For anybody looking to transform a house into a home, a sunroom is the perfect accessory. Not only are they ideal for people looking to enjoy the sunshine during the cooler seasons of the year, they can also add a significant amount of value onto a property.
Sunrooms are designed to promote feelings of relaxation and comfort, which is why choosing the right furniture is just as important as choosing the right construction materials and layout for the room itself. The whole idea behind a sunroom is to enjoy unspoiled views outdoors, along with the sun’s rays, while staying warm, dry, and cozy indoors. Selecting the right furniture can make all the difference.
Sunrooms are expensive and consequently, they require the right furniture to create the correct ambience and mood. Whether you’ve gone with rattan and wicker, or leather and fabric, caring for your sunroom furniture and keeping it clean and in the best possible condition is vitally important.
To help you get more from your sunroom these coming seasons, here are some handy sunroom furniture maintenance tips for long-lasting comfort.
Avoid Direct Sunlight with Leather and Fabrics
The whole point behind a sunroom is to bask in the natural warmth of the sun’s rays, without sitting outdoors in the garden during colder periods of the year. As a result of this, sunrooms generally feature large floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors, and even glass ceilings to allow plenty of natural sunlight to flood inside.
As wonderful as this can feel, direct sunlight can really affect the look, quality, and feel of certain items of furniture. If for example, you’ve a leather or fabric sofa or chairs in your sunroom, try to keep them out of direct sunlight whenever possible. This is because sunlight can cause the material to fade, dry out, crack, and discolor.
To help keep fabric and/or leather furniture in the best possible condition, try to keep blinds or curtains closed whenever the room is not in use, as this will help prevent the furniture from being exposed to direct sunlight for hours on end.
Flip and Cover Cushions and Upholstery Regularly
When it comes to sunroom furniture, fading is something you’ll want to avoid at all costs. In order for you to achieve this, you can keep furniture covered with rugs and throws, and flip cushions regularly.
As we covered in the previous section, direct sunlight is one of the leading causes of faded furniture, though age, dust, and other environmental factors can also play a role.
To help keep upholstery looking bright, colorful, and vibrant, be sure to use rugs and throws to cover it, and flip over the cushions regularly so as to minimize exposure to direct sunlight.
If your furniture is primarily made of wood, you can apply oils, waxes, and polishes to help shield the wood and keep it protected and looking its best.
Draw up a Dusting Schedule
Dusting is one of those cleaning jobs that’s tedious and feels unnecessary, until you begin actually doing it that is. Once you start dusting and see just how much dust has accumulated, you’ll wish you’d done it weeks before.
With sunrooms, dusting is more important than ever. This is due to the fact that sunrooms are rooms in the home that are located in close proximity to outside. Because they’re essentially rooms designed to allow you to enjoy your garden during the colder seasons of the year, they tend to get dirtier and dustier.
Dust and debris from outside is often blown inside or is simply brought inside by people and animals. This means that sunroom furniture can get very dusty and will need to be dusted regularly. Rather than waiting for dust to accumulate, you should ideally draw up a dusting schedule to ensure that you keep on top of the dusting to stop it building up. Once a week should be fine, but be sure to move furniture and ornaments to get to those hard-to-reach areas.
Dehumidify Your Furniture
As well as direct sunlight affecting the quality and appearance of your sunroom furniture, nothing is guaranteed to destroy it quicker than moisture and humidity.
Sunrooms are often not as well insulated as other rooms in the home, and because of this, they can succumb to the ill effects of dampness and humidity. Whether it’s caused by condensation, a leaking roof, or a lack of insulation, excess moisture can cause furniture to become rotten, moldy, and just generally pretty disgusting in all honesty.
If you have wood or wicker sunroom furniture for example, be sure to waterproof it and keep it treated regularly with oils, varnishes, waxes, and other waterproofing materials. For fabric furniture, prevention is the best remedy. To avoid a damp sunroom, we recommend the use of heaters, good ventilation, and dehumidifiers.
It is, however, important to remember that, if conditions are too dry, wood and/or wicker furniture may become too brittle and rigid. This could cause it to split.
Use Mild Cleaning Solutions
Like other furniture in the home, sunroom furniture will need to be wiped and cleaned down regularly to not only keep it looking its best, but to also keep it clean and hygienic as well. When doing so, we recommend you use mild cleaning solutions.
Avoid bleach-based cleaning solutions and other solutions packed full of harsh chemicals and instead stick with warm water with a mild dish soap, or a vinegar-based cleaning solution. Be sure to use a damp cloth, don’t use too much water, and remove any excess moisture using a clean, dry, microfiber cloth or towel to finish off.
Avoid Excess Clutter
While the minimalist look isn’t for everyone, when it comes to sunroom décor, you need to think practically as well as aesthetically. Because of this, it’s a good idea not to fill your sunroom with too much furniture.
While you’ll need somewhere to sit and relax, try to avoid too much furniture and too many ornaments and trinkets. Not only will they accumulate dust and make it harder to clean, they’ll also affect airflow and ventilation, which could result in too much moisture and humidity.
Ensure that furniture isn’t crammed together and that there is plenty of space for air to circulate and flow throughout the room.