Re-using old furniture ‘can have great results' REFURNISH.EU

Re-using old furniture ‘can have great results’

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Handing old furniture a new lease of life can be rewarding, an expert has said.

Homeowners looking at buying new furniture may be interested to hear some of the inventive ways old pieces can be re-used.

According to DIY Network's Matt Blashaw, one of the things he loves most is giving a tired item a fresh purpose, CBS News reports.

Turning a kitchen cabinet into a toy chest for children was one of his favourite manoeuvres, Mr Blashaw stated, as well as transforming an old door into a unique headboard.

Wine bottles can be used as pendant lights, he continued, with old windows making a great basis for picture frames.

Meanwhile, antique tin ceiling tiles can be used in the garden to accentuate the beauty of flowers, he commented, adding: "The beautiful designs of the ceiling tiles can dress up the outside of a plain wooden planter."

A recent article for the University of Hartford Informer suggested one of the best ways students can improve their green credentials is to recycle old furniture wherever possible.

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Tips on Buying Used Furniture

There are multiple sources in your local area where you can find quality used furniture at a low price. Classified ads are one of the most common ways for people to offer their used furniture for sale. This of course includes offline classifieds like your local newspaper or independent magazines like the Green Sheet offered in the major cities of Texas. For online classifieds you have the most frequented site for classifieds in Craigslist.com. There you will find online classifieds by owners, used furniture stores and consignment stores.

Plan a budget and stick to it. Sure, second hand furniture is cheap. But after buying ten tables, six cabinets, and five couches that you don't really need, you might find yourself spending more than what you planned for. Individual price is cheap, but take a step back and look at everything as group to know the actual price. Add everything up, including the delivery fee.

If you want the old furniture to have a light color, check the original color of the wood by rubbing across an exposed unfinished part (you'll find such portion on the back or inside of the furniture) with wet finger. By this, you will come to know what the color of the wood will be when varnished with natural stain. Also remember that naturally dark wood can't be lightened.

This suggestion ties in with the previous one. Test the item. Lean on tables, sit on chairs, recline onto the sofa or bed and shake a little to test the springs and legs. Squeeze the covers and the cushioned areas to make sure there are no sharp edges or hidden rips. If there are any extendible parts, for instance with fold-up tables or cabinets, then don't be afraid to test each of these and open up the piece of furniture to its full extent.

When you want to buy used vintage furniture, decide first on the period you will want your piece to come from. For instance, if you want wrought iron furniture that screams Victorian era, look for breaks and joins if the furniture has it, then it's not wrought iron but cast iron furniture. Another telltale sign is that Victorian wrought iron is characterized by grapevine leaf and fleur de lis designs.

Ask about storage. Furniture owners sell their old furniture. It likely hasn't been used in months or even years. Before buying a couch or recliner, ask where it was stored. Was it stored inside or outside? You don't want furniture that has been outside and exposed to the elements, at least not without a large discount.

The one huge issue that you should watch out for is bed bugs. While these commonly infest mattresses, they can also be in other types of furniture. Go along and carefully inspect any seams in the furniture that you are considering buying. Get a good idea what the signs of bed bugs are before previewing the item for sale so that you know exactly what to look for. Also be sure to look for signs of any other pest or insect related problems. If you feel that there are pests associated with this piece of furniture, don't buy it and bring it into your house.

You might also find some used furniture being offered online. Be very careful here, especially if you're asked to pay before you see the furniture. Like a yard sale, you'll want to inspect this furniture from all angles before paying. This is especially true if the seller has not uploaded any images of the furniture. Be certain you don't commit to buying anything until you see it.

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Using Outdoor Rattan Furniture in a Conservatory

Conservatory furniture has achieved a bad reputation over recent years for being old fashioned with people only thinking of the high back cane suites, the sort of thing you'd expect your grandmother to have. Many of the old furniture importers did not seem to go far enough with new designs, many copying each others designs and some just re-designing rattan furniture that the older generation would like. However a new wave of fashionable rattan furniture has been a breath of fresh air for the cane furniture specialists because it has been very frustrating not to have a collection that suits everybody.
A questions asked "Rattan garden furniture is expensive why would you want to buy it for indoors?" with a reply from a recent customer "The look, the design, basically I want something modern."
The frame of rattan garden furniture is generally welded aluminum to be weatherproof, and that is expensive to purchase and time consuming to work with, however the frame of indoor rattan furniture tends to be locally grown hardwood or cane, therefore much cheaper and as rattan is a natural product it is much cheaper to buy than a man made synthetic fiber alternative.
The UK based rattan garden furniture companies are now designing furniture for the discerning modern market. Some employ famous furniture designers to create innovative designs and all at a cost but there is definitely a market that is buying.
Our own experiences in recent months are that most customers are willing to pay up to £4000 to obtain the right look on rattan garden furniture, but only about £1500 on traditional rattan conservatory furniture even if it does have the 'right look'.
Our feeling is that this 'old fashioned' reputation is costing the cane market a lot of money bourne out by the fact that even large companies such as Burdekin are going into liquidation, its possibly another factor in the reasons for the downward turn as well as the general pull back due to the credit crunch.

Cane Furniture - Ideal For Conservatory

Cane furniture, otherwise known as rattan or wicker furniture, is known for its strength and durability. Cane itself, as a raw building material, is very tough and resistant to damage. Due to its toughness, it is impossible to work with cane when it is in its raw, unprocessed form. The cane needs to be treated with heat so that it will be soft enough for the workers to work with.
Cane processing is not a new discovery. Different species of cane are abundantly available mostly in Asian countries like Indonesia. Many years ago, the natives had already learned how to work with cane. They used cane to create all sorts of useful items - baskets, chairs, tables, etc. These techniques have been passed down from generation to generation, until the present day. In fact, present day cane manufacturing techniques have been refined with the introduction of modern technology. This greatly enhances the quality of the furniture.
Having years of experience in producing cane furniture is good, but no one would want furniture that looks old and ancient. Fortunately, cane is a very versatile material. Changes in consumer tastes mean that manufacturers must now modify the designs.
That means it is now possible to find affordable cane furniture with modern designs, that will last for many years to come. Even if the designs have changed, the basic characteristics of cane still remain unchanged. It is still tough and durable.
Unlike wood, which may rot or become damaged with plant growth, cane furniture can be left in highly challenging environments and remain undamaged. For many years now, homeowners have found cane furniture to be ideal for gardens and conservatories.
Usually, conservatories are constructed in such a way that the environment remains ideal for plants even when there are weather changes. For example, special glass panels may be installed to help trap heat when the weather is cold. When there are plants in a conservatory, the air will most likely be filled with moisture.
As you probably already know, moisture is never a good companion for wood. Wood tends to rot in a moist environment. You can lengthen the life span of wood furniture in a conservatory by applying some kind of protection. But this is only a temporary measure.
Steel is another material that don't go well with moisture. Some types of steel may rust. There are, of course, stainless steel in the market. But usually, when exposed to water, the steel will soon lose its shine.
Cane furniture, on the other hand, does not rust or rot. In a moist environment, water droplets will just form on the surface of the furniture. All you have to do, is to clean away to water droplets with a dry cloth. Cane is a water resistant material by nature. So even if you fail to clean up the water, the furniture will still remain unfazed.

Furniture Using Natural Materials Including Cane

Purchasing furniture for your outdoor patio, conservatory, or indeed any part of your home involves several factors - you obviously want to pick something that is aesthetically pleasing, that fits your overall interior design scheme and also furniture that will last. For the your conservatory excellent qualities can be found in seagrass, rattan and cane furniture.
There are also additional reasons for picking natural materials for your furniture:
* Much better for the environment Natural materials are much better for the environment than synthetic/manmade products, such as plastic. When it comes to manufacturing natural materials compared to creating manmade synthetic materials, you are likely to find that less resources are consumed by the former and all of those extra resources used in the manmade processes can end up polluting the environment or adding more dangerous carbon emissions into the atmosphere. By choosing to use natural materials you are doing your part to help improve and protect the environment. * A better fit Thinking about the places where you are likely to put this natural material furniture this choice makes even better sense, as most people use them in rooms or areas that allow them to enjoy the world around them, such as conservatories and sunrooms where they can always go to enjoy the outside inside. If you are going to enjoy the natural world it makes sense to do it sitting on chairs or sofas made from natural materials!
Although natural materials are not ideal for everything in our lives, it is an excellent choice for some of our furniture, as not only do these materials look more attractive than the cheaper plastics but natural materials can be easier to care for and also they mostly fit better with a wider range of decorative schemes.

Cane Furniture - Durable and Beautiful

Cane is a raw material that comes from the stem of large rattans. It is most commonly used to make attractive and affordable wicker furniture for use indoors and outdoors. Whether you are looking to purchase furniture for your backyard, patio or any room within your room, cane furniture can offer a timeless look that will last you an especially long time.
In order to manufacture and produce Rattan it must go through quite a difficult process. After the climbing palm is harvested it is first cut down and boiled. This boiling process essentially removes all the sap from the bark which allows it to have the proper flexibility so that it can be molded into various shapes for use in a number of products, but most commonly to create cane furniture. Cane furniture is well known for being durable and long lasting, on top of added a natural beauty to your residence.
After the bark is treated and given its flexibility through the boiling process, it is then split into thin strips. These strips are used and intertwined to make very sturdy yet comfortable cane furniture. The frame of the furniture is created from the larger canes while the smaller canes are used for add on features later on in the process. The can makes for a very strong yet versatile base for the furniture that is still flexible enough to build into many different shapes and designs.
The entire manufacturing process for cane furniture is very time consuming and costly. The secrets are often closely guarded and it can even take days to build one small piece of cane furniture. The industry itself is booming however and employs thousands of cane furniture experts in many different parts of the world.
The finished cane furniture product is not only attractive and comfortable but it is very environmentally friendly. It is made in a completely natural way and does need any added chemicals or ingredients to be made beautiful. Cane furniture is extremely strong, versatile and can add a very natural and elegant look to your home or patio.
On top of all that, can furniture can also last for years without any intense maintenance or cleaning. Even without any wood treatment or added chemicals, cane has the ability to be very resistant against water damage and, unlike other materials; there is no chance of it forming into any sort of rust. It is incredibly easy to clean and will rarely need any attention in order to keep it preserved. While this makes can furniture ideal for outdoor settings such as your backyard or patio, it is also a beautiful touch to any room you are looking to decorate within your home or cottage.

Cane Furniture For Your Conservatory

When buying furniture  you don't just want your furniture to look beautiful. You also want them to be reasonably priced, and at the same time, easy to maintain. In general, almost any kind of raw materials you can think of can be made into furniture. You can easily find furniture that is made from wood, plastic or steel.
Each of these materials has got its own unique qualities and characteristics. For example, steel may be more durable than wood. But you can find more complicated designs and patterns on wood furniture because they are easier to work on.
A largely neglected raw material is wicker. Wicker is actually not a term that refers directly to the raw material. It's a term used to describe the manufacturing process. However, many people use this term interchangeably with the word "rattan" to refer to similar furniture. In this case, rattan will be a more specific word to use. But let's just stick to "wicker" for convenience and to avoid confusion.
Wicker furniture is made from cane. Cane is available in abundance in many Asian countries. The problem with cane is that it is very tough in nature. Try holding a piece of cane in your hand and you will find that it is almost impossible to break it. It has a certain elastic quality to it, making it hard to break. In this aspect, it has a quality that you can't find in any other raw material.
At first, being too tough seems like a clear disadvantage. You can't seem to use it for any practical purpose. The raw cane is coarse and tough, thus refusing to bow down to manipulation.
Fortunately, natives discover a way to manipulate the cane. The process involves heating up the cane with extremely high temperatures. The heat softens the cane, making it bendable. It is then weaved and wrapped around steel frames to form wicker furniture. When the cane cools down, it regains its original toughness.
And because cane is so tough naturally, you find that wicker furniture is very easy to maintain. If wicker furniture comes with cushioning, all you need to do is to remove the cushion, and wipe the furniture with a slightly wet cloth. The goal is to remove dust and grime that may have settled on the furniture. Clean the cushioning with a wet cloth and let it air dry. Use a little bit of anti-bacteria washing liquid if necessary. Replace when the cushions are dry. And that's it! You've just completed a round of wicker furniture cleaning.
In rare cases, the wicker furniture may appear old and ugly. That's inevitable for all furniture types. Due to old age, the appearance is affected. Even then, you can restore the appearance of the wicker furniture. Again, the process is a simple one.

Wicker Furniture - Easy to Maintain When buying furniture, you don't just want your furniture to look beautiful. You also want them to be reasonably priced, and at the same time, easy to maintain. In general, almost any kind of raw materials you can think of can be made into furniture. You can easily find furniture that is made from wood, plastic or steel.

Rattan & Wicker Furniture Rattan & wicker furniture are both durable and lightweight furniture options for both interior living spaces and for exterior living spaces. If you are designing an exterior living space then you will want to make sure that you select pieces that either have no upholstery, or that have indoor/outdoor upholstery. There are many different pieces that you can choose from to design your outdoor living space. There are rattan table bases, rattan dinettes, wicker tables, rattan bar stools, and wicker chairs. You can also choose from wicker or rattan chaise lounges and end tables. All of these pieces come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors.

Wicker Furniture Wicker is the process of weaving natural materials like willow, rattan, cane, bamboo into various patterns. Wicker furniture is made from weaving interlaced slender branches around a frame and molding it into desired shapes such as tables, chairs, bed or sofas. Most wicker furniture is manufactured by hand and they originate from Southeast Asia, mainly Indonesia, Philippines and China. Wicker furniture became popular in the Victorian era, as its smooth surfaces and clean lines were believed to be more clean and hygienic than upholstered furniture.

Rattan & Wicker Furniture Rattan & wicker furniture are both durable and lightweight furniture options for both interior living spaces and for exterior living spaces. If you are designing an exterior living space then you will want to make sure that you select pieces that either have no upholstery, or that have indoor/outdoor upholstery. There are many different pieces that you can choose from to design your outdoor living space. There are rattan table bases, rattan dinettes, wicker tables, rattan bar stools, and wicker chairs. You can also choose from wicker or rattan chaise lounges and end tables. All of these pieces come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors.

Things You Need To Know About Wicker Furniture Many people who own sunroom furniture opt to have cushions and fabrics for a more comfortable feel and elegant setting. But before spending your money and getting the first fabric or cushion you eye on, there are first things you need to consider so as not to regret in the long run. There are some cases that some of the sunroom furniture do not come with cushions. But some of the furniture that already includes sunroom furniture cushion is not a big hit to many.

FURNITURE RETAIL TIPS

RETAILS TIPS – Designing displays

Baumhaus’ Phil Dickens divulges the trade secrets used by the majority of successful retailers in the UK, continuing with a look at the importance of in-store displays.

So where are we? You have a superb window display. You have designed the floor layout of your shop to maximise the time the customer spends there. So, now we need to design some displays to die for – what the experts call ‘elements of effective visual merchandising’, by the way!

Work your eye-level displays
Here I want you to look at supermarkets. Why? Because supermarkets make everyone else look like amateurs when it comes to using the psychology of shopping to increase sales. And their key weapon of choice? Eye-level displays – that is, eye-level and just below eye-level.
Experiments have shown that when we walk down an aisle, we often look only at the shelves that are level with our eyes. As a furniture retailer, this makes your life a little tricky because furniture sits on the floor. But if you sell accessories, you could be quids-in!
Walk round your shop and make a note of all the opportunities you have to create eye-level displays – this could mean adding wall-shelves or simply getting taller display stands. Then position your most profitable items at eye-level. It’s that simple!
One other thing – next time you visit Tesco, have a walk down the food aisle and you will see that every eye-level shelf is bursting with the Finest range, while the cheap stuff – the value beans at tuppence a tin - go on the floor! You will find the tuppence beans if you are looking for them, but they will never be an impulse buy!

Understand triangular balance
This is really clever – but first here’s the psychology bit. Triangular balance is used everywhere by some of the largest and most successful retailers, and it’s very effective. It works on the psychological principle that your eye will always go to the centre of a picture and work outwards to the right.
But what does this mean to you as a retailer? Well, the same psychological principle applies to your displays. Your customer will always look at the centre of your display first. So put your biggest, tallest item with the highest profit margin right in the centre – at eye-level, of course!
This will be the focal point of your display. Put the second most profitable item to its right, and the third most profitable to its left. Then work outwards, positioning your lowest profit-margin items on the top and bottom shelves.
A quick word of caution, however – don’t put items next to each other simply because of their profit margins. They have to look attractive next to each other too – because if they don’t, triangular balance won’t work!

Use asymmetrical displays
Did you know that the majority of people find asymmetrical displays far more attractive than ones that are symmetrical? Have a look at architecture (I know it seems a bit removed from retailing, but bear with me).
An architect will never build a square house with four windows – just have a look at these new housing estates. Instead, they will create an asymmetrical house by adding bay windows, different roof levels, varying window sizes, and sometimes an L-shape. This is because people like asymmetry – it adds character and interest.
The same applies to your displays. So make sure you cluster items of different shapes and sizes – it encourages your customer to explore!

Roomsets, roomsets and more roomsets!
Roomsets are a neat trick because they appeal to both men’s and women’s shopping habits – men like finding everything they need in one place, and women like to envisage something in their home. If you look at Marks & Spencer, they are great at this technique. Let’s take one of their dining room sets – the dining furniture they are selling is beautifully dressed. Then, in the displays surrounding the dining table, are all the accessories used in the roomset.
The double whammy of roomsets is that they can really increase your cross-selling opportunities. For example, if one of your customers is redecorating her dining room, and visits you to buy some new plates, but also sees the plates sitting on a lovely set of table mats, she is going to be tempted. Bingo.

Co-ordinate your colours
Have you been into Homebase lately? They recently overhauled the way they display their accessories, and it has been a staggering success. You would hope so, because they spend millions trying to understand their buyers’ shopping habits!
But you can replicate the secret of their success, and it’s quite a simple principle. They have stopped displaying items by type – lights in one area, cushions in another and so on. Instead, they now group items by colour scheme.
Let’s step back a bit and understand why this is so successful. Your customer is most likely buying furniture and accessories because they are redecorating. They visit you to buy a coffee table, and are confronted with a whole range of co-ordinated furniture, in one display, which matches the coffee table and would finish off their room perfectly.
They go in for a coffee table, and decide to buy a matching lamp table as well. An absolute killer strategy! If they had just gone to the section containing coffee tables, the likelihood is that they would have only left with a coffee table. As far as cross-selling goes, you would be struggling to beat this one! Another bonus is that you can use this strategy in conjunction with your roomsets.

Ditch the clutter
I know the temptation is to put everything you have on display, but this can actually put off customers. The old adage ‘less is more’ demonstrates this perfectly. There is a fine balance between getting rid of clutter and leaving your displays too bare. As a rule of thumb, if you can see everything in the display, it has been decluttered enough.

Revamp your point-of-sale
Keep the area by your tills clear so that you have ample room to work, but also use the point-of-sale as another opportunity to sell! While you process your customers’ purchases, they are pinned down and will use the time to peruse what is around them. A simple but effective measure is to surround them with items that are likely to be impulse buys, and these are usually your cheaper products.

JOHN LEWIS IN NEWBURY

John Lewis at home for Newbury

John Lewis plans to establish an at home store in Newbury, Berkshire, to open in October. It will comprise a two-storey, 40,000ft2 branch at Parkway, a 475,000ft2 mixed-use scheme being developed by Standard Life Investments.
Tim Harrison, head of format development, describes Parkway as “a great fit

WASTE NOT WANT NOT

Customising recycled furniture is a beautiful way to help the environment

You may recycle but the question is: do you 'upcycle'? Interior designers are not only re-using plates, glasses, furniture and other accessories in the home but adding to them creatively to give them a whole new lease of life.
Take Zoe Murphy, an up-and-coming designer who has received a lot of attention for her brightly coloured Margate-inspired collection (below).
She makes all of her pieces from recycled furniture and fabrics.
'I base all of my work on the "love what belongs to you" concept and try to make people look again at the things they own,' she says.
Other designers getting in on the act include Rupert Blanchard - whose eight-piece collection of one-off cabinets made from old drawers and shuttering is on show at the Elemental shop in London's Spitalfields Market until the end of October - and Lou Rota, who customises unwanted china and furniture using decoupage, transfers and old newspaper.
'I always feel there's so much stuff out there that there's no need to make more,' Rota says. 'If you take the time you can make anything look wonderful.

Read more about her by clicking the following link

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-1220687/Waste-want-Customising-recycled-furniture-beautiful-way-help-environment.html


 

DownSizing The Furniture

Downsizing The Furniture

As we get older, we might experience our children leaving the family home and begin to settle down with their loved ones creating their own family space. It’s then we realise the ‘old family’ home is just a bit too large for our uses. Moving into smaller accommodation can impose it’s own set of problems – such as, will all your furniture fit into a smaller house and what to do with all the family heirlooms, trinkets and ornaments that you’ve lovingly gathered throughout the years. This can often be a distressing time as you have to figure out what to keep and what to place into the charity shop or even the bin.

There is another way to keep and show off your prized possessions. Maximise your space by using perfectly constructed display cabinets. Contemporary furniture have some of the best display cabinets ensuring that ALL your possessions can be properly seen.

Oak Furniture

Oak Furniture the Perfect Focal Point

When it comes to choosing contemporary furniture for your home or office, many residents are starting to realise the true beauty of Solid Oak Furniture. As well as it’s natural texture and tone, oak furniture will give it’s owners many years of pleasure, which is why solid oak is now one of the most popular materials people choose when it comes to redecorating their homes.

One of the reasons people choose oak furniture is due to the way the grain runs through the wood, giving each piece a unique finish thus making each design special. That alone is why oak furniture has the ability to turn an ordinary room into something warm, inviting and special. People that purchase oak furniture understandably want it to be the focal point in their new room.
If you’re looking to turn your living room, dinning room, bedroom or even home office into somewhere special then have a look through our online catalogue, we’re bound to have that special piece you desire at a cost you can afford.

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