Caring For Your Custom Wood Furniture

A Piece of Functional Art

When you buy a piece of custom wood furniture, you aren’t just purchasing another piece of furniture; you are investing in a piece of functional art for your home. This isn’t just a buy it because “well, it fits” purchase to fill a space. It is a process, planning and searching until you find or help design exactly what you want. You are investing in a piece that fulfills your needs but also makes a statement and looks good while doing it. This piece is perfect in every way possible. 
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But now…

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You are afraid to put that flower vase on it or set up your computer workstation or put your tchotchkes in it because what if they somehow cause damage. You didn’t spend all that money to have water rings or scratches ruin your investment. 

So what do you do now? Put up caution tape to deter people from getting too close? Psychotically follow guests around with coasters? Hermetically seal it away? Thankfully, you don’t have to go to such extremes to keep your fine custom wood furniture looking like new.
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Using the Proper Finish

Part of the battle of keeping your functional furniture art like new is making sure that it is finished properly. I cannot stress enough the importance of using the correct kind of finish. In my case, for roughly 90% of my work, I use an oil varnish blend. I use this oil varnish blend on all of my designs and even in my own home. I use this finish for a variety of reasons:

1. Durability. I use this finish on everything from the pieces of furniture I design to kitchen cabinets to stairs and floors. Yes, stairs. This finish is durable enough to withstand foot traffic. The best part is that it offers this level of protection without making furniture look like it has a heavy plastic film over it. They say that the proof is in the pudding, so here is my proof. When we redid our interiors, I used it to finish my stairs, which as you can see, still look beautiful 8 years later after much wear and tear from my family of 4 plus two rambunctious dogs. 
2. Color Rendering. Because it is an oil-based finish, it does a brilliant job of bringing out a wood’s natural color, texture, and figure. No staining required. This finish simply lets all the natural beauty of the wood shine through. 
3. Maintenance Free. (Well, as close as you can get to maintenance free.) Barring having a sticky-fingered little one accidentally sticky your furniture, all this finish requires is dusting. Even if you do get sticky fingers on this finish, this oil varnish is resistant to stains, heat, spills, chemicals, and yes, sticky-fingered little ones. If you do get residue on  your piece, a damp rag is typically all that is needed. If your piece is in the kitchen using a small amount of dish soap to remove oil and cooking residue is perfectly safe. Just never use an abrasive pad or harsh cleaner of any kind as this will cause scratching. You can of course apply a wax or polish to it to provide some temporary luster, but neither are required.
4. Repairable. If damage does happen, say your computer gets something under it and causes a scratch, this finish is also easy to repair. All it takes is a little cleaning, some light sanding, then the reapplication of the top coat.  

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Proper Wood Furniture Care

I just said that with the finish I use, keeping your furniture looking like new is pretty much maintenance free, and that is true. There are also a few things to take into consideration when bringing fine wood furnishings into your home:

1. Wood is a natural resource, and as such it is constantly on the move. Not that you are going to suddenly wake up one morning with your dining table in your living room. No, I simply mean that it constantly absorbs and releases moisture throughout the year depending on its surroundings. This absorption and release results in the wood expanding and contracting. (Something that I take into consideration whenever I build furniture, but more on that in a future blog.) That being said, you should avoid placing your wood furniture too close to excessive heat sources such as over heating vents or right next to fireplaces as it has the potential to leech moisture from the wood and cause cracks and gaps. Another potential source of damage is intense direct sunlight. UV exposure can cause wood to fade, darken, or change color. It’s important to remember that heat, regardless of the source, can also damage certain finishes, so it is best to avoid these situations when possible. 
2. Speaking of heat and moisture, there are some finishes that are more prone to having side effects from these two things. This is especially true of evaporative type finishes such as shellac and lacquer. Always make sure to use coasters and trivets when placing glasses and hot dishes on your furnishings. All it takes is one hot serving dish or a very sweaty water glass (see image to the right) to leave a dreaded sweat ring or heat damage on your wood furnishings.
3. Lastly, keep up your regularly scheduled dusting routine. Dust can mix with oils from cooking or even just our skin to create a sticky coat that takes more to remove than just plain old dust. So, keeping on top of your dusting is the surest way to keep your fine wood furnishings looking like they did the day you bought them. 

See you next time in the shop!

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