Outdoor Furniture Restoration: Some Tips for You

Outdoor furniture can make your outdoor living an easy affair. And when they are well maintained and cared for, they make the outdoor area a lot more beautiful. But maintaining these pieces is not that easy. Most of the time weather acts unkind to the outdoor chairs and tables. And so if they are not maintained properly, they start showing indications of wear and tear. Moreover, if they are antique pieces maintaining them becomes a lot more difficult.

Here are some tips from Authentic Upholstery, an expert in furniture restoration in Sydney, for home owners wanting to restore the looks of their outdoor furniture.

Clean

Clean them using a brush. If you find any twig, cobwebs, leaf or bird droppings, get rid of them. Brush in cracks for removing all the loose dirt. Do not make use of any abrasive cleaner if your outdoor furniture is made up of metal like aluminium. Clean and polish with a mixture of water and vinegar or an aluminium cleaning cream. Use a hose to spray them properly. Wash all the mud or caked-on dirt. Even after doing all these, any stain or dirt remains, use a bucket of soapy water and bleach mixed with water, and scrub the dirt with brush using this solution if it hadn't come out with hose. Then rinse it using clean water. Use wood cleaning solution if you have a wooden furniture.

Strip

Cracked paints allow moisture to get in. This rots wood & rusts the metal. If the paint of your outdoor furniture is peeling or flaking, you should strip the coating back to metal or wood. You can do this by using paint stripper, heat gun or a sandpaper. If you see rust spots in the furniture, make use of metal brush or steel wool for removing the rust. If needed, re-paint. And if the timber has turned grey, use wood cleaning solution. It will bring the original colour back.

Protect

After the outdoor pieces are cleaned and dried, apply 2 coats of protection. Garden furniture oil works great in wooden furniture. Paint them on with a sponge, cloth or a 25mm brush. Clean & polish your outdoor furniture during spring & autumn. You may even make use an exterior timber paint. Hardwearing acrylic works good as well. If you find your furniture sitting on pavers, there is no need to paint the feet's base then. To get a gloss finish on a metal furniture, use a thin coating of car wax. Hose off furniture pieces on a daily basis when you are using them the most in a season. If you are washing and cleaning the soft materials like acrylic seat covers or canvas for example of your outdoor furniture, re-attach them when they are wet because these materials usually shrink when they dry.

Cheap Wedding Dresses For Brides in Sydney

Finding cheap wedding dresses in Sydney is a bit tough affair. But as women, we mostly look for wedding gowns and dresses that do not cost much or are on sale. And whenever we find something that's put up on for sale or discount, we hurry to that shop to see what is there. But when buying, we also keep a few things in our mind that these gowns should have a style statement and must be classy, elegant and trendy, as well as affordable all at the same time. Which is why, we find it very difficult to find cheap wedding dresses.

However, here are some wedding dress styles that will definitely fit your style and won't cost you much as well. See if you like any of these gowns.

Satin gown

An A-line satin gown that comes with a sweetheart neckline offers a classic look. The embellishments with beads and lace and a chapel train on the gown can give a gorgeous look. Moreover, if you find a dress that's backless, it would add to the grandeur and impart a royal appeal. It won't even cost you much.

Asymmetrical gown

An A-line asymmetrical, spaghetti strap gown works great for reception parties. Patterns of small white flowers as embellishments on the straps and appliqué with beads around the straps and waist are very popular. You can choose to go for this wedding gown if you do not want to break your budget.

Lace gown

If you are fond of laces, this is the perfect gown for you. When you will wear it, the dress will gently drape your body with exquisite lace work. Intricate lace work is usually seen around the bosom area. The handmade bead work gives the dress a lot more depth. The gown even comes with a boned bodice for finishing off the look. Train, which completes the dress is even done with lace work and that gives the gown a well-rounded off look. It is one of the cheap wedding gowns in Parramatta which often draws impressive stares when brides walk down the aisle.

Chiffon gown

For something stylish but simple, a classic chiffon gown is the best pick. It imparts a soft look and comes with tucks and folds. The dresses that come with a sweetheart neckline meeting at the centre with entwined knot blending well within tightly pleated backdrop are the ones that brides usually look for when they have a low budget. They have a midsection with a band holding the waist and the dress then falling loosely from waist down to the floor.

Choosing Flowers For A Newborn

A newborn’s arrival is, undoubtedly, a cheerful event that definitely calls for recognition. Sending a cute basket of flowers can be an excellent way of welcoming the new little member in the world. There are a variety of options to choose from and if you cannot decide what to do, the whole idea may seem pretty confusing. Given below are a few tips as to how you can choose floral gifts for a newborn:

Which Colour Should You Go For?

Although blue for a boy and pink for a girl is the general choice, it can also seem quite mainstream. For spicing up things a bit, you can select red blooms for a baby boy and white and purple for a girl. If you do not want to specify any gender, white may still work the best because it signifies beauty coupled with the warmth of innocence.

What Are The Flower Choices?

Selecting appropriate flowers for a floral gift is very important. Aromatic and delicate flowers might be charming, but they tend to wilt very quickly. Now for gifting a newborn, you will definitely want to choose blooms that are elegant for the baby and also last longer. Carnations are the traditionally ideal option with their ruffled, tender appearance and sweet aroma. You can also go for Gerber daisies which are quite hardy and may even last for an entire week. They are also quite inexpensive and come in many different shades.

Adding Extras

Simply a floral basket might not be enough for many people. As such, most shops selling flowers and gifts in Morwell allow their customers to choose tiny extras for turning the simple basket into a unique gift. There are a myriad of additional items which can be included in the flower basket for a baby, such as teddy bears, small balloons, baby figurines, other assorted stuffed animals, music box, baby-themed picture frames, baby rattles, etc. These are not very big items, but can augment the charm of your floral gift for sure.

Something For The Parents

Including something in your gift for the newborn’s parents can also add more elegance to the present. A bouquet of roses will make a pretty and elegant gift, especially if the blooms are of a softer shade like yellow or peach. You can add extras in it too, such as cookies, chocolates, figurines of mother and baby, etc.

Fraser Island Tourism

Fraser Island is basically a heritage-listed island. It is located along southern coast of Queensland in Australia. The island is about 200kms north of Brisbane. Its a locality within Fraser Coast Region. Fraser Island is considered as the largest sand island in the whole world. It is even the largest island of Queensland, the sixth largest island of Australia and the largest island on East Coast of Australia.

There are many mangrove forests, rainforests, sand dunes, eucalyptus woodland, peat swamps and wallum in the island. People have been dwelling here for about more than 5000 years. Long time before but for a short while, the place was known as Great Sandy Island. However, it became popular as Fraser because of the stories of a shipwreck survivor whose name was Eliza Fraser. Today, it is a popular tourist destination with a lot of things to see and do.

There are more than 100 freshwater lakes in Fraser Island and some of them are the cleanest ones in the world. Lake McKenzie is the largest perched lake and is the jewel of the island. It has crystal blue waters & white sands. And Lake Wabby is the deepest one on the island and has the most aquatic life of all lakes. Catfish and freshwater turtles can sometimes be seen swimming here. Indian Head is also a popular tourist spot. Tourists climb to the top of this rocky outcrop and look down into the ocean for spotting turtles, dolphins, rays and sharks. There are other attractions as well like Champagne Pools, Eli Creek, Maheno shipwreck, Coloured Sands, Central Station and Wanggoolba Creek.

Dingoes were also very common once but now they are endangered. The island is now famous for having more than 300 species of birds. There are even 25 species of mammals living here. Humpback whales from Antarctica come to sheltered waters of Platypus Bay with their new calves between July to August. So, this is the best time to see whales. There are many tour operators who operate from Hervey Bay and offer packages to tourists. They offer great Fraser Coast accommodation, whale watching tours and adventure trips on an affordable cost.

Vehicular access to this island is only by ferry; thereafter 4-wheelers for transporting around the island. And for this, there is the option of renting a 4WD vehicle. 

So, what are you waiting for? July to August is the best time to visit this island. Plan a tour and book one of the best Fraser Island Packages Hervey Bay before it gets too late!