Archive for January 2012
Leather and Hardwood Care
Leather and real hardwood need a lot more maintenance than you might think. Even when they are used carefully, there is a certain level of conditioning that needs to occur.
Basic care starts with protection from destructive elements. By “destructive elements” I mean kids and pets. Have you ever looked at a set of bunk beds? They are usually pretty well covered in gouges. Kids don’t learn about taking care of furniture for many years. Some never do. Dogs are all too happy to chew on leather and not only will that ruin your furniture but it will hurt your dog as well. Leather is treated with nasty chemicals that give it the beautiful look we all love. I have an old chest that I spent a lot of time restoring because the wood was chewed up and scratched by a dog. I got it for a steal but I bet the original owners were none too pleased. Cats…. I don’t even want to talk about them.
I like leather and hardwood for just about every piece of furniture I own. Maybe not “every” piece. I’m sure not going to be looking for a set of kid’s bunk beds in leather any time soon and anyone who makes them should stop right now. Before I got any furniture made from these materials I did a lot of research and I learned all about treatment, oiling and conditioning. Get yourself some mink oil and a very light conditioning mixture. You don’t need to polish our leather furniture like you would a pair of shoes but the leather still need to be kept supple. Any leather cream conditioner should work well. Avoid anything with dyes or colors in it.
For wood you need to get some proper oil. You can use the standby of Olde English but there are a lot of other options out there. This is an area where you are going to want to consider toxicity. If you have a table you plan to eat off of you may want to stick to natural, essential oils to avoid food contamination. This goes for any hardwood bunk beds as well. I know what I said about bunk beds but there are some really pretty hardwood frames out there and if your kid decides to lick or bite the frame you don’t want them getting sick. Don’t ask why a kid would do that. I don’t know. They’re kids. They do weird things.