Purchasing a new house is a hefty investment. But what’s not written on your PSF price list that most people often overlook is that even after you move it, you’ll have to purchase furniture and what nots, which all in all would still sum up to be another huge sum.
Even the cheapest furniture these days can cost an average Singaporean half a month’s worth of salary. Learn how to maximise the life span of your furniture at home through this 6 simple tips.
1. Use Furniture Covers
The simplest and most straight forward way of protecting your furniture is to simply use a furniture cover when you are not using it. This would help protect your furniture from natural elements. The theory is simple, the more you put the cover on, the longer your furniture would last. This could mean even putting a layer or just a towel over your sofa before you head out to work everyday. However, due to the sheer inconvenience of this, many Singaporeans either get too busy or stop doing so over time.
2. Use Varnish for Wooden Furniture
Wooden furniture are timeless and classy. However, due to the nature of wood by itself, it is also one of the most easily damaged. Apply a coat of Varnish on top of your wooden furniture especially if you are placing them on your patio or outdoors to protect them from the temperamental Singapore weather. If you are placing them outdoors, you can also opt to use water sealers. The good thing about water sealers is that on top of providing an extra layer on the outside, it also helps damp wood within the sealant to dry up much faster and in turn helps to prevent rotting etc.
3. Avoid Sunlight
This is by far the most common mistake that Singaporeans overlook. Perhaps most of us are unaware, but Sunlight is in fact one of the biggest cause of Furniture wear and tear. Most of us prefer a lighted home, so we leave our windows and balcony doors open. Over time, this will result in fading & de-coloration in fabrics and peeling, cracking and fading in leather based materials.
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3.1 Use Curtains & Blinds
The most effective method to protect your furniture from sunlight is to install curtains/blinds and use them regularly. Thick materials such as night curtains/blackout curtains will block out sun rays from ever entering your room and in turn protecting your furniture. Closing your curtains and blinds before you head to work would also be a much easier alternative than having to constantly put on and take down furniture covers on a daily basis. Read about the types of Blinds in Singapore that we provide. -
3.2 Use Solar Films on your Windows
The fact of the matter is that when we are home, we do still need some light coming in and can’t have our curtains permanently close. So as a first layer of defence, your windows should also minimally be fitted with Solar Films. Read more about Window Films. -
3.3 Consider Day Curtains
If Window Films are not your thing and you prefer to have a clear view outside your window, you can consider installing Day Curtains instead.In the past, you could only either allow natural light in but ruin your furniture or close your curtains and protect your furniture, but spend a lot more on electricity. You no longer have to choose one or the other with Day Curtains.
Day Curtains not only helps you protect your privacy when you are at home, but also reduces the amount of heat whilst still allowing a fraction of natural light in. A win-win. The Curtain Boutique is a leading Singapore Curtains & Blinds supplier. Read more about Day Curtains.
4. Use Carpet
A huge part of home furniture comes from our flooring (also one of the most expensive parts). To protect your expensive flooring, make use of the relatively cheaper option of carpets. Even though wood laminated floorings do help in slowing down the effect of UV rays, Carpets would still be a much better and cost efficient option to do the same job but at a cheaper price. Carpets can also help to protect your flooring when you inevitably have to shift your stuff around.
5. Choosing the Right Paint
Choose the right paint for the right job and it will help to extend your furniture’s lifespan. Much like the rationale of choosing better curtains & blinds, it’s often cheaper and more economical in the long run to pay more at the start than having to re-do the whole process multiple times. For example, choose anti-mould/mildew resistant paints for your walls to prevent long term damage on your walls. Or you can also use wood paints to paint over your wooden furniture to protect the wooden surface but still retain the natural grain of the wood.
6. Prevent Contact with Rain
Aside from the Sun, another element that your furniture should not come in contact with is Rain. For leather materials, Raindrops would leave ugly water marks, fade the dye and stretch the leather out. Oil gets stripped from the leather and it will be more prone to cracking/peeling etc.
For Wooden Materials, the water and moisture from the rain acts as a catalyst and increases the rate of rotting and decreases it’s strength. This is especially prominent in outdoor furniture or furniture you put on your patio.
Prevent rain water from coming in contact with your furniture through the use of outdoor roller blinds. These outdoor roller blinds can be drawn down whenever it rains to protect your expensive chairs/stools/sofas etc. Read more about Outdoor Roller Blinds.
Other Articles you might be interested in:
- 5 ways to reduce Heat & Save Electricity at Home
- 7 Simple tips to Sound Proof Your Room
- 5 things to ask your Supplier Before buying Curtains for your home