Home Sweet Home

As far as bedding is concerned, ordinary household sheets, pillowcases, blankets, quilts etc. are usually too sensitive to be used for camping. They are also rather bulky. Instead of separate items of bedding, it is more practical to have a one-piece sleeping bag that will not suffer as a result of being trampled on or crammed into the car boot. It also provides the right kind of warmth because the way to ensure a comfortable night’s sleep is to have as much insulation underneath your body as on top of it. Neither an air mattress nor a thin campbed gives enough warmth by itself. (more…)

The best way to keep upholstered furniture looking good is to ask yourself the right questions before you buy anything. Silk upholstered chairs or pale suede sagbags have a role they can play for years in some homes, but not in those where they will come in contact with children, pets, mud, food, drink, grease or ball-point pens. The amount of wear you expect to inflict should be an indication of how tough and practical your furniture need be. This can vary not just from home to home, but room to room. A pretty Victorian chair could survive intact for years in the bedroom of a house where the daily onslaught in the living-room would destroy it in a matter of months. Meal-times are much more relaxed if you are not on edge in case something gets spilt : dining chairs need to be easier to keep clean than those in a study. Outdoor furniture should be able to survive outdoors without having to be brought in to shelter every time it rains. Obvious things when you think about them, but often forgotten at the moment of purchase.

General maintenance

Regular care is the most important rule. What is quite a quick and simple matter to remove each week becomes difficult, often impossible, if left to accumulate over months. (more…)