Looking After Your Furniture

Wood is a natural product, and in service it may respond to changes in the environment in which it is placed. These changes may happen quickly, or over a period of years. Even furniture pieces made at the same time from the same wood species may respond in different ways.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any problems with your furniture that you are not able to resolve yourself.

Understanding and observing some simple guidelines in its everyday use will enhance the beauty and longevity of hardwood furniture.

1. Avoid Placing Furniture in Sunlight
The sun's ultraviolet light can change the wood colour and damage the surface finish.

The sun will fade some woods and darken others.

Therefore you should arrange your furniture so that it is never exposed to direct sunlight, even in winter. Use sun-screening drapes during intense sunlight hours and rotate furniture in place and in room arrangements. Indirect sunlight, although less damaging, should also be avoided where possible.

Objects such as vases, bowls and placemats should not be left in the same place on the furniture surface for extended periods, as there is the risk that colour changes will occur in the wood surrounding their footprint. Such objects should be repositioned periodically.

2. Minimise Humidity Changes
Up to half the weight of freshly sawn wood is water. The purpose of kiln and air drying wood before it is used in any building or furniture making is to remove moisture to try to attain Equilibrium Moisture Content – i.e. the water content of the wood is equal to the moisture content of the surrounding air.

However, furniture will be moved from location to location over its life, and the wood will respond to changes in the moisture content of the new surrounding air by absorbing more moisture and expanding, or by losing moisture and shrinking. Generally, this movement will be minor, but it may none the less be noticeable by way of separation of the wood components, particularly at corners, or by minor separation of the wood surface itself.

We recommend that changes to humidity where your furniture is located be mitigated as far as possible by the following:

• Keep well-watered plants or large water-filled vases or other containers in the room near where your furniture is located

• Avoid sunlight.

• Do not leave the furniture near electric or gas heaters, nor near air conditioning or central heating outlets.

3. Using Your Furniture
Naturally you want to be able to use your furniture as well as having it looking beautiful at all times.

Our furniture is finely finished with up to 10 coats of natural lacquer applied by hand to protect and give a beautiful and enduring finish. The natural lacquer is a form of natural plastic, and whilst it is extremely durable, it is still possible to damage the surface.

The worst enemy of any polished surface is grains of sand or dirt, which are mostly silica, a very hard substance that will scratch most surfaces including glass and steel.

We therefore recommend you observe the following rules in using your furniture:

• Ensure that vases and decorative objects placed on furniture tops are placed on a soft mat, or else have soft felt pads on them.

• Wipe the base of any such vases or decorative pieces to remove any dirt on the base or caught on the pads before positioning on the furniture.

• When cutting flowers or foliage from the garden for your house do not place them on the ground at any time, but bring them directly into the house to prepare them.

• Inspect your furniture before dusting (see below) and lift off any visible dirt grains. Do not wipe it as this will almost certainly cause a scratch.

Whilst the natural lacquer is resistant to liquids and to moderate heat, we recommend that anything that is too hot for the human hand to touch not be placed directly on the surface of the furniture.

Certainly, anything taken directly from an oven or stovetop must not be placed directly on the furniture surface; use a thick pad of cork or other appropriate material.

4. Dust your Furniture Regularly
We recommend that you care for your furniture as follows:

• Dust your furniture regularly with a clean and soft dry cloth. Do not use a damp cloth as this may leave streaks. These streaks can be removed, but only with lots of rubbing with a soft dry cloth.

• Do not use silicone based furniture polishes, as these build up over time, are hard to remove, and may ultimately give the surface of your furniture a "milky" appearance.

• If using a vacuum cleaner with brush head to remove dust from internal corners and other hard-to-get at places, do not allow the brush to touch the surface of the furniture, as there will almost certainly be residual dirt in the brush, which will damage the furniture surface.

5. Minor Repairs
The following minor repairs are simple to make to maintain the appearance of your fine wood furniture over time:

• Where a floating panel has shrunk and left an un-lacquered line at the edge where it fits into the frame, simple run a fine artists brush dipped in wood stain of a colour lighter than the wood along the line, wipe off any excess stain with a clean soft dry cloth, and allow the stained wood to dry. Repeat if necessary until the line disappears.

• Minor surface separations can be made to disappear simply by rubbing an appropriately coloured furniture wax stick over to fill the separation, and then polishing off any excess wax. Furniture wax sticks can be bought at most large hardware stores.

6. Handling
Before moving a piece of furniture, examine it for loose or damaged joinery. Once you have ascertained that it is safe to move, remove elements such as shelves, doors, and drawers. If doors cannot be removed, secure them by locking or wrapping the case with soft cotton straps. Always lift hardwood furniture, don't drag it. Tables should always be lifted by the apron or legs rather than by the top. Chairs should be lifted by the seat rails and not by the arms or crest rail.