Preparing Your House (and antiques) For the Holidays

Despite what people might say about kids and pets, no one is harder on our homes -- and our antiques -- than our guests, especially those who have been hitting the punchbowl harder than they should. Back when I ran a restoration shop in Iowa City, we always knew that January would find us busy removing white rings from table tops and regluing broken chairs.

Here, then, are a few precautions you can take to save your treasured pieces:

Put fragile pieces away. -- Your rowdy friends don’t need to see your Rookwood or Teco collection. And you certainly don’t want them passing it around like a bowl of chips. You are preparing for a party, not a photo shoot with Style 1900. Hide the good stuff.

Get out the new table runners. -- We may display our antique table runners during normal times, but when the party approaches we swap them out with reproduction table runners and mats that can be washed afterwards.

Wax an original finish. -- As you read here last week (and can see in Archives at the end of this article), paste wax is the only protection you should apply to an original finish. Don’t forget: alcohol is a solvent for Arts & Crafts finishes.

Buy new doormats. -- Your floors need protection, too. Worn out doormats are packed full of grit, so refresh or replace them before your guests arrive. Put one on either side of the doors everyone will be using.

Rearrange the furniture. -- What may work fine for you and your partner may create a log jam for a room full of guests. Pull the tabouret back out of the traffic lane before someone bumps it. Check the bottoms of chairs to make sure the glides won’t leave scratches in your floor. You may pick up your chairs before you move them, but your guests might not.

Check the rugs. -- Make sure the edges of your rugs have not curled to the point where someone could trip on them -- and go crashing into your sideboard.

Clean up immediately. -- Never leave glasses, plates and food sitting on your furniture overnight, as they might leave a permanent stain. Guests will hide uneaten food in bizarre places, so do your clean-up that night and sleep late -- and peacefully -- the next morning.

Good luck!

- Bruce