Furniture Finder

Top Furniture Buying Mistakes by Abe Abbas Forgetting to Measure Your Furniture: Don't neglect to measure the room ahead of buying to see if your new furniture will fit. You will be amazed at the number of furniture purchases that never make it into a home because the buyer neglected to measure the furniture or forgot to take into account hallways, doors, elevators and stairs. Ignoring Scale:A sofa that looks just right in the store, might look too big in your room or not big enough. It is hard to judge when you're looking at a picture or seeing it in a showroom. Also measure to make sure that your new piece matches the scale of the furniture you already own.

Are you tossing and turning night after night? Are you not getting the deep, restful sleep you need because you can't seem to get comfortable? If so, then it may be time to buy a new sleep set. Remember, the average person spends roughly 1/3 of their life sleeping. So getting a quality sleep set is one of the most important investments you can make. So consider your bed set usage. Then, learn how to shop for the bed set that's best for you. The following information is adapted from The Better Sleep Guide, a free brochure from the Better Sleep Council's "Consumer Information Series." The Better Sleep Council recommends carefully evaluating the comfort and support of your sleep set each year.

Removing spots from carpet can be simple or tedious depending upon the spot and how long it has been on the carpet. At times, multiple applications of the spot removal solution, or a second solution is required. Listed below is a general spot removal procedure. If the origin of the spot is unknown, begin with Step 1. If the origin of the spot is known, begin at the appropriate step. Never use a circular motion to remove a spot as this destroys texture. To prevent wick up, the final step should always be to rinse with clear water, blot dry, and put a thickness of several white paper towels over the damp area. Put a brick, or suitable weight object on the pad of towels to keep the pad in contact with the carpet. This allows any stain wicking up from the backing to go into the towels rather than remain on the carpet surface. Allow to dry, remove the brick and towels, and brush up the pile.

With the right questions - and answers - you can choose a new sofa or chair with confidence. What should you look for? Start by insisting on a kiln-dried, solid hardwood frame. You might never see the wood frame of your sofa or chair, but you should know what it is made of. Kiln-dried hardwoods like oak, alder, birch and maple are preferred because they hold pegs, screws and nails securely in place for a long time. Buying good upholstered furniture - and keeping it - helps the environment too. Landfills are overflowing with inexpensive sofas that are left on the curb after just a few years of use.

Finishing furniture is an art form - you can create whatever you want. The terms "distressing" and "antiquing" are often used interchangeably in the wood finishing world. These techniques can be used separately or together along with glazing to obtain the degree of "aging" that you desire

Worried about your wooden furniture? Here is how to take care of it... Varnished wood is considered to be one of the most popular surfaces available in furniture However, such kind of furniture needs special care. Here's how you can do it: -Protect the wood from water and other liquids, such as alcohol, food or cosmetics. If water or other liquids are allowed to settle on a wood surface for more than a few minutes, they seep through the pores in the varnish coating, into the wood, staining it. -Keep the varnished wood free of dust and dirt, as it can make the surface grimy. Using a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment can do the job. A dry, soft, lint free cloth can also help remove dust and smudges and will also give the surface a soft shine. Lightly soiled varnished surfaces can be cleaned by using teak oil.

Some people think of wardrobes as purely functional pieces of furniture, but that doesn't mean they can't be fashionable as well. The way we see it is this: a wardrobe is one of the most important pieces of furniture in the home (together with a sofa, bed and dining table), so we want it to look every bit as stylish, eye-catching and chic as the clothes we hang inside it. Furniture manufacturers are well aware of this, which is why they're now creating wardrobes and matching furniture that will instantly give your bedroom the 'Wow Factor'. One of our favourite styles of wardrobe is the sliding door variety - these have a cool, cosmopolitan edge, often with mirrored fronts that add depth and light to your bedroom. Speaking of light, the high gloss explosion has taken the world of home trends by storm in recent years.

Preventative maintenance is your best bet for keeping upholstery looking new: vacuum it regularly using a specialized attachment (most vacuum cleaners come with upholstery attachments). Applying a commercial stain-guard treatment such as Scotchgard can also help prevent future accidents from becoming permanent stains.

I hope you can help us find a suitable furniture arrangement for our awkward family room. Because the family room and kitchen are open to each other, there is very little wall space to work with. The room is has a major traffic path running through it, as we normally enter through the garage/back door and must pass through the family room to get to other areas of the house. Also, the patio doors in this room lead to our deck and pool area and it is used extensively during the summer months. We have lived in this house for many years and the room is due for a complete makeover, so there will be few restrictions with regard to furniture, built-ins, colour, flooring, etc. We spend most of our time in this room and it is used for watching television and some entertaining.

Good things last even longer when you take care of them. Here are some helpful tips on how to take care of your BoConcept furniture.

Your bed is of great importance to your sleeping habits. You should therefore choose your bed with care. We usually say that you have found the right one when you "don't notice" that you are in the bed. You should only notice how comfortable you are.

With the proper care your oil-finished solid wood furniture ages beautifully; its mature colors warming and mellowing with the passing years. The following are some methods to clean and protect your furniture. The following are some methods to clean and protect your furniture.

Details make the difference in a home. Crown molding and chair rails add architectural interest to rooms. Custom fabric elevates window treatments. And new hardware can transform tired cabinets or old dressers into stylish components. Liberty Hardware, a Winston-Salem hardware manufacturer founded in 1942, recently introduced a new line of custom knobs, handles and pulls designed and handcrafted by artists. The HomeGrown Hardware collection includes glass, metal and pottery hardware interpretations and allows consumers to create a personalized look without breaking the bank.

First of all, you need to know that the tips that will be mentioned in this article are guaranteed to remove stains safely. The best thing to do is to refer to your Coleman Furniture dealer or retailer for suggestions or to contact Coleman Furniture customer service for advice. It is also advisable to seek professional help from cleaning companies. If you decide to do it yourself, it is advisable to test on small and unnoticeable area like the back portion of the sofa in order to check if the color will be affected.

If you just spent a good amount of money on new furniture for your living room, it will break your heart to see the first stain that occurs on your upholstered sofas or chairs. But don't worry; you can actually get some of those stains out, without a lot of problems. The main thing is to choose the right way to clean the piece of furniture, so that you don't make the stain appear worse. If someone has dumped part of a drink on your chair, consider first the fabric, before you try to clean it. If you are dealing with a larger stain, you may want to try your cleaning first on a small area that you can't see well, to make sure it does not cause damage or discoloration. Greasy stains like butter can be cleaned with a dry type of cleaning solvent, available at any grocery store. Place a bit on a clean cloth and blot the stain. Be sure you don't rub the stain, since that could make it worse. Then mix mild detergent with warm water and blot that stain again. Use a towel to soak up everything you have used, and the spot should be gone when the fabric dries. This is a lot cheaper than buying new living room sets after your muddy dog joins you on the sofa. Cheese and crackers are often served as snacks, but when nacho type cheese gets spilled, it's no picnic. But you can get it out. Just mix one teaspoon-full of mild detergent in a cup of lukewarm water, and blot the stain with a clean towel. Blot it once more with a mixture of a half-cup warm water and a tablespoon of ammonia. Then blot up the stain and cleansers using clean water only, and let it dry.

When you purchase leather furniture, acquaint yourself with the proper ways to take care of these lovely pieces, so that they will be a part of your home for years to come. You may even void any warranty on your furniture if you don't use the proper cleaning products to maintain it. There are elements of maintaining fine leather sofas and other furnishings that need to be done regularly.

You've heard of the fat-free, or sugar-free diet, how about the clutter-free diet (like Vicente Wolf's room above, ummm). Has your house been fed too much junk food? Do you feel overly stressed in your home? Is It hard to find things? Time to deny denial and get in shape (yes, I'm listening).

Where was your last vacation? At the beach or in the mountains? If you chose mountains, this look is for you. No matter the weather or locale, we are drawn to trees. They provide shade, awe, our kids climb on them, birds live in their branches, and we eat their fruit and syrup. We decorate them for Christmas. If you chose a beach as your last vacation, chances are you took a sunburned breath beneath a palm tree. Infinite variety, different personality, yet there is nothing as lovely as a tree. For hundreds of years we have also used them for shelter, eventually utilizing wood for furniture in many forms: from the crude three legged milking stool to the exquisite fine furnishings of Versailles.

With children's bedrooms-arguably more than any other room in the house-it is startlingly simple to fall into traps when it comes to design, furniture selection and motif. Recently, Residence caught up with a few East End designers-husband-and-wife team Jennifer Mabley and Austin Handler of Mabley Handler Interior Design in Water Mill, and Sag Harbor-based Betsy Nichol of E.N. Interiors-to learn the do's and don'ts behind the definitive children's bedroom.

I caught screen fever at an early age. I was just a little kid, playing at my friend's house, when I happened into her dining room and spotted the most amazing floor screen standing behind the buffet. The large screen was bold and beautiful, stretching almost to the ceiling, and it sucked me in with a force stronger than gravity. Years later, when I was furnishing my own home, I knew I had to use a few screens, not only because they are stylish but also because they can be used to solve a host of decorating dilemmas. Screens are amazing decorating tools. They can singlehandedly ground a room without eating up much space or making the area feel cluttered. No matter what style you like, you'll find a screen that will make your heart flutter and bring your room alive. How about a simple wooden screen featuring louvered shutters? A regal screen featuring an Oriental motif? One that sports rustic leather veneer or tarnished mirrors? Once you find a screen you adore -- or two, or three or maybe even four, like I have -- you'll discover a million ways to use it. Here are a few suggestions: