Living Room Furniture

January 5, 2010 Popularity: 18%

Article Category: General > Tags: coffee tables, dovetail joints, living room furniture, mahogany furniture, mango furniture, oak furniture, side tables, tv cabinets

Create the perfect environment with hardwood living room furniture

In the first half of this two part blog special on living room furniture we will be looking at what your choice of living room furniture says about you and what you need to consider when looking to buy.

It is important to create an atmosphere filled with comfort and class when choosing living room furniture. The image that your living room furniture portrays is something that you need to be happy with, as it will say a lot about you to your friends, family and any other guests. The living room is where you will be entertaining, hosting events as well as just relaxing as a family. Because of this, it is vital to have pride in its appearance. Along with your carpets and curtains, your living room furniture is what will effect the environment the most and therefore high quality living room furniture is essential.

Choosing Your Living Room Furniture

There is a wide variety of choices for living room furniture, but none can compare with high quality solid hardwood living room furniture. The only real choices you need to make are which hardwood furniture suits you best, and what style you like.

The most popular solid hardwood living room furniture is without doubt oak living room furniture. This long-established timber is available as contemporary modern furniture, classic traditional furniture and even country cottage style rustic furniture.

I’ve Considered Oak Living Room Furniture, But What Else Is There?

Solid oak living room furniture is not the only option when it comes to solid hardwood living room furniture. More exotic hardwoods include mahogany furniture, or Indian furniture crafted from mango wood - which can be naturally finished, have a dark stained finish applied, or even a stunning teak oil finish.

When choosing solid hardwood living room furniture you must always ensure that it is hand crafted using the highest quality timber throughout. This means that all doors, drawers and back panels should have the same high quality solid hardwood as the rest of the furniture. You should only ever buy living room furniture that has been manufactured using dovetail joints, as glued butt joints will fail in time. This ensures that your living room furniture is sturdy and there is no reason why (with the correct care) it shouldn’t last a lifetime.

Coming soon, in the second half of this two part special on living room furniture we will be looking into various pieces of living room furniture you will need.

Choosing a Dining Table

July 22, 2009 Popularity: 9%

Article Category: General > Tags: dining chairs, dining room furniture, dining table

Considerations When Buying a Dining Table

These days dining tables are often multi-functional pieces of furniture. Dining tables are used just as much for doing the household paperwork on or helping the kids with their homework as they are for eating the Sunday roast or hosting fabulous dinner parties. Some people enjoy eating at a dining table every day whilst others prefer to save the dinner table for special occasions, but how ever you like to use your dining table there are some key things to consider when choosing a new one. The things you’ll need to think about when buying a dining table may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people neglect some of the following considerations.

Where is The Dining Table Going?

Dining tables were once the centerpiece of rarely used dining room furniture, but as the layout of the modern home changes many people are thinking beyond this and putting dining tables in large kitchens or even at one end of an open plan living space. As such there are now many designs available to suit any requirement. Oak dining tables often fit in with most decors, but if you’re after something a little different why not look at Indian dining tables made from mango wood.

What Size Dining Table Do You Need?

The first thing to do is measure the available space. There’s nothing worse than buying a beautiful solid hardwood dining table, only to find you can’t get your chairs around it! A useful tip is to place items on the floor (to denote the four dining table corners) to make an imaginary rectangle, then leave space for dining chairs (pushed out with people in them). Imagine the dining table and make it as big as it will go (with plenty of room still for chairs,) note down the dimensions then look for a table slightly smaller than this size.

What Style Dining Table Do You Want?

There are various styles of dining table, but the main difference is the finish. By far the highest quality and classiest dining tables are hand crafted solid hardwood dining tables. Whether you want the subtle sheen of oak finished with Danish oil, or the sumptuousness of exotic mango wood treated with natural beeswax, there’s no better way to dine. A dark stained mango dining table looks great in a light airy room, and unstained natural dining tables fit perfectly in any setting. You can then choose matching or contrasting dining chairs to complete the look.

Find Yourself a Bargain in a Dining Room Furniture Sale

It’s also advisable to look for matching dining room furniture at the same time as the dining table. This way you can be sure that all your dining room furniture will compliment each other, and if you buy dining room furniture as sets you are going to get discounts and save yourself a lot of money.

Do Not Compromise on Quality

As always, no matter what you do, insist on the highest quality timbers and never be tempted by inferior woods such as pine, or dining tables made using veneers.

Interior Design

May 15, 2009 Popularity: 25%

Article Category: General > Tags: Bedroom Furniture, dining room furniture, hall furniture, interior design, living room furniture, oak furniture, tub chair

What is interior design?

Interior design is a term that has recently become synonymous with the rich and famous bringing in professional designers to makeover their mansions, or daytime TV programmes that often come up with some questionable ideas!

The idea of interior design should not be ignored though. It’s always good to have a final goal and a plan to work to. By doing this you are being an interior designer. There are some simple steps that need to be thought about before you even think about picking up a paint brush, so here I’ve laid out a few tips: It’s not just choosing a theme or a colour scheme for a specific room that is important when designing your house. An equally vital ingredient is the choice of furniture, making sure that it blends succinctly with your aspirations and purpose for the room in question. Solid hardwood furniture is an excellent investment, majestic, aesthetically pleasing, yet robust enough for every day use for years to come. Never compromise on quality when designing the room of your choice. Install superior quality solid hardwood such as oak, mahogany or mango (both light and dark should be considered) for a varied but complementary effect. Whether you select from modern bedroom furniture to help transform your personal space into a stylish sanctuary, rustic furniture for a relaxing feel distinct individual pieces such as a magnificent bed or a stunning sideboard with its dovetailed joint drawers, there is sure to be a special piece that compliments your design perfectly.

It’s not all about paint and cushions

Whilst interior design can be described as the art of selecting and organising room furnishings such as curtains, carpets and corresponding comfy cushions, not forgetting some unusual ornaments, a major aspect that ‘pulls’ the room together is the furniture itself. Whether it is the geometric shapes of cubism, fresh charm of rustic country cottage designs, or an exotic Asian style that you aspire to, with such a wide selection of solid hardwood pieces to choose from, there is bound to be a furniture item that will give your room the wow factor. All Oak Furniture Land pieces offer solidity and longevity, with solid hardwood backs and intricate dovetail joints for the drawers. Practicality and an attractive room lay out is a major consideration when developing a successful design, in order to achieve a simple balanced living environment is created that is suitable for the type of room.

Take it one room at a time

Choosing complimentary furniture that is solid, strong and hard wearing yet elegant and beautiful too, is a vital ingredient to creating your perfect room. Care needs to be taken when choosing the correct colour and style of a piece of furniture – an airy room or where light is important, such as in a hall or a conservatory would best suit simple, light furniture, whilst if it is a sense of elegance that is desired, notably in a dining room or bedroom, chunkier pieces in darker hues might be more suitable. This is always a personal thing, and you’re often drawn to a certain design. No matter what you choose, don’t be tempted by flat-pack furniture or furniture that is built using veneers. Always ensure that you are buying high quality, even if it means buying in stages or taking advantage of interest free credit.

Wood Finishing

April 7, 2009 Popularity: 73%

Article Category: General > Tags: beeswax, danish oil, furniture, mango, oak, wood care

Oak Finished with Danish Oil

Finishing is probably one of the most important elements of an attractive piece of wood furniture. There is a vast array of different finishes available on the wooden furniture retail market today. It can be quite daunting to make sense of all the various finishes and their comparative benefits and downfalls. Below are some of the most common finishes of hardwood furniture with a little information regarding the pros and cons of each. Danish Oil

Many people think that Danish Oil is a finish which penetrates deeply into the wood. This, however, is not true. The oil does penetrate slightly deeper than other finishes but not to the extent many people believe it does. It is vital that Danish Oil is able to penetrate the wood effectively in order to produce an excellent quality of finish. This means that if your hardwood furniture has been previously finished with either lacquer or paint, Danish Oil will not be an effective method of finishing that item. Danish Oil is the best product for giving an attractive natural finish to your wood furniture. It has a soft sheen to it, rather than the high gloss that lacquers produce. This has several advantages, in that it doesn’t show up fingerprints or dust, and should the wood furniture be damaged it is easy to repair for novices and experts alike, as all that’s required is a light sanding and reapplication. A lacquered finish, by contrast, will need the whole piece stripping and refinishing – a very expensive job that should only be undertaken by a trained professional.

Mango Finished with Beeswax

Beeswax

Beeswax is a natural way of finishing wood furniture. It can be used on virtually every type of wood used for furniture, but is most effective on hardwood furniture, such as mango. It will create a perfect, highly attractive finish which also serves as a protective layer which will help to keep your furniture looking its best no matter what. Beeswax is a great product for people concerned about the environment as it is completely natural and free from any nasty chemicals which can often be found in household products, such as polishes. Beeswax can be used very economically as only a small amount is needed to gain the desired effect. It is also excellent at revitalising distressed wood. Beeswax brings out the fine grain of the wooden furniture and achieves a beautifully tactile silky smooth finish. The finish that both beeswax and Danish oil produce is known as an unsealed wood finish. Therefore it is not recommended that chemical cleaning products are used, as these will permeate the wood, drying it out and causing irreparable cracking. Feather dusting or the use of a damp cloth is all that should be needed to care for your wooden furniture.

Sprayed Lacquer Sprayed lacquer achieves 100% adhesion with underlying layers meaning that it seals the wooden furniture and produces a high gloss finish. At first this sounds very desirable, it does have its downsides though: it can be quiet easily scratched and the slightest marks or fingerprints will be very obvious, making it a high maintenance finish. This can be guarded against by protecting it with mats, cloths, etc., but what’s the point of having beautiful hardwood furniture if you have to cover it up? Polyurethane Polyurethane is a common film finish for wooden furniture. This is another finish that seals the wood. It is relatively inexpensive and easy for manufacturers to apply. For this reason it is often used on cheap, inferior quality wooden furniture, such as pine furniture. There are many disadvantages in using polyurethane to finish wood furniture. It shares many qualities of lacquered furniture, but it is also susceptible to damage from ultra-violet light exposure. This can crack the finish leaving white marks that are impossible to remove. Because of this, polyurethane finished furniture should not be kept in natural sunlight – a serious disadvantage unless you are furnishing a room without windows! In summary By far the best finishes for high quality wood furniture are either Danish oil or beeswax. They bring out the stunning beauty of wooden furniture grains and leave wood satisfying to the touch. Steer well clear of varnish and polyurethane if you are after a luxurious piece of quality furniture. For more information on wooden furniture care, please see our guide to treating hardwood furniture.

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