PROVIDING NATURAL SPLENDOUR to your home, solid wood offers the timeless beauty and warmth that is reflective of any home environment that wants to achieve an inviting look and have a personality.
While other work tops age badly and become unattractive to look at and work, solid wood has the advantage of gaining in character as it ages, becoming richer and deeper in colour.
As beautiful as wood is, it may loose its shine over time or get scratches and you may want to give it a facelift. So how do you do this at home yourself? Well with these handy tips, your wooden tops will be as good as new in no time.
- Because wooden tops are solid all the way through, scratches and damaged surfaces can be easily sanded away to reveal a fresh new surface. Just buy sand paper at the general hardware and sand away. You can also opt to chisel the surface to achieve a smooth new one.
- A quick way to bring back shine to your top is to add oil which adds depth and character to the wood that varnish and lacquers can’t match. Simple to apply the oil allows the top to stop looking tired and the wood achieves a water resistant finish. This is perfect for kitchen work tops. To find the best oil for this purpose, contact your local kitchen supplier and buy timber worktop re-coating oil to apply every three months or so.
- Wood is high maintenance thus, fix dents as soon as they happen. If this happens accidentally, place a damp cloth on the area and iron the surface. Solid wood reacts well to this process and will rise back up making the dent disappear.
- Move those large items from time to time. Your wooden surface will mellow and darken over time as it is exposed to light. Leaving items in one position over time as it will result in light patches where light is blocked from the wood. To prevent the formation of these patches, move large items like microwaves and printers to allow the top darken evenly.
- Wood sheens are readily available in hardware stores and supermarkets, so you can give your tops instant shine by spraying with sheens specifically for wood.
Once done, marvel at your new wooden top and invite guests over for dinner and drinks. Make sure you tell all who care to listen that you did it yourself!
