Home Help & Advice Looking after your furniture

Upholstered furniture care guide

An upholstered piece of furniture, like a sofa or armchair or even a bed, is one of the biggest purchases you make for your home. Take good care of it and it will keep looking like the day it was delivered.

In this guide you’ll find lots of good advice and handy tips for caring for your fabric and leather upholstered furniture, protecting it from harm, and keeping it clean.

Looking after your furniture
Fabric upholstery
Leather upholstery
Seat and back cushions
Recliners
Looking after your furniture

Welcoming your new furniture home

Getting ready for delivery day? Make sure our delivery team can access your home safely – and make sure there’s enough space in the room where you want your furniture to live. If your new sofa or chair reclines, allow room for it to extend fully.

If you have wooden floors, you might want to attach felt to the feet of your new purchases from day one to prevent scratching.

When your new furniture is in place, remove all the packaging and take a few minutes to make sure you’re completely satisfied – before the delivery team leaves.

Prolonging the life of your upholstered furniture

Here are our top tip to help you keep your upholstered furniture in tip top condition

Avoid sitting on the arms of sofas and chairs as extra weight can damage the frame.

Keep your furniture at least 50cm away from direct heat like radiators and fires, and air conditioning.

To keep cushions evenly supportive and perfectly shaped, try not to sit on their edges.

To help prevent your upholstery fading, avoid overexposure to sunlight.

Keep seat and back cushions in beautiful condition by plumping and straightening them daily.

When moving furniture, lift sofas and chairs by their bases to protect the frames – please don’t drag or pull by the arms.

To ensure furniture wears evenly, rotate cushions and make sure you sit on every seat – not just your favourite one.

Furniture foes: what to look out for

Your favourite pair of jeans. Your winter tweed coat. It’s surprising what might inadvertently damage your upholstered furniture.

Dye transfer:
Some clothing dyes, like indigo used in denim, can quickly transfer to fabric and leather upholstery.

Abrasion:
Heavy clothing fabrics like denim and some textured fabrics can be abrasive to upholstery.

Cosmetics:
Some body products, hair gels, tanning lotions and cosmetics can damage fabrics, leather and finishes.

Sharp objects:
Buckles, toys, jewellery and pet claws can snag fabrics and cause tears and pulls. If you see a snag, don’t pull it – just cut it with scissors.

Heat:
Direct sunlight can cause upholstery to fade or deteriorate.

Add accidental damage cover

While everything at Furniture Village comes with a 20 year quality guarantee, It's worth asking about our 5 year Guardsman Furniture Protection for your bed or mattress. This worthwhile insurance plan will cover your new bed and mattress against any accidental damage.

Find out more about Guardsman protection

The Furniture Village 20-year structural guarantee

At Furniture Village, every single item we sell is built to last and fit to withstand everyday life. That’s why all our sofas and beds, and all dining and bedroom furniture comes with our free 20-year structural guarantee. So you can buy with confidence – and enjoy your furniture for years to come.
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