Storage, Functionality & Your Home

Household storage is something that can often be overlooked until you become aware of your need for more.  It can take so much more than plastic bins to keep your holiday decorations or excess items safe and organized in the basement.  Home storage can incorporate the very furniture you will come to use every day. The same furniture can also become a defining design factor in your home.  But what could be just as, if not more, important than great style?  How about great functionality for those time consuming spaces in your home: the office, the bedroom, and your living/family room.

The Office

If the only thing in your office is a desk and a closet, you may be missing out on a lot of organizational opportunities.  Adding a bookcase to lean against the wall fills out the room and makes for a great way to display your collection while still keeping it neat.  This is not to mention the convenience a roll-around cabinet such as the File Caddy byAmerican Drew can do for your filing needs.  If you are looking for even more filing space, you may want to check out the Rhapsody Lateral File by Hooker.

The Bedroom

Dressers are the obvious go-to for bedroom storage, but they may not always eliminate your storage needs.  Hutches can make great additions and can sometimes even be implemented right onto an existing dresser.  Nightstands like the Studio 7H Encase Nightstand by Hooker are also something not everyone thinks is necessary but can be a major improvement.  Especially if you find yourself getting out of bed often to retrieve items you could just be keeping in the drawer next to you such as your current novel of interest.

The Living Room

Whether you use your living room to display your hobbies or as a family gathering ground, ample storage space is essential for this area.  If style & display is your thing, you may want something like the Side Chair Curio by Butler.  Its two-shelve setup is perfect for storage while its windowed side panels allow your guests to see whatever collection you choose to store inside.  Then, unless a couch set up with an ottoman in front is your style, a cocktail table such as the Clock Cocktail Table is a great way to ensure you always have a place to set your beverages down.

While this obviously isn’t everything you could fill these spaces with, everything mentioned can bring a great amount of functionality to your home.  See all of these and more by visiting Spector Furniture in Ansonia, CT and seeing how many options there really are in our showrooms.  Whether you are from Shelton, Waterbury, or any part of Fairfield, CT, we are just a short drive away!

How to Clean and Protect Your Upholstered Furniture

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e all want to keep our furniture looking new and beautiful for as long as possible.  There are ways to do this that don’t involve plastic covers or making the new sofa, loveseat, or chair off limits to the kids.  No matter how careful we are, there are going to be accidents and a little knowledge can help to make sure that a spill is a minor incident, rather than a major catastrophe.

 

First, learn a little bit about your fabric.  When you purchase your furniture, ask the sales person about it.  Upholstery fabrics have cleaning codes and those codes will help you to know the best way to clean your furniture.  No one code is better or more desirable than the others; they just tell us the best way to preserve the appearance of the fabric.  The four codes are: W, S, WS, and X.

Always make sure to spot test in a small unseen area before cleaning!

The W code stands for water cleanable.  Use a soft white cloth that is lint free and a solution of water with a mild, dye free detergent such as ivory dish washing detergent.  Many ready made cleaners, such as resolve are also water based…just make sure to check that it is water based before using.  Dampen the cloth and squeeze out any excess water.  Gently rub the stained area until the stain is removed.  If you place a fan near the area you can speed up the drying process.

The S code stands for solvent cleanable.  Water based products should not be used on S code fabrics!  Instead, use a gentle dry cleaning product that is approved for fabrics.  Guardsman solvent based cleaner is a good choice.  Once again, use a white, lint free cloth.  Dampen the cloth with the cleaner and rub the stain in a circular motion.  For large stains keep changing to a clean area of your cloth.  You should make sure to use solvent based cleaners in a well ventilated area.

The WS code is exactly what you would guess….either water or solvent based cleaners will work for this fabric using the methods described above.

 

The X code stands for vacuum only.  Clean these fabrics only by lightly brushing or vacuuming the avoid buildup of dirt and dust.  Water or solvent based cleaners of any kind could cause staining, distortion of the pile, or shrinking of the fabric.

 

A good way to prevent spills from becoming a problem is to have your new upholstered furniture treated with fabric protection, such as Guardsman Fabricoate spray.  This protection is available in a “do it yourself” spray can, or can be professionally sprayed on before delivery.  Pre-delivery professional spraying of our Guardsman product includes a 5 year warranty against many kind of spills, stains, and even rips and tears.

 
Whatever upholstered furniture you have, if you give it a little care at the right times, it is sure to stay looking clean and new for years to come!

What is your Focal Point?

 

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here does your eye go when you enter your room?  One of the best ways to turn an ordinary room into something special is to create a focal point.  There are many different things that can be done to draw people’s eyes to a certain spot in a room.  Where you make your focal point depends upon the shape and size of the room itself, what it is that you want to showcase, and your own creativity and personality.    

It can be a bedroom, kitchen, living room, family room, dining room, or some other room in your house.  No matter what the room, start by standing at the entrance.  Look around at the natural flow of the room.  What catches your eye?  Is this the first thing you want people to see when they walk in the room?  If not, the fix may be as simple as hanging a large, framed mirror over a sofa, or putting down an area rug that is vibrantly colored or in an interesting shape. 

A wall painted a different color than the others in the room, or a painting hung over a fireplace can go far in helping create your focal point. You can even try rearranging the furniture to make things pop.  If you have a bigger budget, you can even use track lighting over an area that you want to highlight, or buy a new sofa, chair, coffee table, or ottoman to bring a certain area into focus.

Is there an item in the room that isn’t getting as much attention as you would like it to?  Try placing it in different areas of the room to create the eye catching look that it deserves. Experiment with throw pillows, blankets and other accessories to make it more noticeable.  Take your time to move things around in the room until the first thing you see when you walk in is what you WANT people to see.