How Light Damages Your Furniture

Over the course of the summer, a lot of us are going to witness our furniture start to lose colour in the sunlight. Furniture fades over time due to a variety of reasons. Still, harsh UV rays make up for a whopping 40% of all the fading our furniture goes through over the summer months, with another 20% coming from the sun’s heat and a further 25% coming from the visible light we can see.

It can be quite deflating to see all the lovely furniture that we may have spent a fair penny on fading out during the summer months. Our conservatories and interiors are dear to us, and we want to make sure that they look their best and, more importantly, stand the test of time.

What is UV Light?

Ultraviolet (UV) rays are invisible forms of radioactive energy that are emitted by high-energy objects including the sun. These UV rays are part of the light spectrum that we can’t see. Visible light runs on a spectrum from red to violet. The light that comes before red is known as infrared light, whilst the light that comes after visible violet is ultraviolet. UV travels with sunlight, so if your home is brightly lit by the sun, you will certainly have a lot of UV coming through your windows.

We’re all aware of the warnings we get from our doctors about over exposure to UV light on our skin, with the sun burning and worse, all coming from strong UV rays. However, we rarely discuss what kind of damage this particular form of energy does to our homes’ interior over a hot summer if you don’t take any action to prevent it. 

UV rays affect the pigment in many different kinds of materials. Colour pigment is made up of how certain particles are arranged in a material, specifically how these particles are chemically bonded together. When we see colour, what we’re actually seeing is the reflection of the light bouncing off these particle arrangements into our eyes and then being processed by our brains. When UV rays come into contact with the chemical bonds between particles, they damage them, slowly weakening the bonds. As the bonds weaken, the reflection we perceive from their changes. Over time, the colour fades out of furniture because the chemical bonds have been damaged to such a degree that light no longer bounces off it in the same way. The result is a bleaching or fading effect on the furniture. 

How does it affect my furniture?

Conservatory furniture is the most at risk of bleaching or fading as it is most likely to be in direct sunlight. To help counteract this issue, your best option is to invest in one of the various conservatory blind ranges we offer here at Appeal Home Shading. Our French Pinoleum Blinds provide the home with a wonderful rustic aesthetic that is sure to match the conservatory furniture that you’ve already put in place, and it helps give that same furniture a break from the intense UV rays. You can also still let a good amount of light into your conservatory, so you’re not darkening it completely, just taking the edge off for the sake of your furniture. 

Our indoor furniture is equally at risk, particularly if it’s near a window. We often spend a lot of time arranging furniture in the way we want it to be. In many ways, we build the design of our rooms around the furniture, so we often don’t want to move them if it can be avoided. Furthermore, moving the furniture may be impractical; it may be too heavy or too cumbersome to shift to another part of the room. In that case, you’re going to want to get some decent window coverings that protect your furniture when the sun is streaming straight in. Our Roman Blinds provide the home with an excellent aesthetic feature that helps protect your furniture and adds to the room’s design with its patterns. With your free design consultation, you’ll be able to discuss with our wonderful designers just what the perfect pattern is going to be for your home. We have a massive range to choose from, with all of them offering a design benefit to someone!

If you’re interested in protecting your furniture from sun damage this year with Appeal Home Shading, you can book your free design consultation with us today! All you do is click here, and we’ll sort the appointment around your schedule! In the meantime, you can also request a free digital brochure that gives you even more information about our various products.