April, 2015

A comfortable mattress is not only a necessity, but also an investment into your health and well-being.

We all rely on our mattresses to provide us with a clean and comfortable night’s rest. Unfortunately, the quality of a mattress is often overlooked until you start experiencing an achy back or lose multiple nights of sleep.

While there is not a single type of mattress that is perfect for everyone, taking a few steps to capitalize on the life of your mattress can make you realize other multiple health benefits.

Here are a few tips that will help your mattresses last a little bit longer.

Keep the Mattress Dry

The one thing that can cut back on the life of your mattress is moisture. Whenever you sleep, your body generates moisture in the form of sweat that gets trapped in your blankets or the mattress. This becomes even more persistent during the spring and summer months, particularly if you reside in a humid environment where the air remains damp, which prevents the evaporation of moisture.

The trapped moisture can get the spring and the foam inside affected. Worse still, the mattress can sag, grow mold, develop rust, or give off an unpleasant odor if not aerated and dried as soon as possible.

To protect your mattress from moisture, leave it uncovered for awhile after waking up in order to aerate it. In the case of spillage, wipe the affected area immediately with a towel. Directing a fan or a blower at an uncovered bed can also help drive away the moisture.

Continue reading How to Maximize the Life of Your Mattresses →

Did you know that table runners have been used in dining rooms as far back as the Middle Ages? It’s true.

Way back in the Medieval period, table runners were used to protect rare and valuable tablecloths from messy and uncouth diners, many of whom tended to use the tablecloth in front of them as a napkin.

Dining room manners, of course, have changed quite a lot over the past thousand or so years, and today, table runners are generally used for decorative purposes. And yet they also keep expensive tables—and yes, expensive tablecloths—safe from forks, knives, liquid spills and food debris. So maybe things haven’t changed all that much after all!

If you’d like to add a table runner to your own dining room, bear in mind that they can be used for both formal and informal settings. In either situation, they bring color, texture and an added interest to your table. You can use them to celebrate special occasions, to observe the holidays, or simply to change the mood of the room.

Continue reading How to Use a Table Runner →