Friday, September 11, 2009

Helpful Tips to Save your Furniture.

Helpful Tips To Save your Furniture.


Before you decide to get new furniture. Make sure that it cannot be repaired before you spend to have it hauled off and purchase new.

Leather and Vinyl:

There are many little tricks that can be done to repair and restore leather or vinyl furniture. If there are tears or holes in the leather or vinyl there are kits that can be purchased to do repairs. These kits can be pricey so purchase exactly what is needed to get the job done. There are glues available that will hold the seams. Its a quick repair and may not hold over time. A grain mold compound can be used that will take the exact shape of the grain of your sofa so that it will match perfectly. These compounds also go with a catalyst to cure the compound. These can only be used in low traffic or low flex areas of the sofa. There are touch up markers available in many shades to blend in with the rest of the sofa. These are used where your furniture had a lighter look and has ware. There are many cleaning products available that remove stains and resist water, oil, and alcohol products. If a child has marked on your furniture there are also products available especially for ink but try some hairspray to take the ink out first. Most of the time it will work.

Cloth:

For cloth there are kits available where you mix fibers until they match the sofa fabric. There is no heat required and you just allow it to dry. These kits are not made for major tears. They are just made for little patch jobs. But they are a lot cheaper than buying new or sending in a cushion to have it replaced by the original manufacturer. You can sew fabric with a hand needle if you are good enough for the sewing job not to be noticeable. Make sure you use the appropriate cleaner for the fabric. The best thing for alcohol stains is colorless dishwashing liquid and some warm water. If that doesn't work use 2/3 cup water and 1/3 cup white vinegar to remove the satin. Test on an area of the sofa that is not visible. Never let a stain sit. Try to get it as soon as possible. You can also just purchase a new slip cover to fit snug on it and you can pull it off and throw it in the wash as needed. Slipcovers are great for a budget friendly change in appearance. They allow the furniture to match any color of paint on the walls. There is always the option of upholstering the sofa and love seat yourself. But that would be a huge chore. Call the original manufacturer and order fabric from them and just replace the bad sections and not the whole thing.

Chairs are easy to change. Pull the cushion off and lay new fabric right over the old fabric pull tight and staple to the bottom of the seat. There are really nice buttons and tacks available to create a different look to any furniture. Find trim, gimp, chair braid or welt cord to make your own welt to add a decorative touch to your furniture. Create a headboard to match a bedroom. Use batting, fabric and ply wood. Dress up your old lamps with a real light weight fabric to match the rest of your space. If you decide to do these project use your left over fabric to create table runners for your coffee tables and night stands

Wood:

Everyone spends some major money on quality wood. Here are some small things to save your wood furniture. For water rings on your tables try using a mild abrasive toothpaste. Apply it with the grain of your wood. Rub it with a soft cloth till you see the stain disappear. Repeat till gone. You can also use a colored oil stains to camouflage scratches. There are also touch up markers that come in many wood shades and crayons that you can just rub into the scratches and dents to hide them. Buff and polish your wood regularly to protect it.

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