What Furniture Materials Should You Use for Your Home?
Your personal style and preferences will play a major role in the type of furniture you select for your home, but there are also other factors to consider. The size of your home, your household members, your lifestyle, and even your climate can have an effect on the use and longevity of your furniture. Before making selections, you should decide on the furniture materials that will be best for you.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity because of the industrial decorating style. But in fact, stainless steel offers a sleek, classic look that blends with any décor, and better yet, it has practical benefits. Strong and sturdy, stainless steel can be used for furniture ranging from beds to dining sets.
Stainless steel is easy to clean and virtually maintenance-free. It’s also surprisingly environmentally friendly. Since it lasts for decades, it won’t be used for a few years and discarded like some materials. Moreover, it’s completely recyclable. Disadvantages may be its weight and the possibility it might scratch or dent certain floors.
Wicker
Wicker furniture is a common choice for outdoor furniture, but it can also be used indoors for benches, chairs, headboards, and tables. It’s available in many colors and finishes and goes well with any decorating style. You can use wicker furniture as an accent piece or make it the centerpiece of a room. It’s lightweight, durable, and easy to care for with a vacuum and damp rag.
Wicker can be either natural or synthetic. Most high-quality wicker furniture is built around an aluminum frame for strength and durability. Synthetic wicker is best for outdoors, as natural wicker can fade in the sun or become worn due to weather changes. Wicker may not be a good choice if you have dogs or cats that like to scratch or chew.
Plastic
High-quality plastics or resins are often used for outdoor furniture because they’re essentially weatherproof. But indoor furniture can also be made of plastic, in whole or in part. Dining chairs and accent chairs made of plastic are a key feature of the mid-century modern look, but plastic can take on any color or style. Plastic is particularly popular for children’s furniture because it’s virtually unbreakable and can be sanitized easily.
Plastic is lightweight, durable, and maintenance-free. Plastic furniture can usually be kept clean with a damp rag, but if the surface is textured or nubby, dirt and grime can build up in the tiny indentations and will need to be scrubbed out with baking soda. On the negative side, plastic can be scratched and dented and shows wear after a time.
Wood
Wood furniture is perfect for a warm, timeless look, whether it’s used in the bedroom, dining room, or living room. With so many types of wood and stains available, it’s adaptable to any decorating preference. Wood furniture is strong, durable, and environmentally friendly. When well maintained, quality wood furniture can last for generations.
However, wood furniture must be treated with care and may not be suitable for all families. Wood can be scratched, dented, or stained by liquids. Direct contact with hot items can harm wood furniture. The finish can also fade in direct sunlight.
Glass
Glass is frequently used for tabletops for dining tables, coffee and side tables, and even desktops. It’s an attractive choice for small rooms because its transparency and light reflection creates the illusion of a larger space. Spills wipe up easily, and it resists stains.
However, glass can easily be scratched, and under some circumstances can even shatter. It’s important to avoid placing hot items directly on the glass. Heat-resistant placemats, table runners, and tablecloths are recommended.
Bamboo
Bamboo has recently gained attention as a furniture material because of its sustainability for the environment. Once cut down, bamboo grows back quickly from its roots and replaces itself. It produces a building material that is extremely durable, lightweight, and moisture resistant.
If you’re imagining furniture built from tube-like sticks of bamboo, think again. Bamboo can be processed into planks to be used in any way that wood can be used, including tables, chairs, bedroom suites, and sofa frames. The disadvantages of bamboo include its vulnerability to heat, humidity, and insects.
Marble
Like glass, marble is often used for tabletops. Marble has a classic and sophisticated look that can elevate any décor. Since it’s a natural material, its design is always unique. It’s durable and will last a lifetime, but it does take special care.
As a type of stone, marble is porous and will need to be sealed regularly to help it resist moisture. Even so, it can be stained or scratched with careless use. Hot or cold items should not be placed directly on the surface; always use a coaster, placemat, or other heat-resistant barrier.
Leather
Leather is often used for sofas and chairs because of its durability and stylish look. It’s a flexible material so that your favorite leather chair seems to adapt to fit the shape of your body. Leather does tend to be more expensive than cloth upholstery, but it’s also tough and durable, and well cared for, can last for years. Colors in natural leather tend to be limited to a range of browns, tans, and reddish-browns, although there are some dyed leathers in brighter colors.
Leather resists stains and is easy to clean with a damp rag. Leather may be a great choice for people with pets because, unlike cloth upholstery, it doesn’t collect pet hair or dander. However, cats can scratch leather as they do with any fabric.
With so many choices of furniture, you might be stumped about what to choose for your home. However, the selection becomes easier when you learn about the characteristics of the various kinds of materials used to make furniture. Many people will end up using a combination of furniture materials, depending on what room they are furnishing and how frequently the furniture will be used.
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Features That Will Help Your Living Room Stand Out
While the main purpose of your living room is, as the name implies, to live and relax in, it can also become a statement within your home. Adding simple touches can elevate your living room for pictures or create an impact for guests. There are many ways you can add creative flair to make your living room stand out.
Mirrors
Decorating with mirrors can make your living room stand out in a variety of ways. Mirrors reflect light and create an illusion of depth. Both of which greatly impact your space. As you decorate with mirrors, be very thoughtful of placement. First of all, you should consider what your mirror will be reflecting. You want to make sure it will be something pleasing such as an art piece or even a lovely view. Hanging mirrors across from windows is a great way to increase the light within your space. It can also be fun to experiment with different sizes and styles of mirrors.
Area Rugs
Using area rugs in your living room can be very helpful for defining a space. You can use an area rug to designate a certain area of the room, but rugs can also have a major impact on the style of the room. You can use area rugs to add some variety by combining different sizes and styles. Rugs can also add cohesion and harmony to your room by creating a focal point and grounding the space. Aside from addressing the style of the room, area rugs can also work to highlight other elements of your living room. You can accentuate your furniture by placing an area rug underneath them.
Feature Walls
A feature wall, or accent wall as their often called, is a great way to highlight your living room and add a point of interest. It can also be quite inexpensive to add a feature wall to your space. The fun of an accent wall is that you have many options to consider. You can use paint, wallpaper, tile, wood, and more to highlight the wall. Just make sure you create a clear plan for your wall and do some research on how to best create an accent wall.
Your living room is often to the center of your home. You want it to be a pleasant and inviting place to be. The way you decorate can allow you to create a space that will stand out in-person and in photographs.
Read this next: 3 Luxury Items You Should Add to Your Home to Live in Style
3 Luxury Items You Should Add to Your Home to Live in Style
Photograph by Matt Twyman
Have you been wanting to change up your home during quarantine and are sick of painting rooms or changing light fixtures? If yes, you might want to add something unique to your home. The following three things are luxury items or areas that you can enjoy at your own home.
A Hot Tub
A hot tub is a great way for your family to have more quality time while relaxing from the stressors of life. While a hot tub is a great way to relax, it is also a good way to relieve pain or entertain friends and family. Pain relief is one of the biggest reasons that people purchase hot tubs, especially for people with chronic pain.
The nice thing about hot tubs is that they are relatively easy to maintain. Depending on the type of hot tub that you get, and the frequency of use, you may need to have it serviced more often. Just remember that you need to replace the filter more regularly if it’s outside.
An Outdoor Kitchen
Adding an outdoor kitchen is one of the best ways to turn your yard into a personal oasis. You can customize it however you’d like with a bar, pizza oven, grill, or any other addition you’d like. If your family is big on making dinners together, having a pizza oven, which can be built or installed, might be a good option for you. Not only can having an outdoor kitchen create an important place for your family to spend time together, but it will increase the value of your home.
A Wine Cellar
Wine cellars are a way to up the value of your home and create a luxurious space to store your drinks of choice. Wine cellars can be customized in many ways with the types of racks you use, location, cooling, or lighting. You can create a separate room, or a hidden room if you’d like, or even use a wine cabinet or closet for storage instead. Whatever you choose, make sure to have proper cooling and ventilation in the area to keep your wine at an ideal temperature and humidity.
Whatever luxury item you choose for your home, make sure that it fits with your family’s wants and needs. Whether your family wants a more entertaining space or a place to relax, there are many things that you can add to live in style.
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