How to Maintain and Care for Decorative Elements in High-Traffic Landing Areas
When designing a house, decorating it with delicate items with intricate designs always seems like a great idea. But what later becomes a hassle is to keep these objects clean and well-maintained.
Do you have a lot of such decorative items like stairs landing decor, wall-mounted pots on the balcony, or beautiful lamps in corridors? If yes, then you must have certainly faced the problem of maintaining them over time.
There are several things you can do to care for these items, starting from choosing the correct material to even getting professional help. These methods are elaborated in our guide in detail, along with recommendations for each technique to lessen the amount of maintenance necessary. Continue reading to find out!
How to Maintain Decorative Elements in High-Traffic Landing Areas?
Here are some of the easiest ways to maintain the decorative elements in high-traffic landing areas around the house.
1. Avoid Dirt
Handling the excessive dust accumulating on delicate objects over time is a huge trouble. Then why not nip it in the bud? Avoid as much dirt and dust as you can. Most of the dirt, especially in high-traffic landing areas, comes into the house through shoes from outside. To get rid of this problem, you can install a shoe stand near the entryway itself where people can take off their footwear. However, most importantly, you must get your family members to follow the rules!
2. Choose Right
A lot of bother can be avoided merely by choosing the correct materials. With the rise of material physics, we now have several materials that are water-resistant, dust-resistant, inert to rust, and corrosion-free as well. Depending on the needs and environment of your house, you should choose the most beneficial one. For instance, if your area or locality experiences a lot of humidity, you should go for decorative items made of materials that are water-resistant and rust-free.
3. Protective Gear
One way to shield your decorative items is to use protective gear. They typically serve a dual purpose of safeguarding the objects from damage and enhancing the overall aesthetics. Depending on the item you want to shield, you can pick from a range of protective gear like glass cloches, display cabinets, floating shelves, vitrines, felt pads, cushioned surfaces, decorative trays and baskets, and wall-mounted hooks. Each of these will help you maintain your items for a long time.
4. Add a Coat
Despite covering your decorative objects with some protective gear, they can get dirty and dusty eventually. You can avoid this by adding protective coatings on these items depending on the material they are made of. We recommend varnish, polyurethane, fire-retardant coatings, and lacquer for wooden objects. Epoxy resin, clear wax, spray sealants, UV-protective coatings, rust inhibitors, and anti-graffiti coatings are some of the other recommended ones for all kinds of materials.
5. Frequent Cleaning
Ultimately, no matter how much we try, dust and dirt settle over our delicate decorative items. While you can undertake each of the above measures stringently, they will only work if you frequently clean high-traffic areas in the house. It is advisable to gradually develop a routine depending on how often these objects require deep cleaning. Also, use smart gadgets like a robotic vacuum to clean more efficiently and safely, as most decorative items are made of brittle and delicate materials.
6. Look Around
Sometimes, as much as we try to keep an item well-maintained, the real threat lies outside. Search for any pointed objects or heavy furniture that you may have placed in high-traffic landing areas. These objects not only increase the chances of an accident but may also hurt the person and damage your decorative items. Hence, it’s best to move them out of the way to an area that is visited less or to attach them to the floor or walls sturdily. This can certainly help increase the items’ durability and also keep them maintained.
7. Professional Help
Delicate objects may need professional help over time. Just like we may call a professional sofa cleaner to help keep the furniture clean, we can employ qualified professionals to help maintain these decorative items, especially since they’re placed in high-traffic areas and are prone to faster damage. Each object’s materials, intricacies, design, and finish are different, and professionals know best how to maintain and take care of each of these. Hence, don’t hesitate to call one when you feel the need.
Parting Words
Landing areas are usually prone to more damage and destruction due to the constantly high foot traffic. Having decorative items in these areas can certainly increase the aesthetic appeal of your house and make it look more classy.
However, maintaining them over the years often becomes a trouble. Some of the best precautions are to refrain dirt and dust from coming into the house, clean frequently, and avoid keeping sharp objects or heavy furniture susceptible to accidents in these high-traffic areas.
Additionally, you can add protective coating on the decorative objects or protective gear as well, depending on the item. What has been the most difficult hurdle for you while maintaining such objects? Let us know in the comments section below.
