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How To Store Your Antique Furniture Safely
Whether you’re downsizing, renovating, travelling, moving or trying to make more space, you can’t just keep everything. Maybe that brightly patterned chaise lounge just doesn’t suit your minimalist decor. Or maybe your want to keep the cherished antique lamp away from the sticky fingers of the younger generation until they are ready to have it.
Antique furniture is often a wonderful keepsake or relic of the past that often has untold value. Whether your item has sentimental value to you, or actual acquired value you’re going to want to make sure that they are kept in the safest condition so they can be treasured for many more years to come.
We believe that a self storage unit is a great place to store your antique furniture, keep it safe and secure as well as helping remove clutter from your home. We are here to talk you through the steps in taking care whilst preparing, protecting and storing your wonderful heirlooms.
If you follow our tips, your antique armchairs and vintage lamps will come out of storage looking just as good as they did when they went in. Let’s get started.
Give Your Furniture Some TLC Before The Move
Hopefully with your antique furniture you have already been keeping it in tip top condition, away from the pitter patter of tiny feet and sticky hands. However dust is a tricky one to always stay on top of. So before you do anything else give all of your antique furniture a good wipe down to clean off any dust, dirt or grime.
Then, use an appropriate cleaner for the type of material, and if you can add an extra layer of protection by treating it (try to do this a couple weeks before). For example use a polish or wax on your wooden items so they don’t crack if they dry out, use a leather conditioner on leather and oil any of your mental frames that might need oiled. But do some research to make sure you use the right product for the right material.
Show your antiques a bit of love and care before you pack them away and they will have the best chance of staying in pristine condition.
Oh and another thing! Make sure to empty it out completely if it has any nooks or drawers. Not only will this lighten the load for moving but you might even find more valuables (or a fiver!).
If You Can, Disassemble It
Now we aren’t saying go in guns blazing and start ripping legs off chairs. But if you can, and only if you aren’t going to damage or devalue your antique items, check to see if you can carefully remove any pieces that can be reconnect again later.
Large items can take up a lot of space, never mind being very heavy and awkward to move in bulk. So where possible take the time to do this before storing. Check things like the legs of tables and chairs, headboards and slats in beds or shelves in cupboards, drawers in desks etc.
Quick reminder! If you are able to disassemble any of your pieces then keep note of what pieces there are, and how to put it back together again.
Wrap It Up Safe and Sound
After you’ve cleaned and prepped your furniture it’s time to protect it with the right materials for safer storage.
Who doesn’t love bubble wrap? It can be great to wrap up items that can easily break such as mirrors, framed pictures or lamps. It’s also great for blunt items you don’t want to knock against anything else like table legs and chairs.
However, wood doesn’t always love bubble wrap. Wood doesn’t love plastic coverings as a general rule. This is because plastic can suffocate the wood (and some fabrics) causing condensation and therefore encourages mould to grow and damp to linger.
Specific fabric covers, like cloths, covers, furniture pads, sheets or blankets are what is best for your antique furniture to make sure that it is protected from dust and other airborne nasties while allowing your furniture to breathe.
Pack It Well and Be Organised
Precious heirlooms and archaic antiques comes in all shapes and sizes. Luckily, so do storage boxes.
Boxes specifically designed for packing furniture are often supplied by storage companies or removal companies so do some research to find which boxes will be best for each of your items.
When packing your items store anything heavy like mirrors or artwork horizontally to prevent the likeliness of the item falling over.
Use cardboard corners for pointy items and make sure to secure any pieces that might have looser parts that can move around. Make sure you keep track off all the little pieces like screws and bolts and knobs, all the pieces you might of disassembled try to keep them together and labelled.
Try to make everything as secure and compact as possible without damaging the items or suffocating them. If you make sure there is a enough space to allow air flow between the furniture then there is the additional benefit of having enough room to reduce the risk of accidental damage if you need to move around any items. Therefore you should avoid stacking items, especially your antiques.
Make sure that you label and (if you love organising) inventorise all your items and boxes. It’s an even better idea to take photos as well, not only will this help you remember what you have but can be useful for insurance claims if it ever comes to that.
Choose A Great Storage Unit Provider
When storing your items you have got to consider what storage unit provider is best for your needs.
You will need to consider accessibility – how easy is it for you to get to your things when you need them?
Check out our blog post on Why You Should Rent A Storage Unit
Another big deciding factor should be security – how safe is your storage unit provider’s facility? Is there CCTV? Locks? Ground staff?
Check out what storage options we offer at Storage Vault
And finally the condition of the units themselves – are they clean? Dry and safe from environmental factors like wind, rain and flooding? Are they temperature controlled and have good lighting?
Now we have talked you through everything you need to do to make sure you remove and store your antique furniture and cherished possessions properly, all you have to do is do it.
If you are a bit worried about the removal process itself why not check out our article 9 Expert Tips On How To Find A Good Removal Company.
If you have any more tips, tricks or advice please feel free to leave a comment on our Facebook page.
If you have any more questions on how to safely move and store your antique furniture then please contact us on 0141 280 8887 or send us a message here.
Also check out our ‘How To Store Series’ on
