Top Furniture Tips

For me, the most important bedroom furniture decor is the headboard, and choosing the right one makes it the focal point of the room in furniture placement. The center of the eye attention will be on that piece of furniture.

 

 

In My 6 Rules of Thumb for Furniture Placement I have explained the need for a focal point in any room to optimize the proper arrangement of the furniture.

 

 

In a room  with the furniture and some other accessories arranged around a focal point, you will feel more comfortable to rest; it will become much more inviting to you and your guests.

 

Headboards originally came from the ideas of the Romans and Greeks. They found out that it feels comfortable to eat, drink, and read when placing additional raised board at the head of a bed.

 

 

There are many styles and options you can do to make almost any materials into a headboard. The choice is up to you. You can do whatever you like if you think it will  set the tone of your room and will define its ambiance.

 

 

My personal choice of headboards with regards to material are wood and upholstered because aside from being important in bedroom design I also consider their effect on my sleep at night.

 

 

Feng Shui is another reason for my choice of headboard materials. According to experts of this ancient  Chinese practice, wood together with upholstery make a very good combination of solidness and gentleness  thereby focusing the positive energy flow called “chi”.

 

 

In my previous post Feng Shui in Furniture Placement Brings Good Luck you will know how to properly set up your furniture in accordance to the principles of feng shui.

 

 

Here are some headboard ideas to inspire you:

 

 

Wooden Headboards

 

 

 

This beautifully hand carved wooden headboard is from a rosewood tree. It consists of a four panel which fits perfectly on a king size bed.

 

 

This type of wooden headboard is usually structured connected to the bed frame accompanied with a foot board.

 

 

 

 

Simple and plain with no ornate designs. The  headboard is made from pine in a lacquered oak finish and and comes with strut support legs which are stained to the same color as the headboard. The shape is somewhat of a Cleveland style.

 

 

Upholstered Headboards

 

 

 

 

Some fabric designs of headboards are typical from textiles in  Mexico, India and South America. The one above is a hand made by Otomi Indians of central Mexico. It is also called Guadalajaran fabric over at my favorite blog Design Sponge.

 

 

 

This Chartreuse tufted headboard from Neiman Marcus usually cost $1,700 – $1,930. It is built on a maple frame that’s been covered in tufted, chartreuse suede.

 

 

Headboard Shapes and Patterns

 

If you plan on making a DIY wooden headboard I would like to share with you some shapes that I had found on the Net:

 

 

Here is a video on how to assemble an upholstered headboard from Heady Bed:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is great about curio cabinets is that they make your precious collections organized in a fashionable way and leave a long-lasting impression to your guests. Curios make your room beautiful with less clutter. They also protect your collections from dusts, and safe from pets and children.

 

Curio cabinets are called as such because of the favorite objects, mementos and sometimes odd things displayed on the furniture to showcase to friends and families. It may be priceless heirlooms from past generation relatives, photos of your children when they were babies, or a collection of dinner wares.

 

 

 

Others would even dare to display a collection of really weird items like shrunken heads from the Amazons of Peru and Ecuador or facemasks from Africa.

 

 

Perhaps your son is an excellent chess player who had won several trophies from tournaments and you’d want to put them on view for your visitors to see when they go to your house. Console curios are the perfect furniture for that. You can use curio cabinets for almost anything you want to display.

 

 

But how do you choose the curio cabinet that fits the kind of collections you want to be displayed? There are several types of curios: corner and console curio cabinets, wall mounted curios, open curios, etc. The styles can either be traditional or contemporary.

 

 

Here are some questions you should ask yourself first before looking for a curio cabinet:

 

 

What Will You Put In It

 

 

The size and shape of the items you will put on display will initially determine the type of curio cabinet you will buy. If you plan to display tall musical instruments like a saxophone for example, you should look for a tall traditional curio. Its door should be fitted with glass to make room for the instrument and to keep dust and grime out.

 

 

 

 

If you have a collection of glass wares, dinner wares or other porcelain products, you may want to show them in your kitchen or living room. China cabinets are very similar to curios but they are most often used for fine china dish sets. They also keep away dust and pests from your dinner wares.

 

 

Where Will You Place the Curio

 

 

 

Another question to ask yourself is where you will position the curio. Will you put it in a spot with plenty of light, or in a dark corner of your house? If you decide to place it in a dark spot you must choose a cabinet with an interior light that will illuminate your display.

 

Sometimes there may not be a large space in your room but you think you really need a curio cabinet. The solution is a corner curio. This furniture is perfect for small rooms while maximizing the display space. It is triangular in shape with five sides to fit into a room’s corner.

 

 

 

 

How Big Is the Space for Your Curio

 

 

Determine the size of the room where you will place the curio cabinet. If the space is wide and high you may opt for a traditional curio with dimensions of about 44” wide x 17”depth x 76” height.

 

 

For a narrow space, get a contemporary curio with 24”w x 12”d x 76”h. The suggested measurement is for practical urban living.

 

 

A console curio with measurements of 56”w x 13d x 30h is best for a family room.

 

 

If you want to use the space in a corner of your room you can opt to buy a corner curio that measures 28”w x16”d x 72”h.

 

 

Do You Want to Match the Curio with the Other Furniture

 

 

 

Maybe you feel you have to consider the look and color of the curio to complement it with your other furniture. If the theme of your room is traditional, then pick one that has a grand old-fashioned design with beveled, hand carved details with a dark finish.

 

 

For a contemporary or modern room choose a curio cabinet with clean lines and lighter wood finish with lots of mirror and glass.

 

 

What Type of Wood Appeals to You

 

 

Different people have different tastes. It also goes true with the kind of wood or non-wood that appeals to a person in choosing the material for his curio cabinet. If it doesn’t matter to you whether your curio is made of MDF or engineered wood I suggest you buy one made of strengthened particle board topped with veneer.

 

However, a curio cabinet made of solid wood will make a good investment. Hardwoods such as oak or maple are the most suitable. Curios made of these types of wood can only gain character and charm as they age.

 

 

 

 

 

Some people would like to refinish their own furniture because they can give it their own personal flair and thus have a sense of accomplishment. Besides, DIY refinishing furniture can also save you a good sum of money on your pocket. So if you can do it yourself and you think you are good at it why hire other people? There is a segment of furniture refinishing however that does not bode well for others to do.

 

 

I would like to share a furniture tip to those who hate the part of sanding their wood furniture before putting on paint or whatever finish they would like. I don’t blame them for hating sanding. I also have my own reason for avoiding sanding as much as possible ─ I get skin irritation after doing it. But for me, any painting job will not be professionally done without the preparatory sanding.

 

 

 

 

Furniture refinishing as a whole is a messy job and the sanding part is truly an untidy one. There is a way though to greatly reduce this hassle of work, but you will still have to do some sanding. This type of solution will speed up the stripping of the old paint, lessen the time of using sandpaper and enhance the preparatory work of refinishing. So you will still have to do some sanding- I’ll tell you later why.

 

 

Using Liquid sandpaper

 

 

Liquid sandpaper helps in stripping the stubborn paint which otherwise cannot be quickly removed by sanding. Also called deglosser or liquid deglosser, it is a chemical solution that removes the glossy layer off your wooden furniture. They are mostly used in high gloss paint.

 

 

Even if they are called liquid sandpaper they do not actually perform any sanding. You must first thoroughly clean the surface of the  wood furniture and let it dry before applying the deglosser. What it does is soften up the layers of paint by rubbing in the chemical compound over the painted surface you want to degloss. After having set some time you can then wipe off the solution on the surface with a clean drop cloth.

 

 

Drawbacks and Benefits of Deglosser

 

 

One drawback of liquid deglossers is that they remove the existing paint on a surface roughly and unevenly. It is not like the conventional method of sanding which leaves a smooth, regular surface. On the other side liquid sandpaper does not leave dust behind like what sanding does, which would require extra cleaning.

 

 

Liquid sandpapers also cannot level out bumps or other imperfections. However, liquid deglossers are efficient when it comes to removing paint and other type of finish on carved surfaces with intricate designs and on grooves that can be hard to reach with sanding paper. For this reasons I consider deglossers or liquid sandpapers as complementary to sanding.

 

 

Dangers and Safety tips

 

 

Exercise extreme caution when applying deglosser. Skin contact is dangerous because it contains toxic chemicals. If it gets in your eyes it may cause blindness. Always wear a glove, masks and goggle as protection, and work in a well ventilated place.

 

Naptha and toluene are solvents of liquid sandpaper which are flammable. It is best to keep the compound away from open flame and materials and that may cause it to ignite. Also, do not place deglosser in near proximity to electric equipments.

 

 

The leftover from using the liquid sandpaper would already be classified as hazardous waste and therefore should not be emptied in a drain or dispose of the can by throwing it in bin where the small children could reach. Be sure to follow regulations in your area for the proper disposal of the waste.

 

 

Below is a very good how-to video on refinishing a cabinet by Rust Oleum 258240 Cabinet Transformations Cabinet Coating Kit
. Pay attention to the segment on applying the deglosser.

 

Other interesting posts:

Spray Painting Tips for Your Wood Furniture

The Secret to Spray Painting Without Sanding

How to Remove Shellac or Lacquer Finish on Wood





This furniture tip is  for people looking for a way to eliminate  the extra preparatory work in painting their furniture; who think they can save time and cost by not sanding their wood furniture.

 

 

The usual procedure in preparing wood furniture for painting includes sanding the surface in order for the paint to adhere properly. However, some people do not have time for sanding or they just simply hate the part of the job. There is a way of skipping it though. But it does not mean that you should neglect sanding your piece every time you do some painting job.

 

 

 

Sanding the wood furniture before coating with paint is what makes the difference between work that looks great and something that has been done hastily. I had already mentioned this necessity  in my earlier post Spray Painting Tips for  Your Wood Furniture 

 

 

Bonding primer eliminates the need for added surface preparation such as sanding. Intended for use on glossy surfaces, bonding primer can be used not only on metal or plastic but on wood furniture as well. Other than applying by spray painting, bonding primer can also be brushed-on on any glossy surface.

 

If you are refinishing or putting on a new coat over the old finish you must first clean the surface of contaminants such as wax, polish, grease or oil. You can use  an abrasive detergent or just plain soap and water. After all is cleaned and dried you can then go ahead to applying the primer

 

 

The purpose of bonding primer is to seal the surface of pores in wood as well as to block wood tannin bleed, ink, grease and other stains. But their most important job is to ready the surface for the painting by creating a uniform surface.

 

Several paint manufacturers sell different types of bonding primers according  to the project requirements. STIX Bonding Primer is a waterborne urethane  acrylic that strongly bonds to hard, glossy paints and other challenging substrates aside from wood. It levels to a smooth film to dramatically improve the top coat appearance.

 

Here is a video which shows tips on how to spray primers and paints. It also gives solution on common spray problems.