Maintenance

General care tips for wood, upholstery and leather furniture

• Humidity and ambient temperatures have a decisive effect on the life span of wood, leather and upholstery. The ideal conditions are a humidity of 50% to 60% and a constant room temperature of 20°C. Under these conditions, the wood does not shrink or expand, which means that cracking is avoided. Fortunately, however, apartments and houses are not laboratories where conditions are always the same and where there are no fluctuations in temperature and humidity. When rooms are heated in winter, the air is often dry and warm, and when a warm breeze comes through the window in spring, it brings moisture with it. The fact that natural materials react to these conditions is a perfectly normal phenomenon. Therefore, when you heat and ventilate your home, you should not only think of your own well-being – your furniture also appreciates balanced room climate conditions.

• It is important to avoid direct sunlight. Unfiltered UV rays fade colors and eventually damage wood, lacquer and varnish, fabrics and leather. Therefore, you should avoid placing furniture in direct sunlight if your rooms allow it. However, if your furniture is exposed to the sun, you can protect it with curtains – solar curtains are the most effective – and keep it closed during periods of intense sunlight. To avoid shadows and marks left by the sun’s intense rays, don’t put any objects on a newly purchased piece of furniture for the first few weeks. Incidentally, coniferous wood is particularly sensitive to light.

• Furniture should always be placed at an appropriate distance from central heating radiators or other sources of heat or cold.

• All cleaning and polishing products should always be tested first on a part of the furniture that is not directly visible.

Find more care tips and detailed information in our “HOW TO CLEAN IT ALL” guide.