Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Ways to Care for Leather Furniture

Leather furniture could be a good choice when you are on the lookout for suitable furniture to spruce up your living room. You can choose from a wide range of leather standalone pieces, sofas, love-seats, chairs and recliners that are available in an exhaustive range of styles and colors. Leather furniture, typically, requires less maintenance and can greatly handle spills and stains.

However, you need to take some measures so that your leather furniture keeps looking new for years. Here are some of them.

Clean stains immediately

Make sure you clean a spill immediately. Should the stain get time to sink, it could become more stubborn to clean. Besides, it has a high chance of reappearing some months later. Blot the stain lightly using a soft towel or cloth. Avoid smearing and rubbing the spill. This would spread it. In fact, it's best to clean spills on leather with mild soap and warm water. Don't use any strong cleaning chemical that could contain bleach, solvents or acids. Avoid commercially available cleaners as they aid in rapid re-soiling.

Avoid direct sunlight

Exposing your leather furniture to constant and direct sunlight could cause the tan of the leather to fade over time. It's best to place leather furniture under a shaded area inside the room and have the curtains drawn, should the furniture come under direct sunlight.

Avoid direct heat

Make sure that your leather furniture is placed away from heat sources like furnace vents. Exposure to strong heat can cause the leather to dry out and make it vulnerable to splits and cracks. It's advisable to keep the furniture at least a couple of feet away from possibly harmful heat sources.

Avoid air pollutants

Never expose the furniture to any potentially harmful air pollutant like cigarette smoke or excessive cleaning fumes. Air pollutants often change or fade the color of the furniture and even distort the leather in other ways.

Dust regularly

Keep the leather furniture free from debris by dusting at least once each week. Do this by wiping the furniture with a dry, soft cloth or using a vacuum cleaner gently. Make sure you dust the crevices and under the cushions where dust and dirt is more likely to accumulate. Dusting regularly would prevent your furniture from any long-term damage and the furniture would look like new for years to come.

Avoid exposure to harmful objects

Avoid exposing your furniture to any object that may puncture or scratch the leather like needles, pens, animal claws etc. Though a small scratch is simple to repair, large rips can cause lifetime damage to your leather furniture. It's also unwise to avoid leaving newspapers and magazines on the leather as the ink could bleed and leave behind marks on the leather's surface.

If properly cared, leather furniture can last for decades, looking as good as new. However, most of us tend to overlook the simple maintenance that such furniture calls for. Following the above simple steps will make your leather furniture keep looking, smelling and feeling new.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Memory Foam Mattresses - The Future of Comfort Is Here

Have you ever experienced those annoying back pains right after waking up? And no matter what position you assume at night, the end result remains the same. Well now, you don't have to worry about waking up to the feeling of being run over by an 18 wheeler truck. Memory foam mattresses are here to make your trips to dreamland seem like an uninterrupted weekend getaway.

This type of mattress technology was originally developed in the 1970's by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a means of improving safety provisions within aircrafts. Initially, memory foam is a product made up of polyurethane. And through the years the technology was further enhanced with the addition of several chemicals which maximizes its viscosity (ability of the material to adjust to stress) and its density. But due to the increasing costs of production, this technology wasn't available to the consuming public until the late 1990's.

Since the turn of the millennium, this foam technology has been reproduced with continuously decreasing prices to fit the need of even the most financially cautious consumer.

But what makes memory foam mattresses so special that you'd want to get one for yourself?

Compared to traditional mattresses and adjustable beds, this new technology provides optimum comfort for absolutely anyone. No longer would you have to stick to flat mattresses that hurt your back or worry about adjusting the form of the bed when you feel like shifting to a new position. With Memory Foam, the mattress adjusts to you. Yes, you heard it right. The mattress adjusts to the contour of your body. So whatever position you want to take, the bed will fit itself to your needs.

With the miracle of memory foam technology, pillows and mattresses don't assume a single form. This technology works similar to the concept of molding clay except that it incorporates comfort as its main feature. As you lie down to rest, the memory foam mattresses would take the form of your body where pressure is often felt (the back of the head, shoulders, and your lower back) and accommodates the contours thereby relieving such pressures. This makes the technology perfect for practically anybody. Since, a consumer no longer has to worry about finding the perfect bed; instead, the bed adjusts itself to be perfect for you.

One more feature about memory foam mattresses is that you don't have to worry about it assuming a single position after molding itself, because it always reverts back to its original form ready to take on new sleeping positions on demand.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Glider Rocker and Full Glass of Milk

The glider rocker is part of the rocking chair family, yet the major components differ and the glider has a motion all of its own. They both move smoothly and quietly. Both the rocking chair and the glider rocker bring us relaxation and comfort which makes either one a great addition to our home.

The rocking chair has two curved rockers under the legs. As the occupant of the chair shifts his weight or pushes off with his feet, the rocking motion begins.

The glider rocker moves horizontally forward and back. Rather than sitting on curved rockers, the base of the glider sits firmly on the floor.

This makes it impossible for a child or pet to be caught under the rocker while in motion. Side panels extend downward from the chair arms or seat. Attached to the insides of these side panels is the essential framework which connects the seat to the base. This framework, with linkage and ball bearings, is what allows for the gliding motion. This motion is parallel to the floor.

To further demonstrate the difference between rocking and gliding, I offer this example. (Probably best not to try this at home) Set a glass of milk on the seats of each chair. Start the motions of both rockers and watch the levels of milk in each glass. The glass on the glider will remain level, while the glass on the rocker will want to spill out as the chair rocks forward and then again as it rocks backwards. Remember how your mom felt about spilled milk?

Raised in a home with rocking chairs and four siblings, we enjoyed the benefits of rocking for years. Our spilled milk episodes occurred at the dinner table. (love you, Mom) When I moved out of my parents house, I purchased a glider rocker which has since then been part of my own home. When someone visits me, it is the first seat they go to. In addition to my glider rocker, I now have a gliding love seat, which I personally love. When my long work day is over, that is where I choose to go to relax. I can actually rock myself to sleep while enjoying the smooth gliding motion.

The technology of the glider rocker has led to designs with additional features. One of those features is the swivel motion. This is convenient because you can swivel the chair while remaining seated to face another person or activity in the room. Another popular feature added to the glider is the reclining option. A lever on the side of the chair locks the reclining position, allowing the occupant to lay back and relax. These additional features in the same chair offer optional choices of pleasure for the occupant.

Like the rocking chair, the glider rocker is a great addition to the living room, bedroom, family room or den. The glider can also be used in a nursery to calm an infant, or placed by a lamp to create a cozy reading space. From babies to the elderly, people of all ages experience that feeling of well-being from the steady gliding motion.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

All About Pine Furniture

Pine furniture is acknowledged to be a flexible type of wood that makes it one of the most preferred materials as regards the production of several varieties of furniture from garden fixtures to bedroom pieces. In fact, the number of items that you can make from pinewood is endless, including racks, curio cabinets, bedside tables and bed frames. The overall flexibility and unique resilience offered by pinewood furniture contributes to highlight the interiors of every dull-looking home. It also spruces up the surroundings making it a cozier and relaxing space for anyone coming to your home.

While shopping for pinewood furniture, it's best to scour the market first before buying any item. Since pinewood home furniture can be easily dented or scratched, always check for such appearances in your pinewood furniture that could make the same less durable.

There are many furniture outlets and stores that deal in furniture made from pine. You can also search the internet for household furniture stores that sell such kinds of pieces. Furniture made from pine usually differs in patterns, values, dimensions and finishes. You must look into these aspects of household pine furniture when you want to purchase it. As already said, there are numerous stores that deal in pinewood furniture and it's only obvious that they'll do their best to attract customers. While price is often the determining factor, be sure that you don't comprise on the quality of the pine wood. Your pine wood furniture items must complement the existing pieces of furniture that's already there in your house. For those intending to buy from the internet furniture made from pine, you can actually visit a household furniture retailer's website and check out the stuff on offer. Such a retailer is likely to offer products that are available with other retailers as well and you can check out the price, shipment method, warranty etc. of the pine wood furniture.

Though home furniture made from pine lumber is tested exhaustively to be long-lasting, there remain unavoidable instances where the elegance of such furniture could wear out because of fading or scrapes. You can seek professional help about reviving and restoring the charm of your pinewood furniture so that it looks new again. In that way, there's no need to buy any new piece of furniture made from pine, thereby helping you save lots of money.

You can also carry out the restoration work all by yourself, without seeking professional helps, if you possess the right knowledge and have the right materials. You can go through the internet and learn about how to proceed with the work and what to avoid while carrying out such work as regards pine wood furniture.

You don't need to spend the earth while buying furniture made from pine. With the number of dealers and retailers increasing, you can get such furniture at reasonable rates. Just learn the tips about maintaining such type of furniture and you can retain the elegance and appeal brought around by pine wood for decades to come.