Strategies to give favorite furniture staying power

You want the furniture you love — and spent good money on — to go the distance. These smart strategies will ensure that your MVPs (most-valued pieces) look and feel beautiful for a lifetime.

1. Wood

Threats: Direct sunlight and shifting humidity are a recipe for sticky drawers and splintered veneers. “The sun is a very focused source of heat,” says Brooklyn antique-furniture restorer and custom finisher Christophe Pourny. “It dries up the joinery, creates cracks and bleaches the color.” Going from dry to damp and back again also causes joinery to loosen or tighten, warp and, in extreme cases, grow mold. Then there’s the human factor: Overloading a drawer or shelf will stress the slides and supports, and make the wood sag; letting spills (or drink rings) set erodes the finish. Even moving a piece improperly can leave nicks and splits — lift it all at once, rather than pushing or dragging.

Resets: Two words: climate control. Keep your home’s temperature and relative humidity stable: ideally 65 degrees Fahrenheit and 40% to 50%, respectively. Monitor them with a combo thermometer-hygrometer from the hardware store, and if necessary where you live, run a dehumidifier in the summer and a humidifier in the winter to get the balance right. Then consider what you’re storing, and redistribute it well. (Nope, all your hefty photo albums should not live in one drawer.) If you like to set your night serums on a bureau top, have glass cut to fit it, or add a tray or box. As for cleaning, all wood needs is weekly dusting with a clean, lint-free white cotton cloth. Remove any grime or stains you find with a mix of water and mild dish soap, or use a gentle cleaner that won’t leave a residue; Martha’s favorite is Pourny’s Furniture Tonic ($21, christophepourny.com). Once a year, protect with a fresh coat of furniture paste wax, like Butcher’s.

Shine on: To get builtup tarnish and grime off metal pulls, remove and scrub them with a soft-bristle brush and a 50-50 mix of acetone and alcohol. Let dry, buff with a soft cloth and reattach.

2. Leather

Threats: “Dust is the enemy,” says Daryl Calfee, vice president of marketing for luxury leather company Moore & Giles. Heat and sun are harmful too, but it’s this lesser-known culprit that absorbs moisture and causes the material to dry out and crack.

Resets: Dust weekly with a clean, dry cloth, and every three to six months, treat oft-used items (like a coveted club chair) with a commercial leather cleaner, such as Leather Master (from $14, amazon. com). Place pieces at least 2 feet from heat sources, like vents and windows, and be mindful not to set magazines or newspapers on the cushions — ink can transfer, and getting it out is a job for a pro. Otherwise, blot spills immediately with a lintfree white cotton cloth (do not rub), then use a mix of three parts water to one part mild dish soap to wipe it away, and air-dry. Try not to stress about scratches; over time, natural waxes and oils will camouflage them. Cared for properly, “leather wears in, not out,” says Calfee.

3. Art

Threats: The usual gremlins — heat, sun and humidity — wreak havoc on both frames and what’s displayed inside. Active kids and errant elbows can also jostle them. “Humans are the greatest single source of damage to art,” Smithsonian senior furniture conservator Don Williams writes in “Saving Stuff ” (Simon & Schuster, 2005).

Resets: Consistent humidity is key to preserving contents and preventing delicate frame materials, such as gilding, from flaking or cracking. Also, think “location, location, location,” Williams advises. Never hang art directly in line with air vents (which can blow dirt, even when filtered), on a wall that receives direct sun or near a heat source, be it a radiator or a sconce. If you can feel the warmth of a lightbulb on a beloved print or photograph, it’s too close. For added protection, ask about UV-blocking glazing when you get something special framed.

4. Upholstery

Threats: Fabric-covered furniture takes a beating all day, every day from humans and pets repeatedly sitting and sprawling on it — and, of course, that sun.

Resets: Choose hardworking indoor-outdoor fabric when buying or re-covering pieces that invite wear and tear, like the movie-watching sofa. For items covered in less sturdy fabrics, close the curtains to curb fading, and protect the cushions your pets love to curl up on with a blanket. Vacuum weekly — i.e., every time you do the floor — to pull the dust out; take off the cushions and use the wand attachment to get into crevices.

LET US HELP YOU!

Email your questions to askmartha@marthastewart.com, or send them to

Ask Martha, c/o Letters Department, Martha Stewart Living, 225 Liberty St., 9th floor, New York, NY 10281. Please include your full name, address, and daytime phone number. Letters and messages become the property of Meredith Corp. and may be published, broadcast, edited or otherwise used in any of its media. By submitting your questions to Ask Martha, you are agreeing to let us use your name and hometown in connection with our publication of your questions.