From the youngest of ages, I have been always surrounded my many different types of beautiful furniture. As a youngster, I lived in an amazingly old Victorian era town house – it belonged to my foster parents, was over one hundred years old, and was filled with all kinds of antique furniture, some of which were incredibly valuable and timeless.

The first piece of furniture that I will always remember was a priceless artesian coffee table. It was crafted in the late eighteen hundreds out of mahogany timber, and had been passed down between family members for generations. This particular coffee table had a very particular ornamentation within the timber that I always admired and thought to be particularly beautiful.

The second piece of furniture that comes to my mind is my foster father’s 4 shelf bookcase. It was itself crafted out of American oak, and it had this brilliant aroma that filled the entire study. This bookcase was filled with all kinds of study journals, volumes, and periodicals, so you can see how invaluable it was to my foster father, who was a lawyer for most of his life.

Lastly, I won’t ever forget the simple 2 shelf bookcase that my foster mother had next to her bed; she used it as a cozy little bedside table. It was filled with her most precious kinds of books, including her own mother’s wartime diaries, as well as photo albums of her immediate family. That bookcase was very special to my foster mother.

If you are interested in purchasing an antique artesian coffee table, 4 shelf bookcase or 2 shelf bookcase, you should look at local furniture or second hand stores. With just a little bit of time spent, I am sure you can grab some very high quality pieces of furniture, whilst saving a whole lot of cash during the process.

When cleaning antique furniture, ensure that it becomes part of your regular routine quickly so that you do not neglect it in any way. You should always dust it every few days, once a week at the very least. You should never use any kind of dusting device though, lest it scratch it. A soft cloth is perfect for this purpose. Do not use any sprays of any kind on it and that includes regular furniture polish because the chemicals that are used in those formulas to repel dust and grime can actually damage your investment by staining the wood or causing weak spots. Cleaning antique furniture should be about preserving it rather than adding to the wear and tear! There are certain polishes that you can use when cleaning antique furniture. Orange oil is good for cleaning antique furniture once a week. You should then polish it with furniture wax once every couple of months. Applying a thin coat will encourage it to shine without causing a wax build up. Cleaning antique furniture can damage the wood if it is not done correctly so make sure that you protect it at all times. For example, mop up any spillages immediately and never rest anything on it directly that could possibly scratch it. If you spill water, simply wiping it off immediately would protect the wood but solvents should be treated with care. Cleaning antique furniture in this instance would require dabbing the stain with a soft cloth until all of the solvent has been removed. Wiping it away would cause more damage. Also, protect your wood by ensuring that it never stands in the glare of direct sunlight. This can discolor it and cause it to fade, and no amount of cleaning antique furniture will be able to solve that problem. Always make sure that your home provides the optimum environment for your pieces. Cleaning antique furniture is all well and good but will not be able to protect it against the elements. Ensure that your house is a constant temperature all year round. If that means investing in a humidifier then so be it. It is worth that little bit extra to protect your own larger investment. This will stabilise the air and make sure that cleaning antique furniture will have the desired effect of preservation throughout the years.