Back in May 2008 we blogged about reports that cheap imported furniture were causing skin complaints by people lying on potentially toxic sofas:

To read the full post, click here: Another reason “NOT” to buy cheap sofas!

Yesterday in a landmark ruling a pensioner, Maurice Heminsley, 68 from Willenhall in the West Midlands. Received compensation, of a four figure sum, for the chemical burns he received from these “toxic sofas”.

He suffered a rash across his neck, bottom, back and legs within days of paying for the £1,100 sofa in November 2007, and was left with weeping open sores which left him in agony.

Thousands of the sofas were sold throughout 2007 and 2008 by UK retailers including Argos, Land of Leather, and a number of independent stores.

To read more click here: Daily Mail

When Bolton-based furniture maker received an order for a 40ft-long Chesterfield sofa, staff did not take the challenge lying down.

A team of six at Saxon Leather Upholstery worked flat out for four days at the company’s factory in Manchester Road to complete the 25-seater.

Weighing around 385lbs (175kg), It required 1,000sq ft of chocolate brown leather to cover its beech frame, and had to be shipped to its final destination, a hotel in Holland, in three parts.

Saxon sales boss Matthew Deighton said: “A normal sofa weighs around 20kg, so this was a monster of a piece.

“It was certainly the biggest item of furniture we have supplied in the company’s 27-year history, but we were up for the challenge. The frame was built locally and we provided the foam, upholstery and suspension.”

Saxon, which has 60 staff and turns over £5m, was established by Robert Jolly in 1982. Exports are surging amid the pound’s weakness against other currencies.

Referrence: Manchester Evening News

I’ve recently been looking to buy some Wicker or Rattan Furniture and it seems most people including myself up until a few weeks ago thought that they were both the same, which is a common misconception. I have also found that there is no simple explanation and when buying this type of furniture you could be buying both, so I thought I’d try and explain what I’ve discovered so that it may help you in the future.

Wicker is a process (not a specific material) of weaving any number of materials such as reeds, bamboo, rush, straw and willow into a finished piece of furniture. The confusion comes about because this weaving generally takes place over a Rattan Core frame.

Rattan itself as an actual vine, which grows in tropical forest regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia. Rattan grows in a solid pole shape hundreds of feet in length making it durable and harder to break than bamboo, which is hollow. The outer skin of the vines (the Peel) are stripped and used as a rattan weaving material to wrap furniture joints. The Core is then left to use within the frame.

Some manufacturers will even use the phrase “cane furniture” in place of either rattan or wicker to try and avoid this confusion.

To try and make this simple, if you buy Rattan Furniture it will probably have a Wicker Weave on top and if you buy Wicker furniture it will probably have a Rattan Core.

The best tip I can give is, “always ask before you buy”.

Here’s great post that I just had to share, it shows some of the most extreme, fun but elegant styles of bedroom furniture I’ve ever seen. Can you see yourself rocking to sleep in this bed after a hard days work:

Just as long as you don’t get sea sick! Obviously outlandish designs such as these are not for everyone, but it seems when looking for a new bed most of the styles are very orthadox. This one really stands out to me as one which still in-keeps with convention but really gives a room a refreshing feel:

Have a look at more of the great designs here:

What’s your favourite?

The latest horror stories surrounding cheap leather furniture are a wake up call. Cheap furniture bought on credit deals that seem too good to be true, is cheap for a reason.

It has been reported* today that at least 1,000 people have been burned or suffered severe skin complaints by lying on toxic sofas. The toxic substances are sprayed on leather sofas to stop them going mouldy while in storage, they were made by the Linkwise Furniture factory in southern China and sold by High Street stores such as Argos and Land of Leather.

Both chains stopped selling the toxic sofas in October when these reactions emerged but law-firms are still being flooded with enquires. It has also been claimed that many more people could be experiencing these skin conditions because of the toxins but not know the cause.

Not only has it been reported that many different types of products made in China are of poorer quality, but a series of health issues have now been raised.

Apart from the cheap manufacture of some new suites there is also a profound environmental story that is not being told.

Everyone has heard of food miles but perhaps we should be talking about sofa miles. Cheap furniture travelling across the globe is heavy, bulky and energy expensive. This is compounded by the fact that many people buying cheap new suites are chucking their own furniture onto landfill.

There is a real alternative to be had through reupholstery or loose covers. No matter how tired it looks it is almost certainly better quality than the brand new cheap imports.

*Referrences:
Telegraph.co.uk
Daily Mail

The ever increasing chatter about the “credit crunch” and looming recession (if we are not already in one) doesn’t see to be dissipating and everyone is beginning to tighten their belts.

Due to the rising cost of living, a recent poll has revealed for the first time the public are changing their spending habits to accommodate this economic slowdown. The top 5 biggest cut-back are; Main Holiday, DIY, Savings, Clothing & Motoring.

Home furnishing comes in at number 6 with New sofas, chairs, tables, beds, curtains and blinds being put on hold, about nine per cent of people have scrapped plans to buy one of these items.

A full article on this can be see here on the Independents website, please click here!

The problem is many of us want to keep updating our homes when items get too old or scruffy or when spillages and pets ruin our soft furnishings. Plus keeping up with seasonal fashions is still high on peoples lists as it makes us feel more comfortable and happy in our surroundings.

Well there are alternatives, you don’t have to replace your suites, dining sets or beds you can give them a new lease of life by updating them with loose covers. You can give your sofa a brand new look with made-to-measure covers, or you dining set with dining chair covers and a new table cloth. Even your bedroom can spring into life with a set of bed covers. If you put these together with a relatively cheap tin of paint and a few accessories you can keep up with the fashions all year long.

Even though we’re heading into a recession, it’s all about spending what money we have wisely from looking round for a better deal on your holiday or going somewhere closer to home. Reusing what we already have is not only cheaper but if you think about also more friendly to the environment.

What can be better than saving money with clear conscious!

I recently found this great story about a very worth while charitable organisation being commended for their efforts, not only to help people in need but to help protect the environment by recycling furniture.

“The Furniture Recycling Project” in Gloucester won the “Reuse Project of the Year” award by the Furniture Re-use Network (http://www.frn.org.uk/), particularly impressing the judging panel with it’s work during and after the 2007 floods that blighted many parts of the South West. The project was able to supply more than 5,000 households with essential second-hand furniture.

The award is intended to highlight how furniture projects continually support their local communities through improving the places where people live. This is about highlighting complimentary goals of providing a furniture reuse service for the unemployed people who also gain from volunteering and training at projects.

Richard Featherstone, who founded the Furniture Recycling Network (FRN) 18 years ago and initiated the awards, said: “These awards are to celebrate reuse tackling poverty and unemployment while preventing good furniture going to landfill. There is a link between social benefits and waste management which have not yet been fully explored but I predict this will be visible on the Government’s agenda before very long.”

Plumbs firmly believe that furniture should never go to waste by being dumped in landfill, everyone has the option of either re-using their furniture by covering / reupholstering or by donating it to charity so that someone possibly less fortunate than yourself can feel the benefit of something that would otherwise go to landfill.

According to a new study by Petplan on of the UK’s leading pet insurance companies, found a large percentage of dog and cat owners based their purchasing decisions on the suitability for their pets. The obvious one is holidays where 68% of dog owners and 47% of cat owners said that this was the most important area in which to take their pet into consideration, however many also include home furnishings such as sofas.

Pet hair can be real pain when is comes to your soft furnishings but as we explained in this recent post Threats to your Sofa, there are ways to protect your sofa from your pets hair, claws and any other dirty or smelly messes we all know pets can make.

Most people have fond childhood memories of a piece of furniture a relative once owned, just by seeing and feeling that furniture can bring back emotions. From your Great-Aunties artfully carved dining room chairs perhaps to your Grandmothers antique sofa, even the smell of a piece can evoke a memory.

When the unfortunate time comes you inherit that piece of furniture you are suddenly left with the feeling it will never fit in with the rest of your decor and in this sense inherited pieces of furniture can be a blessing or a burden. Before deciding what to do you first need to consider the following:

• Is it comfortable?
• Is it of good quality?
• Is there a place for it in your home?

If your answer is ‘no’ to these considerations then you shouldn’t burden yourself with sentimental value as you will get no real enjoyment from the piece, which is not what your relative intended. If it isn’t of good quality then it may not be a good idea spending money on something that could fall apart.

With a little bit of work however, most furniture can be revitalised with fresh fabrics and custom details to be more comfortable and fit in with your decor.

With exception, all good quality furniture is worth restoring, even if a sofa or chair is decades old. If it has a quality frame it is worth keeping. The quality of a sofa or chair is found within the carcass, this should be made of a hardwood such as Oak or Alder, have good lines and have been kiln dried so that the wood doesn’t warp or crack during changes of temperature and humidity. Most people won’t be able to know this just by looking at a sofa but there are many experts (Upholsterers) that can give you free advice such as Plumbs.

Re-upholstering can literally transform an old sofa to new, from the springs, filling and foam being replaced to the frame being reinforced if necessary. The shape of the furniture cannot be changed but the piece can be slightly re-styled or made more comfortable using certain techniques. Choosing the right fabric will really make difference to how the piece will look and fit in you home, fabric can deliver a more traditional or contemporary style. These custom details will make your furniture a one off.

You don’t necessarily need to go as far as reupholstery, Loose Covers can be equally as impressive at transforming your sofa. If the quality, comfort and style or your inherited furniture is pleasing enough then just by changing the fabric, colour and texture can give you the look you desire.

Dining chair covers can now update most sets to fit in with contemporary or traditional trends, not only can you just re-cover (or reupholster) the seat, loose covers can now fit completely over the chair with skirts that cover right to the floor.

So, if you inherit a piece of furniture remember there are many ways in which you can make it a unique heirloom to cherish for many years.

The first, called Mydeco (http://mydeco.com), was created by the founders of Lastminute.com Martha Lane Fox and Brent Hoberman.  Mydeco is currently in beta format but you can still go on and create some great room concepts, once you’ve created your inspired design you can then purchase all the elements that make up the room, from Curtains to Carpet.

There are currently around 500 retailers such John Lewis and Argos collectively offering over a one million products.  You will be able to build 3D models of your own Living Room and add your preferred decor as well as 3D models of 20,000 items of real furniture to buy.  You can then save your room design then by adding it to your online profile will allow others to comment and give advice. This will form the basis of a social community which will eventually be shareable to other Social networks like Facebook & MySpace.

Hoberman hopes to, “help users make the right decisions about their home’s decor, and get validation from others regarding their taste, in order to avoid room style disasters”.

The second tool, Design My Room (http://www.designmyroom.com/), is a very similar US based version but equally as fun and useful.

Have fun playing with the different designs, hopefully you may see our products appearing in the near future.