Whether you are choosing ready made patio chair cushions or creating your own, it is important to make sure that the fabric you choose is right for the job. Don’t be tempted simply by the look and feel of the fabric. It’s more important to get the right material for the job. For instance, choosing a luxury fabric like chenille would be marvellous for your bedroom furniture but a disaster for outdoor furniture. The key to choosing furniture for outdoor cushions is to make sure that it is weather resistant.

Buy weather resistant, I mean make sure that your fabric can stay out of hours in the sun and withstand a range of temperatures without bleaching, fading or falling to pieces quickly. So choose rain resistant fabrics that are tough and hard wearing. If you prefer softer fabrics, a throw or towelling can always be used to make it more comfortable for you.

For outdoor cushions, the more resistance to water and mildew, the better. Cushion fillings should be 100% waterproof and wrapped in a polypropylene cover. This is essential. For the outer casing, different smart fabrics, designed especially for the outdoors exist. Look for Outdura, Robert Allen and Sunbrela brands of fabric if you are looking for the latest in patio chair cushion fabric design.

A simpler option is canvas. Used for generations by fishermen, canvas is the original tough fabric. Once made from hemp but now mainly made with cotton, it is easy to obtain and a very versatile fabric. It can be waterproofed, dyed and hand painted. If you are want to create something really original, why not dye or paint your own designs to enhance your patio furniture? If you prefer to buy it pre-treated, canvas is available dye and printed.

Duck cloth is a variety of canvas with a tighter weave and therefore even more effective anti weathering properties. Like canvas, it can be bought plain for dyeing or with prints and colours already applied. Being of a higher quality, it is more expensive than canvas. I think that it is worth it for a durable, stylish look that won’t fade.

If you want the highest water resistance you can buy fabrics often used for awnings and hammocks. This material is called Textilene and is available from hardware stores. Textilene is made from strands of polyester woven together. These strands have PVC coating which makes them ultra waterproof. By using s synthetic fabric woven and waterproofed in this way, it is possible to have lightweight, and tough material at the same time.

These are some of the choices available to you for patio chair cushions. Other fabrics are also available, but these are the best.

The best patio cushions are always manufactured with high grade resistance fabrics designed to keep from weathering. Compared with normal indoor cushions, such as you’d find on your living room or bedroom furniture, patio chairs cushion are much harder wearing. Where the average fabric for indoor use would be easily ruined, the fabric used on patio furniture stays fresh and bright.

But outdoor cushions are not 100% weatherproof and the harsh elements will eventually take their toll on your fabrics. So to keep your cushions looking fresh and new follow these simple tips.

Protect From The Rain

Although weather resistant your cushions will suffer if left out in a downpour. It is always preferable to protect them when the weather turns bad by brining them inside. If they do get soaked, line dry them thoroughly or make sure that they dry out indoors by placing in an airing cupboard.

Regular Cleaning

A regular surface clean will keep your patio cushions looking like new. If they do fall victim to spillages, mop these up as soon as possible and spot clean with some soap or a commercial cleaner. Any dirt or dampness on a patio cushion will attract mildew and this is easier to void than eliminate.

Keep The Suntan Lotion Away

Suntan oil on the cushion fabric will stain so it is advisable to apply any oils or lotions well away from your patio furniture just in case. If you do get a stain, clean it off immediately because some oils and lotions will stain fabric like a dye and be extremely difficult to remove.

Keep Inside During The Winter Months

Extremes of temperature will stress any fabric, no matter how wearing. One way to protect your outdoor cushions is to bring them indoors during the winter months. Be careful not to just throw them in the garage though. Dampness can invade and before you know it, your patio chair cushions will be smelly and covered in mold and mildew. Make sure that you hang them somewhere as dry as possible. Leave them room so that air can circulate around them to keep mildew away.

Following these simple steps will keep your patio cushions in top condition for much longer.

If you have a set of outdoor cushions for your patio furniture, you should have some fairly hard wearing fabric or synthetic covering for them protect them from moisture and mildew. Even if your outdoor cushions are hard wearing you will need to clean them regularly to avoid staining from bird mess, rain and mildew. There are different types of hard wearing fabric so there are also different ways of cleaning your outdoor patio cushions.

Canvas:

if you can remove the covers canvas can be washed in the machine very well. You may want to soak in laundry bleach or a pre wash to remove any stubborn stains like wine or grass first. This is the most convenient way to clean your outdoor patio cushions so when looking for outdoor cushions it’s worth keeping this in mind before you make your choice. Often removable canvas covers have washing instructions attached so a lot of the work is already done for you. When clean, replace the covers while they are still damp. This will help to stretch them more thoroughly over the cushion pads, bringing them back to their original size.

If you can’t remove your outdoor cushion covers then take a wet scrubbing brush and rub it across a bar of Fels-Naptha soap. Give your canvas a really good scrubbing with this soap, working it into a good thick lather as you go. To remove bird mess, staining and mildew, you will need to work this into the fabric very well.

When your outdoor cushions are nicely lathered up, you can rinse them off and leave to dry completely.

Waterproof and other materials:

When your outdoor cushions have integral covers and are not made of canvas, you need to ensure a deep clean without damaging the fibres. Although canvas can take some rough treatment, other fabrics are not so hardy. To treat these types of outdoor cushions, fill a bottle with a quart water solution of 1 tsp of washing up liquid and 1 tsp of borax.

Rinse the cushions of brush them down to remove excess dust and debris first.

Spray your outdoor chair cushion liberally with solution. It is very important to saturate the cover, getting into all the nooks and crevices of the fabric. This is to ensure that any spot of mold or mildew is treated and will not replicate itself quickly after being cleaned.

Once dry you are well advised to protect your outdoor cushions with a fabric protector treatment like scotch guard. This repels most stains and mildew, making cleaning much easier in the future.

Wicker furniture has been around for many years now and has been used in the manufacture of all varieties of furniture, including living room and bedroom furniture. But how many of us know what we mean by the term Wicker? Where does it come from? Is it environmentally sound? The truth is we know very little about this substance, much less than we know about wood for example.

Wicker in its natural form comes from the rattan plant. This grows wild in the rainforests of Indonesia and is related to the palm. Unlike many tropical trees it is very fast growing which makes it a great plant to use and harvest. When harvested the rattan bark is stripped and treated to make it water resistant and decay resistant. Then the hard core is treated and processed and is called wicker.

When it first became popular wicker furniture was bought for almost every room in the house. Nowadays outdoor wicker furniture is probably the most popular form of wicker furniture on the market. Being the resilient substance it is, rattan is often, mistakenly assumed to be good outdoors. In fact, like all natural substances, wicker needs special treatments in order to prevent decay and fungal invasion if left outdoors. Before you buy your wicker patio furniture it is a good idea to find out how the material has been treated. Make sure that is all weather wicker outdoor furniture that can withstand the dampening effect of rain and the bleaching of the sun.

Sadly a lot of the conventional methods of processing arte quite injurious to the environment. If you want to be environmentally friendly it is possible to source your outdoor wicker patio furniture from sustainable suppliers. To find out how to do this search google for sustainable wicker furniture.

A relatively new alternative to outdoor wicker furniture is plastic wicker effect furniture. Woven just like wicker and rattan this furniture is 100% rain and sun proof and great alternative to natural fibres. The added benefit is that you can buy white wicker outdoor furniture that doesn’t need repainting or special treatment at all. When it comes to patio furniture there is nothing quite like wicker furniture for a relaxed, comfortable and versatile fell to your outdoor space.

If you want to find a great way to furnish your home beautifully and with minimum environmental impact, one of the ways to do this is to look for sustainably produced wicker furniture. Wicker comes from the rattan plant, a plant, related to the palm trees of Indonesia and Asia. It grows rapidly among the ancient rain-forest, rather like a vine. There are many different types of rattan in the Asian rain-forests.

It is an incredibly strong material and is used for housing as well as furniture and grows rapidly, much faster than tree in the rain-forest. Rattan has been harvested traditionally for many many generations. Once harvested the outer bark is stripped and used for weaving rattan products. The inner core is treated by boiling in oil to protect it from humidity and insects. It is then worked into pieces of furniture by local workers. Wicker is extremely strong because of the character of the grain which grows straight as opposed to the concentric circles of most other woods. It is also very strong because it is flexible. It can be steamed and bent into different shapes, which makes it a great material for creating furniture with.

It’s strength and the fact that it can grow so quickly make it an obvious choice for industry. I addition,the fact that it is a simple material to work with but also very labor intensive means that rattan and wicker furniture is a great way to provide sustainable employment to the people of the area.

The versatility and lightness of wicker furniture lends itself to many different styles and uses in the home. Strong as it is , wicker bedroom furniture can be relied upon to be supportive as well as stylish. With special treatment, wicker outdoor furniture is a very popular use of this marvellous material.

But one of the most exciting things about rattan is that whatever you, like to use it for, whether you want wicker patio furniture or bedroom furniture, it actively protects the environment in which it grows. Rattan is a vine that needs the structures that surround it in order to survive, so the rainforest is protected as a growing medium for this marvellous plant.

But take care to buy the sustainable wicker furniture. Until recently, processes used to preserve rattan have polluted the environment. Only lately have the old, safe methods been reintroduced. Make sure you know what to buy and visit the WWF website www.wwf.panda.org for more information

Once hung on the window your net curtains are likely to sit there for a while. Inevitably they are going to gather dust and this quickly becomes grimy, discoloring your beautiful sheer curtains.

Of course, it is easy to wash a net curtain, you may think. Indeed it is easier than washing, a roman blind for instance Just put it in the washing machine or even handwash. However it is very difficult to remove stains at the low temperatures needed to wash the delicate fibres of your net curtains.

There are in fact many ways to freshen up and rejuvenate your curtains. The methods will probably surprise you.

Washing machine

Not so surprising a tool for washing perhaps but if you wash your net curtains on a cool wash with no soap powder you will first remove the dust. Now make sure that you wash again using your favorite whites washing powder but add a towel to the machine to ensure that the net curtain fabric is well agitated and the cleaning process works well.

Optical Whiteners and Stain Removers

Products exist on the market to gently bleach and freshen your net curtains. Soak your fabric in this and leave for a few hours before putting them in the washing machine. Vanish is a famous pre wash brand great for net curtains and any kind of heavy staining. For optical whitening, soak in Glo white.

Stardrops Fabric Stain Cleaner comes in a powder from and works in water solution. It comes highly recommend for the gentle removal of deep stained net curtains. Napisan, designed for cleaning dirty terry towelling nappies is one other solution to your grimy net curtain problem.

It’s good to know all the solutions as you might have one of them sitting in your kitchen cupboard already, so no need to shop!

Denture Tablets

Some recommend a bath with a few denture tablets, others say one denture tablet in a bowl, either way this surprising ingredient is the preferred pre wash for many peoples net curtains. Soak overnight and then wash as normal. Then, prepared to be dazzled!

Lemon Juice

If you are looking for an eco solution a real home grown answer is the juice of two lemons. Firstly, they lift the dirt from the fabric of the net curtain. Secondly they are a wonderful mild and 100 per cent natural form of bleach. So your curtains will end up deep cleaned, dazzling white and lemon fresh. What is more this is the cheapest and most environmentally friendly solution of all and can be used to clean your bedroom furniture as well!

There may be some more solutions so the next time you buy net curtains, dont forget to ask the experts!

If you have roman blinds, any style of blind in fact, you will know what a dust magnet they can become. With wooden or aluminium Venetian blinds, this problem is easily fixed by dusting. The same goes for roller blinds, that can be dusted quite easily too. Roman blinds though, pose more of a problem. Being made of soft unstiffened fabric, roman blinds are in danger of becoming grimy and grubby if simply left to accumulate dust. What is more, dusting your roman blinds will fail to remove the dirt properly and may in fact make them look worse.

So what is the best way to keep your roman blinds clean? Do you have ready made roman blinds? If so, take a look at the care instructions on your roman blind, you might find a (P) symbol. This indicates that your blind can be dry cleaned. Removing the roman blind can be tricky. Take it down from beneath the valance or pelmet and remove the bottom bar and fabric rods. Note which the way the cords are threaded before you do this. You will need this information when you come to rehang your blind. Now you can get your roman blind dry cleaned. If the fabric is washable, then you can hand wash with a mild detergent. Make sure that the water is not too hot. Any shrinkage might spoil the look of your blind.

If you prefer to clean your blind in situ you can use the upholstery cleaning tool on your vacuum cleaner. If you are not sure what this looks like, it is the large funnel shaped fitting that has a brush attachment on it. It is usually used for cleaning living room or bedroom furniture. For a more thorough clean, unroll the roman blind to its full length. Using some canned air spray the whole blind from top to bottom to loosen the dirt.

With a feather duster, gently wipe over the blind from side to side. This will pick up any dust that the canned air might have missed. Take a cleaning cloth and dampen it with clean water, wringing it out thoroughly. Use gently to wipe the surface of the roman blind in order to deep clean the surface. Continue to the bottom of the roman blind. Keep rinsing and wringing as you go to avoid reapplying the dirt across other parts of the blind. If your window blind is light in colour, make sure that your cleaning cloth is white to avoid any accidental dye transference

Now leave to dry completely and use as normal.

Renovating your kitchen when working with a very tight budget can be quite a challenge. Unlike buying new living room or bedroom furniture, costs can escalate quickly so it is important to decide your most essential needs before spending any money. If you are happy with your current kitchen layout you can give your kitchen a whole new look simply replacing the facings, kitchen cabinet doors and kitchen worktops.

Choosing your new style

The trend for replacement kitchen cabinet doors means that it is now perfectly possible to create a new look for your kitchen without breaking the bank. Matching unit end pieces and veneers exist to complete the new look. Modern kitchen styles are the most easy looks to achieve when modernising a kitchen. Depending on your budget you may need to replace your kitchen appliances though. If you cannot, then look for a fairly neutral style, clean and simple in design but not ultra modern. Otherwise your old appliances will stand out and spoil the look.

What styles are available?

If you are just looking to freshen up your favourite style of country kitchen then you can choose from a wide range of country kitchen cabinet door styles. You can have traditional oak, pine or beech with panelling if you desire. For a more up to date country look, how about going for the shaker style kitchen. This style is traditional with a twist. Painted style cabinets, reflect light and will make your old kitchen seem brighter. The wooden handles and panelling will keep the country feel at the same time.

If you prefer a more contemporary feel to your kitchen the smooth Scandinavian style kitchen might work best for you. Using light wood or wood effect veneers your kitchen will look chic and spacious. These cabinet doors are usually styled without door panels and with brushed stainless steel handles. A Scandinavian style kitchen will feel warm but not dark or overpowering.

Perhaps you are looking for a real change. Something exciting and modern. No problem, many kitchen cabinet door manufacturers are keeping up with the new trends for the colourful high gloss lacquered finish that characterises the most up to date kitchen looks at the moment.

Extras

You will need to choose your accessories, such as handles and kitchen worktops to complete your new look kitchen. If you are going for a modern design and you can afford it, look at a high end worktop, such as Corian to give your kitchen a luxury feel. If this is out of your budget, choose a thicker worktop than the average. It always adds to the quality of your kitchen and will give it a more expensive feel.

It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to renovate your kitchen. With some research and planning you can create a beautiful kitchen without the inconvenience and expense of replacing a complete kitchen. It might even make you feel like updating every three years or so.

If you are looking to revamp your kitchen on a small budget you might think that run of the mill is all you are likely to get. Yet with some imaginative flair and good research a designer or designer look kitchen is a real possibility.

Get Inspired

The first thing to do is to get some design inspiration. Magazines and websites specialising in interiors are ubiquitous so inspiration should not be hard to find. Its not just the units that make your kitchen special. Good colour schemes and use of paint, fabric and wall decoration are just as important. You might some great ideas on layout as well, something you hadn’t thought about before might just inspire to create a completely new layout as well. Don’t overlook good lighting planning or the effect of a good finish in terms of door and drawer handles when finding what’s right for you.

Research

Be very thorough in your research of companies. Many companies have the standard features. Some will provide design services as a sales booster. If you want to get some free advice on fitting and layout, go and use this service. Get a good sense of the price of each part of your complete kitchen. How much are flat pack units compared to ready assembled units. What kind of build quality do you need?

Look for sales and special offers when shopping around. Fitted kitchen suppliers sometimes throw in an appliance package to get a sale on units. Look around the big box stores for end of line bargains in appliances. Compare deals to get the best price.

If you have your heart set on a designer kitchen it is worth visiting the high end kitchen showrooms to find out if ex display stock is for sale at a discount. Look online for dealers in ex display designer kitchens. You might have to wait a bit longer for your dream kitchen but you’ll have a Rolls Royce kitchen for a fraction of the price.

Create

Once you are ready to buy, go for low priced units and transform them with special accessories and counter tops. Corian kitchen worktops will make your kitchen look up to the minute and totally customised. They are more pricey, but what you save on units you can spend on luxury finishing touches. This goes too for good kitchen lighting and fittings. This is vital for effective use of the kitchen and also to set off your new unit and accessories to the best effect. Fittings can lend a look of luxury and quality to the cheapest of furniture, whether that is bedroom furniture or kitchen units so be prepared to look for some great ways to accessorise your kitchen furniture.

Even on a tight budget, if you know what to spend on and what to save on, you can have a great complete kitchen makeover at a fraction of the designer price.

When it comes to renovating your existing kitchen or a complete makeover, what kitchen worktops you buy will make or break your new look. With so many options available, what is the best worktop material to use and how will it stand the test of time in your kitchen?

The perfect kitchen worktop will be easy to clean, stain and heat-proof, very tough wearing and well priced. Of course, it will also have to look amazing. The sad fact is though, that finding a worktop like this is impossible so you need to choose the worktop that meets your fundamental needs first and be prepared to sacrifice one or two of the optional extras. Here’s a look at what’s available

Wood

This is one of the best looking work surfaces for the kitchen and a lovely choice based on aesthetics and ecology, especially if you choose FSC certified timber. What is more, wood has natural antibacterial properties which make it a great choice on hygiene grounds. Twice a year sand along the grain to remove any heavy staining or burn marks, and apply a thin coat of oil to maintain water resistance. Wood is a great choice for you if you want a well priced, easy to clean option. But be aware that it may turn black in places where it is in contact with a lot of moisture, such as near the sink and it is is prone to staining.

Granite

If it is heat and stain resistance that you want then granite is a great option. It is possible to have granite kitchen worktops precut to fit a sink. You can have draining grooves cut into your worktop and have it in a highly polished or matt finish. Avoid limestone or marble if stain resistance is your highest priority. To maintain the finish, use a mild soap solution to clean and do not use any cleaners with acid in as this will dull the surface.

The cool surface of granite is ideal for pastry makers but it is very heavy so your kitchen units may need extra support. You will also have to have deep pockets for granite worktops, but they are built to last.

Stainless Steel

For the real chef a stainless steel worktop is the best choice. Hardwearing, waterproof and stain proof, stainless steel is great for practical and cheap kitchen worktops and is becoming more trendy in contemporary kitchens. Mild soap soluitons are fine for cleaning stainless steel. Do be sure to avoid cutting on it though as it marks easily and it is not easy to get a perfect shine on stainless steel either.

Laminate

Laminate kitchen worktops are often well priced, easy to clean and lightweight. It can be a great all round material to have in the kitchen and will go some way to ticking all the boxes on your wishlist.
It comes in a huge variety of cliurs and finishes and can look like wood, granite or be highly lacquered for a contemporary feel. A lot of people like the versatility of laminate kitchen worktops as they are stain and heat resistant, attractive and easy to keep clean. These are just a few of the different options available for your new kitchen

Unlike choosing living room or bedroom furniture, choosing your kitchen furniture is a much more complicated process. It is advisable to plan carefully for what you want. When it comes to kitchen worktops, getting a list of your priorities is a great way to settle on the right material for you.