How to Take Care of Your Antique Furniture

We have seen an uptick in homeowners having a fun or unique antique piece in their home. These furniture pieces often bring a sense of boldness to your kitchens, living rooms or bedrooms. While we love these pieces and appreciate their authenticity, we also need to make sure we know how to take care of our antiques. Unlike their new-age counterpart, antique furniture needs a little more TLC. Here are our tips for taking care of your antique furniture. 

 

Dusting

 

Dusting. We hate it, but we do it anyways. Your antique furniture needs dusting just as much as your regular furniture, just tweaked a bit. With your antiques, you want to make sure you’re dusting regularly with a soft brush. Some folks like to wet dust, but your older furniture won’t like that and it can cause damage, especially on wood finishes. 

 

Wax Polishing

 

Waxing with a good quality beeswax polish brings out the color of the wood and protects your furniture at the same time. Just put a small amount of polish on a soft cloth and rub the piece on the cloth. Rubbing is important because it helps evaporate any solvent. Then polish with a clean duster. Unlike dusting, we recommend waxing once every few months. Too much wax can cause dullness and absorb dust. 

 

Pro Tip: We know you’re busy, but we do recommend waxing during the night. The wax needs at least 5 hours to nourish, so leaving the wax overnight allows for no unexpected interruptions to the furniture from pets and children. 

 

Environment

 

Besides cleaning, your furnitures’ environment is a key factor in its life expectancy. When your furniture is in the sunlight and humidity, wood, fabric and leather can become warped and faded. If your antique furniture needs to be near a window, consider purchasing roller shades or thicker blinds to cut out the rays without compromising the natural lighting.  

 

The room where your antiques sit should also be kept at a constant temperature and well-aired. Avoid damp and heavily humid rooms. 

 

Last Thoughts

 

When it comes to our antique furniture, we want to make sure it lasts for years to come and not become that old, rundown piece of furniture in the room. Clean regularly, make a schedule to wax and polish and check on your furniture to see if the environment is affecting the color or shape. If you do have a furniture piece that’s seen better days, ABC can help you today! Besides customizing shades, blinds and bedding, we also restore furniture to look good as new.