15 Tips For Protecting Wood Furniture

Beautiful wood furniture lasts for years, decades, or even longer. Your beautiful wood dresser, table, or chest can become a family heirloom, if properly cared for and protected. Use our tips for protecting wood furniture, and you and your family will be enjoying it for many years to come.

1. 1. Dust frequently. Even when no dust is visible on your furniture, dust particles are still present, and can do damage to the furniture if left undusted.
2. 2. When dusting, use only a soft, dry cloth. Avoid using feather dusters, as the spines in the feathers could damage the wood’s surface, and don’t use sponges, as they can be too abrasive. A simple cloth will do the best job of collecting dust, and is the safest to use on fine wood.
3. 3. Avoid using water-based cleaning products on your wood furniture. Moisture will damage the wood’s finish, and can warp the wood itself.
4. 4. Avoid using ammonia on your wood furniture. Ammonia will damage the finish and can even discolor the wood underneath the finish.
5. 5. When choosing the right cleaning solution for your wood furniture, do your research and be highly selective. Many of the products marketed toward wood furniture will actually do more harm than good. Most citrus-based cleaners are too strong, and will damage the wood’s finish. Most solvent-based sprays and wipes, likewise are too strong, and include chemicals that can break down the finish, or leave behind a sticky residue that would then attract dust. Furniture oil – even a furniture oil claiming to be specially formulated for your furniture – can be useless at best, and downright harmful at worst. Even homemade natural remedies, though they sound harmless, can do damage to wood and finishes. Far more often than not, all you need to clean wood furniture is a soft, clean cloth.
6. 6. Polish the metal knobs and pulls of your furniture only after you have removed them, otherwise the harsh chemicals in the metal polish will damage the wood.
7. 7. When using crafts supplies, nail polish, and other types of material, do so far away from the wood furniture. These materials can damage the finish of the furniture, whether by chemically affecting it, bleeding onto the wood, or leaving impressions. Even a ballpoint pen on paper can leave marks and small dents in the finish or in the wood itself.
8. 8. Keep your wood furniture away from sources of heat, including heating vents, boilers, and ovens. Likewise, do not set hot things on or near your wood furniture. If you need to set a hot dish onto the wood dining room table, be sure to place it on a trivet or hot pad, or use a table protection pad. Extremely hot dishes that are taken straight out of the oven should be allowed to cool slightly before they are set on the wood surface, even if the surface is protected.
9. 9. Keep wood furniture out of extremely dry conditions. Dry air can cause the wood to splinter, shrink, or become brittle.
10. 10. Position your wood furniture out of harsh or direct sunlight to protect the finish from fading.
11. 11. Position your wood furniture away from sources of moisture, including humidifiers, steam from the kitchen, or steam from the bathroom.
12. 12. Use coasters for beverages in order to protect your wood furniture from water rings and condensation.
13. 13. If there is anything arranged on your wood furniture, whether it be a bowl, a lamp, or a centerpiece of some kind, be sure to attach a felt or cork pad underneath the object.
14. 14. Avoid using vinyl tablecloths, which can leave a residue, and opt for cloth tablecloths instead. If you must use vinyl, be sure to launder it first, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
15. 15. Find the best furniture refinishing service, with professional craftsmen who can care for your wood furniture and keep it look beautiful!

Furniture Refinishing Experts In Northeast Florida
Even when you follow each of these tips and suggestions, your furniture may still need professional care from time to time. Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering is the highly-rated Jacksonville FL furniture refinishing company, and the one trusted by homeowners throughout Jacksonville, Mandarin, Ortega, and beyond. When your fine wood antique needs a repair, a refinishing job, or even just a careful cleaning, trust it to us!

A New Year, And A New Look For Your Upholstered Furniture

You probably made several New Year’s resolutions for yourself, but did you make any that include your favorite upholstered furniture? This is the perfect time to upholster your well-worn sofa or favorite overstuffed chair in a brand new fabric, and ring in the new year with an entirely new look!

The Benefits Of Reupholstering
Are the cushions in your sofa lumpy? When you try to relax on your favorite easy chair, can you feel the springs underneath the padding? Does the fabric pattern feel dated, or has it lost its luster? There are countless reasons to consider reupholstering your furniture pieces. Fabric and upholstery will fade, tear, collect dust, and eventually become downright dingy. Don’t get rid of it, even when you are tempted to just buy a brand new set.

Here’s why:
1) Superior quality: Older furniture is almost always far superior in quality than furniture that is produced today. A dining room chair from a set built decades ago will have a sturdy, solid wood frame. Your antique chaise lounge includes detailed hand engraving that is simply not done in today’s furniture market. Furniture built decades ago featured solid wood, luxurious detail, and was finished by hand. Today, most furniture is cranked out on conveyer belts, and made up of composite board. Hang onto your higher quality pieces and get them refinished or reupholstered, either in a fabric that is representational of the era, or in a stunning new contemporary pattern.

2) Sentimental value: Upholstering your furniture lets you keep using your favorite pieces. There’s a reason your favorite chair is your favorite chair. When the fabric fades and the foam padding loses its support, a great furniture upholstery shop will replace the padding and recover the chair, and you’ll get to continue enjoying it for years to come.

3) New fabric for a new look: You can still enjoy the patterns, colors, and designs that are trending, and style your home to be as modern and contemporary as you like. Of course, you can also maintain a historic home, using period-specific fabrics and motifs. With the countless fabrics available in stores and online, every look is possible. There’s no need to get rid of a piece you no longer like, when you can just turn it into something you do like!

4) Affordable: Refinishing and reupholstering your furniture is often less expensive than buying new furniture. In the case of a refinishing job costing more than new furniture, remember that you are making the wise choice by refinishing your piece, which is surely higher quality than what you would be buying new.

5) Furniture refinishers are artists: When you find the best furniture upholsterer and upholstery shop, you can rest assured your furniture will be worked on by true artists. Think of a high quality refinishing job on your favorite heirloom antique as a work of art, and your home as the gallery.

Fine Furniture Upholstering & Refinishing
Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering is the best upholstery shop in Northeast FL, serving clients in downtown Jacksonville, Ortega, St. Augustine, Fleming Island, and throughout the region. Fine furniture is our specialty, and our expertise in upholstering fabric furniture is unmatched. Our skilled technicians have years of experience working on every type of upholstered furniture project imaginable. Let us give your favorite piece of furniture a new look – you’ll love it even more

How To Properly Store Your Patio Furniture For Winter

After enjoying the patio and deck all summer, it can be sad to pack up the outdoor furniture and move the activities indoors for the colder months. Luckily, here in Jacksonville, our winter is not too long, and spring will be here before we know it. Here are some tips for packing your outdoor furniture so that when the beautiful weather returns, it will be in great shape and ready to enjoy!

 

1. Find a place for the furniture to be stored indoors.

This could be the garage, a shed, the laundry room, or a hall closet, depending on how much protection each piece requires. Though your garage might become crowded in one corner, it’s just for a few months, and might make all the difference in how well your furniture is protected.

2. Don’t skip the cleaning step.
It’s tempting to just load your deck chairs, wicker sofa, and cushions into the garage and forget about them till spring. However, dirt and moisture left on outdoor furniture can cause mold and mildew to flourish during the cooler months. Wipe down each piece of furniture with a soft, dry rag. This will remove the majority of loose dirt, leaves, and other debris that will have collected on your furniture during the previous few seasons. Have a simple, homemade cleaning solution on hand to help with any residue or buildup, including mold, mildew, and mud. Mix 1⁄4 cup mild dish detergent with 1 gallon of warm water, and you’ll have a solution that is gentle yet effective, and able to be used on almost any type of furniture. As long as manufacturer’s guidelines permit it, this mixture can be applied to nearly any surface, then properly rinsed and dried.

Those two simple precautions will make a big difference in how long you’re able to enjoy using your outdoor furniture. To further prepare, use the following information to prep your furniture for its hibernation.

Fabric –­ Fabric cushions and padding and other upholstery needs to be properly cared for before being stored. Acrylic fibers are designed to deter mildew and mold, but can still acquire some buildup, especially in warm, wet climates such as ours. Give each cushion a good shake to rid it of dust, and vacuum any cushions or areas that are especially dusty or dirty. If you have a fabric umbrella, shake it out and wipe it down. Examine the umbrella to make sure no insects built nests in any of the folds during recent months. Clean all surfaces, even the umbrella fabric, with the dish detergent solution and allow it to dry. All fabric, and in particular anything with foam padding, must be stored in a dry space to prevent mildew from growing on it. Therefore, if your garage stays dry during the winter, fabrics can be stored there, but if not, find a place in the house where cushions and such can be stored out of the way.

Metal –­ Wrought iron furniture is sturdy, but is still susceptible to rust. Remove any rust that has accumulated by gently scrubbing with a soft, wire brush or lightly sanding the rust away and wiping it clean. Aluminum furniture can be washed using the dish detergent solution, then thoroughly dried. If possible, store metal furniture indoors, but if it must be kept outside, cover all pieces in a heavy duty tarp or similar covering.

Plastic -­ Plastic needs little special attention. Once you’ve wiped it down with a dry cloth, and cleaned it with the solution, hose it off with your garden hose and towel it dry, and it’s ready for storage. Plastic can become brittle in extreme weather, so it does need to be stored inside, or at the very least, covered with a vinyl or plastic covering.

Wood ­- Wood outdoor furniture needs to be covered or taken indoors when not in use. Painted wood will fade, and natural wood can warp and splinter in extreme weather. Wicker and rattan furniture is delicate, and cannot withstand the winter weather.

Misc. materials –­ If you have an outdoor table or bench that features mosaic tile pattern, be sure to bring it in during the cold months. Though a deep freeze is unlikely in Florida, should it occur, it could dislodge the tiles.

Jacksonville’s Best Furniture Refinishing, Upholstering, And Care

There are many great furniture refinishing services in Northeast Florida, and we pride ourselves in being the best.  Furniture is our passion, from wicker or teak patio chairs, to solid oak heirloom tables, to silk upholstered antique sofas, and more. We specialize in making your furniture look new again, whether that means cleaning up an outdoor piece or refinishing a dusty antique. If you are looking for an award­ winning, highly rated furniture repair shop you can trust, Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering is the perfect service for you and your furniture!

Keep Your Dining Room Furniture Looking New

Does your dining room get a lot of use? For some homeowners, the dining room is an epicenter of activity, including family dinners every night, and guests every weekend. For other homeowners, the dining room may only be used on special occasions. In any case, you want to keep the dining room furniture in good shape and the room looking great. Our tips will help!

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Maintaining Your Teak Outdoor Furniture

Teakwood is a sturdy and beautiful wood, and an ideal choice for outdoor furniture.  Teak wood furniture is easy to enjoy. However, when it comes to maintenance, teak wood can be just as easy to care for, or extremely difficult to care for, depending on which approach you choose.  

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Outdoor Furniture Cleaning Tips

Here in Northeast Florida, our outdoor spaces get used almost year round.  Most Jacksonville residents like to be outside from the first warm evening in spring, all through the summer, and as late into autumn as possible.  After a few seasons on the deck or patio, your outdoor furniture may start to look a bit worse for the wear, and rust, mildew, and other stains can appear.  Our tips will help you keep your outdoor furniture clean and ready to use, so you never have to miss any time outside. (more…)

Tips For Preserving Your Antique Wood Furniture

 

Your beautiful wood furniture is an investment, and naturally, you want to protect your investment. Wood furniture can be beautifully preserved with just a few simple precautions and techniques. (more…)

Choosing The Right Upholstered Fabric

Finding the best fabric for your upholstery project is a big task! Before the upholstery project is even scheduled, you’ll probably find yourself sifting through an endless array of fabrics, including natural, synthetic, and blended fabrics in any color and pattern imaginable. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your options, you’re certainly not alone. Breathe a sigh of relief, though, because we’ve got tips for finding the fabric that is perfect for your project. (more…)

Should Foam Be Replaced When Reupholstering A Piece of Furniture?

Nothing feels better than collapsing onto your sofa at the end of the day, or relaxing on your overstuffed armchair with a good book. Comfortable padding is most likely what draws you to your favorite piece of furniture. When fabric fades and becomes thin, you likely schedule an appointment with a good furniture upholstery service to have your furniture reupholstered, but what should you do when the foam padding wears down?

Understanding Foam & Padding

The cost of replacing your cushion and the ease with which you’ll be able to do so depend on the materials used, which in turn, depend greatly on the era in which it was manufactured.

• Contemporary Furniture – Cushioning that is manufactured today is almost always made of polyurethane or a similar polymer. A spray foam of this material is poured into large blocks or “buns.” The mixture expands and cures, and then is cut into large sheets and distributed. The small pockets of air that are formed during this process give the polyurethane foam its sponginess, and as the foam ages, the sponginess decreases. This foam is easy to replace when the time comes, and is available in varying levels of density as well as cost.
• Antique Furniture – Decades ago, foam cushioning was made using rubber rather than petroleum-based polymers like polyurethane. The manufacturing system was much the same, but with a rubber spray foam, which gave cushions significantly more spring, and resulted in a higher quality product than the polyurethane foam. Rubber foam is harder to find now, so if you want to have the rubber foam replaced in your antique furniture, it will need to be reused from another antique piece, or simply replaced with modern foam.
• Heirloom Furniture – Very old antiques, of course, are made entirely of natural product. To cushion furniture in eras past, a spring unit was made by hand, then wrapped in cotton, and padded with raw cotton or horsehair. Horsehair made excellent padding for furniture because it deterred bugs and maintained its shape for decades. Believe it or not, horsehair is still available to purchase, but more commonly, it is reused from other antiques. If you are passionate about preserving the authenticity of your antique, rest assured that the best antique furniture repair shops know how to work with horsehair to maintain your antique padding. On the other hand, if you are more interested in simply enjoying your antique, a skilled upholsterer can easily replace the horsehair cushion with contemporary foam.

How To Tell If You Need New Foam

As our master craftsman, Bill, points out, “Foam is in many types of furniture, in all types of places, and it all breaks down at some point. The key is to know when to have it replaced.” As foam ages, it goes through a process of disintegration.

1. First, foam loses its elasticity. Have you noticed that your sofa, loveseat, or favorite chair is just not as comfortable as it used to be? That’s an indicator that the foam is breaking down. The foam most likely does not need to be completely replaced yet, but it may need some help. For example, a good furniture upholstery company can insert a layer of 1-2 inch foam to supplement the existing pad.
2. As the disintegration process continues, foam loses its shape. Unzip one of the upholstered cushions and look at the piece of foam. Are the corners rounded? If so, replacing the cushion is a good idea.
3. Next, the foam begins to break down. Once again, unzip the fabric of a cushion. Are there dry flakes coming loose from your cushion? That’s a sign that new cushions are needed. Craftsman Bill also mentions that “if the fabric wrinkles easily on the cushions, that means the foam has disintegrated and shrunk, and the fabric does not fit as well as it should.” Note that this will cause harm to the fabric itself, and if you don’t replace the foam, you may need to reupholster the fabric sooner than planned.
4. In the last stage of the process, the flakes turn to a powder. Is powder puffing out of the zipper or seams of your cushions? Consider that a red flag, and schedule an appointment with a great furniture upholsterer as soon as you can!

Reupholster The Fabric, Evaluate The Foam

When the time comes to reupholster your furniture, take the time to evaluate the condition of the foam cushion. If it needs to be replaced, you have many options. You likely won’t have to consider horsehair, or even rubber, but even among synthetic foams, you can choose from many densities, levels of comfort, and cost. The best thing you can do for your furniture is find a great refinishing and upholstering shop with technicians who understand foam. At Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering, for example, we specialize in foam cushion replacement and know the right density to recommend for each type of furniture. Homeowners in downtown Jacksonville, historic Riverside Avondale, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, and throughout Northeast Florida call Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering for the highest quality care and craftsmanship for their fine furniture.

 

Don’t Let A Refinishing Company Dip Strip Your Furniture

Refinishing your family’s antique table and chairs, your heirloom chest or dresser, or another furniture piece is a great way to continue enjoying it for many years. A professional refinishing job can make your favorite antique look nearly new again, while still maintaining its authenticity and the qualities you initially loved about it. To most antique owners, the toughest part of a furniture refinishing project is finding the best furniture shop for the job. Here’s a tip: a primary factor that distinguishes a high quality professional refinishing shop from a subpar shop is its method of stripping the original finish. Find the furniture refinishing shop that hand strips its furniture, and trust your fine furniture to its professionals.

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