Caring for your sofa

Sofas are one of the most frequently used pieces of home furniture and with prolonged use it is inevitable that the fabric upholstery will start to show signs of wear and tear. Though this doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy many years of service from your sofa, you just need to take care of it.

Before going on to how to care for the fabric and sofa its self a couple of major things to avoid are 1: try and keep the sofa out of areas that will receive prolonged exposure to sunlight as much as you can 2: If you have pets, especially cats then you will need to be very vigilant about what they do with their teeth and claws.

If you have a fabric sofa

Accidents are bound to happen and for the best possible clean nothing will beat a professional service. But if it’s only a small spill, tackling it yourself shouldn’t be too taxing. Firstly you must resist the temptation to rub the stain, this will only drive it deeper into the padding, instead wipe the sofa with a damp cloth (not a wet one) and then wipe with a soft dry cloth straight away.

Vacuuming or brushing the fabric weekly will help remove dirt which can add to colour fading and general wear and tear. Also do your best to keep the sofa away from sources of heat and light to further minimise fading.

Ever wanted to know the history of Lloyd Loom furniture – Find out here

If you have a leather sofa

Fairly impossible to avoid to a degree but do your best not to spill anything on the leather but if the inevitable does happen treat just like the fabric sofa; wipe the sofa with a damp cloth (not a wet one) and then wipe with a soft dry cloth straight away. Never use any solvent based cleaners and try and keep sharp objects or anything that could cause a cut or scuff away from the sofa as it could prove to be very hard to rectify.

If vacuuming, vacuum cracks and crevices gently.

What about the cushions

Remove all the cushions that you are able to, hold from the opposite side and then give them a good squeeze to give them a reshape. If you cushions are the same material either side then rotate them to spread the ware evenly over time. You should aim to repeat this process around once a month for foam cushions but for feather filled cushions try to do it weekly.

If you would like any more advice or information, then please give us a call on 0115 9258347 or email us at info@kingsinteriors.com where a member of staff will be only happy to assist.

The New Trends in Carpets

When decorating your home, one the essential things to consider is the carpet. Matching up the carpet seamlessly with your sofa, chairs and walls can always be a hard thing to decide on. This blog will help you through the latest trends and hand out some tips and tricks to picking the right carpet for your home.

The new direction in the newer carpets is towards layered colours and soft textures. The combination between the two will always be popular because it minimizes soil and vacuum marks. Alongside this, the other advantage is the colour and texture offer more distinctive styling and fashion appeal than others.

When the choices of carpet are limited to basic beiges, designers look at the situation more as a blank canvas to build on when really the carpet should be the focal point of your room. With the vast amount of styles, textures, colours and themes, it is becoming more and more popular amongst interior designers to go away from boring beige.

Just to point out, the need for neutral carpets hasn’t gone away; it’s still a very popular choice. Unlike the plain hand woven carpets of the 1990s, today’s versions have a lot more textures and patterns. The variation in sculptured effects and height offers a bolder look and which offers a lot more to the room.

The trend with neutral carpets colours is to either have more texture, more patterns, and even flecks of colour that add some interest to any basic background. Colour sprinkled against a neutral background adds that dynamic of dimension whilst helping mask spots and spills. You will also see his technique used with the “new neutrals” which include: soft greens, pale yellows and the lighter shades of blue.

At Kings Interiors we have a vast amount of patterned, textured, versatile and neutral carpets for you to choose from. Hopefully this brief little insight into what you can do with the latest trends of carpet has inspired you to get your decorating fingers out before the Christmas period.