It’s that old piece of furniture that sits quietly in the corner. It’s the old heirloom that you inherited from your great grandmother when you got married and moved into your first home. It’s a tired collection of wood and glue but it means a lot to you and you just can’t bear to part ways with it. After all, it’s the bassinet your grandmother slept in for her first few years. So what can you do to breathe live back into that beloved piece of family history?

The reasons behind restoring an old piece furniture can be as vast as the amount of old time vintage antique shops that litter the eastern seaboard. To each person who has that well worn item stored away deep into the recesses of their seldom visited attic there is a potential for restoring the memories of love ones long gone and the luster of a once prized family heirloom. Often, as time rolls by the memories of childhood slip into a forgotten realm and the hustle and bustle of today becomes the focal point of the mind. It’s only when that person ventures into the attic to search for some other less important misplaced item that those memories come back in a flood as they stand in amazement of that old piece of furniture that they had long forgotten about.

If you’ve ever been that person, you surely know the feeling that rushes back as you remember the day it was handed down to you. The proud feeling that you were remembered or the touching embrace as you hugged the frail person who cared for you as a child and has now realized that you are the rightful caretaker of the items that mean the most to them in life. Whether it’s that old bassinet, or a well worn hutch, the desire to see it preserved will begin to haunt you until you give in and start the process of restoring that beautiful piece of art.

Where do you begin to start the process? This item is one of great importance to you and you want to ensure it’s properly restored to its rightful luster. The process of restoring furniture can be a rewarding one but success is dependent on the degree of restoration, the particular piece you are restoring and the education level you have with restoring.

The right place to begin in the process is to determine what the value of the piece is. This is not crass but a 200 year old antique worth $10,000 is not all that uncommon to show up in a forgotten attic and when it happens it’s best to seek out a qualified artisan that is skilled in the art of restoring valuable antiques. If anything, a qualified artisan can assist you with the best process to take to ensure the piece stays as valuable as it can. If the item is not as valuable as that colonial antique you can likely seek the assistance of your local wood worker supply store. This writer has relied on friends at Woodcraft for countless assistance over the years.

If you want to go at the process alone you’ll find that the hours you spend on that beloved piece will melt away and they usually end up being the most rewarding hours you’ll spend as an adult. You’ll often become one with the furniture as you relive all of the memories that make that piece of furniture so important to you. With countless online resources aimed at first time restorers you’ll find numerous places more then willing to help you make all of the critical decisions on what to do.

Also, keep in mind that the patina that a price of furniture obtains over the years can be a large part of the character and removing that character can all but ruin the real appeal of an heirloom. Before you pick up that paint stripper think to your self. Does the actual wood and glue mean the most to you or does the wear and tear caused by years of love mean more to you. Answering that question should tell you what steps you should take before you proudly display that heirloom where the world can see it!

Kimberly Green has inherited many beautiful family heirlooms and has recently refinished 2 bassinets that have been in the family for years.

Buying baby furniture can be overwhelming. There are so many styles and options. But one thing that is most important is that the furniture needs to be safe for your baby. Cribs are involved in more infant deaths each year than any other nursery product. Know what to look for when buying a crib.

First check the corner posts on the crib. The best option is corner posts that are flush with the headboard and footboard. At most, they should extent 1/16” above the top. They should not be long enough for clothing worn to get hooked on.

Check that the mattress support hangers can be completely secured to the frame by either bolts or closed hooks. Regularly check the crib’s hardware to make sure none of it has loosened something that can happen with a child bouncing on the mattress.

If you’ll be using bumper pads, check them out carefully to have the following features: tie or snap in place, fit all the way around the crib, have straps/ties in each corner, in the middle of the sides along the open rails and should also have ties at the top and bottom edges. (Be sure to remove the bumper pads when your child can stand in the crib. Otherwise they might use the pad as something to step on if they want to climb out of the crib.)

Once you get the crib and mattress home, discard all plastic. Never use any part of the plastic, including the bag covering the mattress, as the plastic could cause suffocation.

Because of the potential of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), use a firm, flat mattress in the crib and lay your baby on their back. Instead of using a blanket that can get wrapped around the baby, use a one-piece sleeper with legs and arms.

When arranging the baby furniture in the nursery, keep the crib away from any window. Any windows that have blinds or draperies also have cords that could cause strangulation. And the screen of an open window is not strong enough to prevent a child from falling out.

If you put your baby to bed with a pacifier or teether, never tie it around their neck. When you are ready to put your baby down to sleep, there should be nothing around their neck and that includes bibs and necklaces.

Make sure the side rail is fully locked when raised. Put the mattress in its lowest position once your child can stand in the crib by itself. Remove any and everything that they could possibly stand on to try and climb out including any stuffed animals or toys.

Climbing out anyway? Then keep the side rail down. It’s a lot less further to fall than if the side rail is up.

And finally, keep in mind that any baby toy/mobile/gym that stretches across the crib is wonderful for your infant but can become a strangulation hazard once your baby gets older and more active.

Kimberly Green is a mom and has researched,  in depth,  baby safety when buying baby furniture

For centuries, families have passed down baby furniture as family heirlooms. There is a reason why; they represent a families’ moment in time with the elegance of finely crafted furniture.

Mass produced furniture has become very common as furniture outlets, low quality manufacturers and super store outlets become more prevalent. Rarely can someone go to a superstore and expect the level of quality that would be expected from a piece of furniture that should be handed down as a family heirloom. Quality standards of pressboard and wood veneer are far less than hand made hardwood furniture. The life expectancy of pressboard furniture is five to seven years with the latter being exceptional. In some cases, low quality furniture sells for similar prices as quality hardwood furniture. Which really makes the money spent on quality baby furniture a smart investment.

There are many pieces of furniture that can classify as family heirlooms but baby furniture stands out as an obvious choice given the fact that it connects a family in a very intimate way. From a first-born child to grand children, a bassinet can be a beautiful reminder of a child’s first few months of life. When that child grows up and has a child of their own their old bassinet will serve as a warm reminder of the love that they experienced in those precious first days of life. If that bassinet is made of quality hardwood and craftsmanship it’s easy to see why passing it from generation to generation would be a great way to build a family tradition.

A baby’s crib and a baby’s first bed are also great family heirlooms because a person’s memories of those pieces of furniture will be newer and there is a great possibility that family member who grew up with these pieces of furniture will have fond memories of growing up using them. This will translate when they are the parent and their child is growing up. Every time a parent goes into a baby’s room that furniture will surely remind them of fond memories from when they were a child and using the furniture.

Not only does quality baby furniture serve as excellent items to pass down, they usually have quality standards that far surpass that of mass-produced items. Hardwood furniture does not get brittle with age and can stand up to years of abuse because they can continually be refinished and polished to look new again. These are all benefits over garden-variety superstore brand baby furniture.

Quality furniture is an excellent cost effective choice for anyone who is about to or already has a child because it will pay for itself over several generations. You can guarantee that you will not have to buy replacement furniture due to premature wear. When you add quality into the equations, high quality hardwood baby furniture will stand the test of time as a family heirloom.

Found another interesting article on how to purchase luxury baby goods like baby furniture and baby clothes. I like the methodical approach and and no nonsense approach the author has about the pros and cons of purchasing quality over quantity and it seems she creates a great argument for quality.

Here is an interesting article on purchasing luxury baby furniture which actually has a well thought out approach to why it’s better to spend more money up front to save in the log run.  The article also mentions ways to get advice on purchasing the baby furniture along with helping to maintain it.  Check it out on eHow!