Blog posts of '2021' 'August'

What was once considered a niche choice for a home is starting to become a staple in many people’s floor plans—the daybed has come a long way. Now that it’s become more mainstream, people are finding ways to innovate it even further with fancy new features. If that idea interests you, you’ll want to see how to create a luxury daybed oasis with these tips that we have put together for you.

Bring the Daybed Outside

It’s hard to make your space feel like an oasis if you feel cooped up inside, so go ahead and pull that daybed onto the back porch and find a spot to soak up the most sun. Of course, bringing something made for indoor use outside will require some extra work to make it usable, but we’re here to show you how. First, you’ll need to buy a water-resistant mattress for the days it rains so that you can keep it safe. Next, covering the whole thing with a canopy is a great way to protect your bed from getting too wet and protect you from getting too much direct sun. Finally, you want to top it off with one of our fitted daybed covers. Getting one made from outdoor-related materials will protect your bed from growing mildew when wet and keep it from fading from constant sunlight over time.

Add Some Cozy Accessories

Once you get all that situated, you’ll want to look into buying some accessories for your bed too. If you know that you’ll bring these in with you when you stop using your daybed, you can buy the softest pillows and blankets imaginable to use out in the sun. This will give you the ideal oasis-like experience. If you know that you’ll forget them out in the rain, plenty of waterproof ones are still comfortable for everyday use.

Decorate Your Outdoor Space Around It

Now comes the fun part when you create a luxury daybed oasis: the decorating. You aren’t living on a beach, but your daybed doesn’t have to know that. Setting up wicker basket end tables and pots with exotic plants inside are the best ways to give the illusion that you’re on a beach. Having a couple of serving trays with mason jar mugs filled with ice-cold drinks will add to the feeling, and a set of wind chimes will set the mood. Go wild with it and find the things that give it the feel you desire.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a person who doesn’t think that their pet is the best thing in the whole world. There are so many upsides to owning a pet that most people don’t ever really think about the downsides unless faced with them directly. In some cases, like with the uncleanliness of pets, this can be an issue if you’re not prepared. To help you make sure your house is as tidy as possible, we’ve put together a list of tips to keep your furniture clean with pets around.

Keep Pets off the Furniture

While we realize that training your dog or cat to stay off the furniture may seem like an impossible task, it’s the most effective, by far. Your pet can’t get your couch dirty if they’re never on it in the first place. Plus, the claws on your pets can be very sharp, which can rip up the fabric over time.

Groom Them Regularly

Since we know that most people like to have their pets sit with them up on the furniture, we’re going to focus on our other tips, like grooming pets as often as you can. Whether you get it done professionally or you do it yourself, removing all your pet’s dead hair and cutting it on occasion will lessen the amount of it that will accumulate on your furniture and in other places around the house.

Have Something To Clean Up Hair Nearby

No matter how often you groom them, though, they will likely still manage to get hair all over the place. That’s why it’s a good idea to have something to clean it up with. Most people use vacuums, but they involve a lot of setting up to use and aren’t readily available like a lint roller or other handheld hair removal products could be. The easy access and use of these items can make cleaning up pet hair a quick and painless process.

Wipe Up Messes As Soon as You See Them

Not all pet messes involve hair—some involve a bodily fluid that your pet couldn’t hold any longer. While these messes shouldn’t happen frequently, you’ll want to have cleaning supplies on hand to clean up any messes before they soak into your furniture. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to get out.

Cover Your Furniture

No matter what you do or how hard you try, knowing these tips to keep your furniture clean with pets isn’t always enough. Sometimes, you’ll need to actively protect your couch with a slipcover. These can be easily removed and cleaned in the washer anytime they get dirty. You can also buy ones that are better at repelling pet hair, like leather or microfiber. Regardless of what you choose, we have sofa slipcovers that will fit your couch perfectly and protect it from whatever messes your pet leaves behind.

Some people want slipcovers to spruce up their old furniture. Others want them to make cleaning a much simpler task. Regardless of your reasoning, anyone who is currently in the market for slipcovers knows that the number of choices can be a bit overwhelming. If that accurately describes how you’re feeling about your search at the moment, it’s time to put your mind at ease. We are here to go over all of the different types of furniture slipcovers that you will likely find during your browsing. Hopefully, this list will help you better figure out what you’re looking for in your household.

Types of Furniture That Can Have a Slipcover

When you first decide to get slipcovers, the most important factor to consider is which pieces of furniture you will get them for. Most of you have probably already made this decision, but there might be some choices that you didn’t realize, so we will go over all of them. The most common types of slipcovers are for couches, armchairs, recliners, and love seats. These four are staples of slipcover wish lists and living rooms everywhere. Some other common living room pieces that you can buy slipcovers for are ottomans and futons. Both are great candidates since people tend to put their dirty feet on ottomans, and guests often sleep on futons. As such, both types of furniture need regular cleaning, and slipcovers make that chore much more manageable. The other main area that benefits from slipcovers is the outdoors. Some pieces of outdoor furniture don’t withstand the elements as well as they should, so buying weather-resistant slipcovers is the best way to protect them. There are still a few more options that most people forget. If food spills are your primary concern, then slipcovers for your dining room chairs and stools will be the types you’ll need. If you’re simply looking for something fancy in the bedroom, then maybe you will want to get a slipcover for your window seat or the headboard on your bed.

Features Available

Slipcovers come in many forms. You can have something form-fitting that can stretch to fit the shape of whatever piece of furniture you put it on, but obviously, not all slipcovers are created equally. If you are worried about how tight yours will be, you can get a skirted slipcover that fits the general shape of your piece of furniture but lightly drapes over the sides, giving it a more elegant look. If you’re not crazy about the fancy look but want something that’s easy to take on and off, furniture throw covers are also an option. For those of you who want something that’s the best of both worlds, there are looser-fitting ones that have an elastic grip at the bottom. That way, they don’t have a fit that’s too snug, but still aren’t sliding around too much when you sit on them. No matter how you cut it, the best solution, in the end, is to order custom-made furniture covers, which we specialize in. When you start the process, we ask you for all of the dimensions and a few pictures of the piece of furniture for which you want a slipcover. Then, we custom make them so they will fit your piece perfectly. This method truly makes all of the previous choices look obsolete. There are still a couple more choices in terms of functionality, though. If you want to ensure that your furniture will stay safe from food spills, then you should get slipcovers that come with extra protection. However, if the type of dangers your furniture faces come from pets, pet-friendly ones can withstand sharp claws and bad smells.

Material They’re Made From

There are tons of different fabrics that slipcovers can be made from, and if you decide to go with a custom design, you’ll be able to pick the fabric out yourself. The most common fabric choices are cotton and cotton blends. These are the most versatile of all the fabric types and usually have the most options, so you can get the exact kind you want. Faux leather is also a popular choice since natural leather couches and chairs are expensive to buy and difficult to maintain. If your goal is to boost the appeal of your current furniture, though, then velvet, linen, and suede are the materials you’ll want. All of these are quite luxurious but challenging to keep looking nice, so they are best for furniture that isn’t heavily used. On the other hand, if you’re more into practicality, then you’ll want to check out a polyester or microfiber slipcover. The former is best for cleaning up messes after the fact, and the latter is best for preventing them from spreading. Both are great for families who like to sit in the living room and watch TV while eating.

How They Attach

Although we’ve already mentioned that there is one type of slipcover that utilizes elastic to stay in place, that’s not the only way these covers remain attached to your furniture. Other than elastic, your slipcovers could have ties in the back holding them on, fancy-looking hook and loop fasteners, or easy to open and close zippers. Of course, each of these has its own lists of pros and cons, but what it really comes down to in the end is your personal preference.

How You Clean Them

While it’s fun to go over all of the different types of furniture slipcovers available, there’s one key feature that some people forget to consider when buying theirs—how to clean them when they get dirty. A lot of people assume that you can throw them into the washer since they are easily removable, but that’s not always the case. The materials they are made of, like faux leather, for example, is one of the biggest determining factors here, but sometimes there are other features that affect how you should clean them. Before going through with a purchase, check the fine print to see if they are machine washable, dry-clean only, or better for hand washing and spot cleaning. It’s up to you to make sure you get the type that will be the best fit for you and your family.    

Whether you’re dealing with a nasty stain or hoping to give your furniture a regular cleaning, you’ll need to clean it differently depending on the fabric it is made out of. It can get confusing, which is why we’ve made a guide to go over the best upholstery cleaning solutions for each fabric that your furniture is made out of. To keep things simple, we will be using a futon in our examples since they tend to get dirty easily, along with the fact that they don’t have removable parts for easier cleaning.

How To Start for All Fabrics

Regardless of the materials your futon is made out of, you’ll need to check the label attached to the bottom to see what the manufacturer recommends avoiding when attempting to clean it. On the tag, you will see one of the following symbols, which all have various meanings:

• X: Only clean with a vacuum or have it done by a professional
• W: Only use water-based cleaners
• S: Only use solvent-based cleaners
• WS: Use either water- or solvent-based cleaners

No matter what the fabric or tag recommendations say, you should always start cleaning with a vacuum. This will remove any loose dirt, crumbs, or hair that would get in your way while performing a deeper clean. If you’re trying to clean a specific spot, the vacuum will also suck up any moisture that hasn’t had time to set in. Also, if you’re using a cloth to clean, make sure it’s white, so the dyes don’t bleed into your couch while cleaning.

Natural Fabrics

Cotton and other natural fabrics are the easiest to clean. Almost every cleaning solution on the market is safe to use on them. Just make sure you check the back of the bottle before purchasing a cleaning solution. Once the cleaner is on the futon and doing its job, you’ll have to scrub it a bit to help it out. Don’t rub too hard, though, or else you’ll push the dirt deeper inside. Instead, lightly dab at it.

Synthetic Fabrics

Materials such as polyester are a little more complicated but still manageable. Keep your cleaning solution simple. Dish soap and basic shampoos work best for these. Performing a gentle cleaning is even more critical here because letting stains or cleaning solutions seep into the cushions can damage the look and feel of your futon. Also, be sure to dry it thoroughly to avoid the forming of mold and mildew.

Leather-Based Fabrics

Cleaning leather is straightforward, but you must be careful not to overdo it. If you prepare a bowl with equal parts water and vinegar, you’re pretty much set. Then, simply dampen a washcloth and wipe your futon down. Just be sure not to get the leather too wet, or you might cause permanent damage.

Easy Prevention Method

After learning about the best upholstery cleaning solutions for each fabric, if you don’t want to have to worry about cleaning futon stains like this ever again, then we’d recommend checking out our futon slipcovers. You can easily remove and throw them into the washer for easy cleaning, and you won’t have to worry about stains soaking in or the cleaning solution harming your futon.