linendrawer.co.za

Hallo everyone, haven’t posted in ages and realised that it is time for an update.

There are many interesting and new things happening at Linen Drawer, such as the launch of new Designer Ranges. Take a look now and see al the new great designs  http://www.linendrawer.co.za/designer_ranges.php.

Also, as we find that there is so much artistic talent in South Africa, yet few opportunities for that talent to be showcased, we have decided to run a fantastic competition. Individuals and interior designers create bedrooms that are masterpieces / works-of-art in their own right, yet don’t get the opportunity to tell the world about their talent…

As bed linen, bedding and bedrooms are important to us at Linen Drawer, we have decided to run a competition. To provide a platform for individuals and Interior Decorating companies to showcase what they have done with their / their client’s bedrooms, during the months of April to July 2013. A requirement for entering the competition is that Linen Drawer products are included / used in the creation of the room.

What could you win?

In total, R5000 worth of bed and bath linen of your choice, selected directly from our online shop. The prize is made up as follows:

Interior Decorator page – R2 500 worth of bed or bath linen selected directly from our online store.
Private individual page – R2 500 worth of bed or bath linen selected directly from our online store.
A total of R5000 worth of Linen Drawer merchandise up for grabs…

To find out how you can showcase your bedroom creation and perhaps win the prizes, click here now.

So come on, take a look at the competition and products and start being creative!!!

All of us have struggled with stains at some point in our lives. Whether it is in a restaurant, guesthouse or hotel or at home with clothes and more. There is nothing worse than sitting with a stain and not knowing what to do.

We recommend that you first ascertain what type of stain it is, as you get fatty stains or coloured stains and then toughest of all is when it is combined stains.

To identify a fatty stain, look for the visibility and appearance of oil, grease or wax on the surface of the fabric. It will create a distinct discoloration.

For colour stains, easily enough it is visible because of the the colour of the stain on the surface of the fabric. For example wine,grass, rust or coffee stains. As you see in the pic on the right, there is a terrible stain that has formed.

Typical examples of combined stains are lipstick or curry. These are sometimes hard to remove. Remember that the most important thing is to get to the stain as fast as possible. Most of you will know that if you’ve spilled red wine or coffee on clothes or table cloths etc and you immediately rinsed it under lukewarm to hot water ( sometimes even cold does the trick), that the stain completely disappeared. Soak and wash colour stains in warm – hot water with detergents. Stubborn stains should be treated with chemicals and then bleaching agents as a completely last resort and then with great care.

Fatty stains should be soaked and washed at high temperatures with detergents containing enzymes. Treat stubborn fatty stains with solvents. Never let the solvent dry on the item before washing.

Combined stains might require a combination of these two processes. Remember that every situation differs and have factors that affect it. Should you be interested take a look at some of our recommended stain removal tips for certain stains on our website under Need Help in the Laundry. Good luck as well with all your stain challenges!! Or as the pic on the left top states…….give it to your mother, she knows what to do.

Now today we’d like to ask you how often you wash your duvet inners? And we normally ask this as an ice breaker when we do our presentations to hospitality, decorating and other industries. And would you believe me that more often than not, the response is, not even once a year. Yes, you heard right……not even once a year. Can you imagine sleeping under a duvet that hasn’t been washed for that long? Of course, keep in mind that this exact same question applies to your home.

The rule of thumb is that a duvet needs to be washed at least every 2-3 months, especially

in the hospitality industry. You could stretch it slightly longer at home should you prefer.

The most important thing to remember now, is that you should check on your care-label whether your inners can be machine washed and dried.  Today, most duvet inners are manufactured in such a way that it can be washed & tumble dried. However take a look at the picture on the left.

This is what we refer to as a channel duvet. The challenge with this inner is that after washing the filling tends to move towards the ends of the casings or clump up in parts. This is also worse when the filling is duck down & feather or goosedown & feather. Nowadays, the feather and down have been treated in such a way that they tend to clump less and fill out again after drying. (Picture on right is a Climabalance duvet – which has been designed to help regulate the tempareture via the panel inserted.)

We recommend that you consider the following when purchasing a new inner:

Firstly, decide what type of duvet you want – one with natural filling or synthetic. Of course how much you want to spend will also influence this. The choices for synthetic filling we would recommend is hollow fibre and micro fibre. Then, if you are looking for natural filling there are a few choices. If you look at cotton, wool or satin filling, please consider that these are harder to take care of and some also need to be dry cleaned which is expensive etc.

When you look at Duck Down or Goose Down and feather, you will find that the duck down blends tend to be more expensive. Also keep in mind that you get different fillings meaning for example you get a 3/4 duck down, which means that there is 60% Duck down and 40% feather filling. You also get 90% Goosedown and then of course 10% feather. Most casings these days are designed to keep the feathers from sticking through as in the olden days. Also, the allergy aspect has been covered to an extent, as the down and feather is treated and cleaned more properly than before.

This is a case of preference and these are tips. Please ask us any time if you need more help or struggle with stains on inners etc.

Good Morning Everyone.

Have you ever struggled with a fitted sheet that just doesn’t want to fit, or that fitted perfectly, but after the first wash it’s so small, you’d need a team to get it to fit on the mattress? Well if you have, then read on…. This is in fact a common problem that many deal with. It starts already at the door of the manufacturer. Why do you ask? Well, firstly, all manufacturers are supposed to allow for shrinkage that will take place during washing and drying, especially when done at higher temperatures of 40 degrees and above. Secondly, one must consider the depth of your mattress. The industry locally and internationally has changed over the years and we don’t only have mattresses that are 25cm’s deep. Nope, we in fact have many extra depth mattresses and also of course, extra length. This means that for the fitted sheet to fit correctly, the manufacturer would have to allow for the mattress depth as well as the length. Many however do not do this and cut corners to save on costs. This is very frustrating for everyone though, as most of us at some time, have ended up with a bed that looks like this picture on the right. Have you experienced this before?

Of course, the best way to go about ensuring that you don’t end up with this, is to go and measure your mattress and then start shopping around. Keep in mind that you need to consider shrinkage and also aim to buy a fitted sheet that has been elasticated all around as this will ensure a better fit. (see below left and right).

Here at Linen Drawer we aim to achieve all of these things and therefore also make up bedding to specification. Please do contact us for a quotation anytime. We will also advise you anytime and help you in any way we can if you are unsure about what size sheets you need. Rather be safe that sorry as the saying goes and buy the right fit first time round.

 This pic on the right is a great example of how it should fit. Remember that even though this seems to be a very logical thing, we’ve had many requests from clients that struggle with finding the perfect fit. Your fitted sheets (and all other bedding) should stop shrinking from around the 3rd to 4th wash. (Depending on your washing temperature etc).

Please do not hesitate to contact us, ánd happy bedding shopping!!

Having bedding that is of superb quality and lasts extra long, sometimes make it seem harder to give you’re bedroom a face lift. Why would you buy new bedding if it’s not neccesarry.  So you find yourself standing in your bedroom and would love to give it a fresh look.  However, you’re bedlinen is still fine and looking good. You also might not have the budget to redo your whole room at once. What to do? Throw in the proverbial towel……………………..?  We think not!

Here are a few simple ideas of how to give your room a fresh new look.

Firstly, when you start out, aim to have 2 bedding sets (or consider this when replacing some bedding), one for on the bed and one for in the wash. If possible, have one duvet cover plain and one with a colour or design or something different. 

 The next step is to look at you curtains or blinds and decide whether that needs changing. Curtains can make blinds seem fresh if you add light organza or short curtains. This will all depend on your overall theme or idea that you have for your room.

 Next, look at possibly buying new lamps or re-doing your current ones by adding a bit of bling. Never underestimate the power of moving your furniture around. This can make the old seem brand new. Adding scatter cushions or blankets / throws can also add splashes of colour and new life. In the end, remember that less is more and have fun.  Next we’ll be discussing how to fold a fitted sheet for packing away. This can be quite a mission as you know. So keep an eye out for some fabulous info on choosing the correct size to packing it away. Have a great day.

Good morning everyone, hope you had a fabulous weekend. It’s that time of year in SA when a lot of us start looking at bronzing creams or sprays or,  perhaps in other parts of the world your looking at sunscreens. If you are, please take a look at the ingredients and if there is any Iron oxide type ingredients mentioned, make sure that you shower or bath before you wear your clothes or lie down on the bed. The iron oxide particles could cause yellow/ orange stains. EEEEEEEK we don’t want that, as it’s really tough to remove if possible as well.

This is what iron stains look like on a bath tub. So we don’t want that on our clothes or linen right.  Some parts of the world have very iron rich water as well and this is what causes the staining to occur. We have found that in certain cases through the use of normal detergent and oxalic acid (used very carefully and as per instructions for safety) the stains are removed. In lighter cases, we have been successful with normal washing detergent and a product called oxi-brite. Companies are using it in alot of products these days, even some shower gels etc.

As they say though, prevention is better than cure, so keep this in mind when you use products.  Be aware and read what you are using without paranoia. Lol.  Let me know if anyone has questions or added thoughts.

Hi everyone, hope all’s well. We’ve had a launch recently and I got to thinking. You can do so much with bedding and lighting and stunning decorating accessories and more. Then I saw these pics and realised that you could still make use of all these aspects by building it around a focal point. And why not make that something different.

These pictures show that you can really go wild and that pretty much anything is possible. A few things to keep in mind though is that you must ensure that your back and body will still get enough support and that the mattress is comfortable and durable. Depending on the space you have, you can really work with a lot of ideas. The photo on the right shows a bed that can easily be packaged and moved. Keep in mind that the design you choose could either limit you or give you endless options. So do a lot of research, as this is a decision that you could live with for a while. Have fun and let’s all start thinking outside the box.

Good Morning Everyone.

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged on anything. Today I’d like to let you know about our wonderful new Competition Page where we’ll be running fantastic monthly competitions offering various of our products as prizes.  All you need to do is click on this link http://linendrawer.co.za/Competitions_Special_Offers.html and follow the easy instructions (answer a question for example), email it to info@linendrawer.co.za and you are entered.

This month, we are offering two of these stunning Mohair blend throws (on the right), consisting of 70% Mohai, 26% Wool and 6% Nylon. They come in various sizes and stunning colours, from knee blankets to King size throws.  So all sizes to fit any need.

It is from the “A Beautiful Story” Range. There are also many other stunning blended Throws available that consist of other blends. These are all available for purchasing on our website under the Beds & Bedding window.

Take a look now and choose your favourite one. Remember you stand a chance to win one so enter now!!!

Hello everyone, this is an example of our Designer Range Latitude with a Crown embroidery design.

Something to always keep in mind when considering embroidery is whether firstly, digitising of your design is possible and what the costs involved would be then.

Secondly, you must look at your design very critically, especially when considering the placement of your embroidery. This is very important especially on pillowcases, as positioning can influence sleep if the design is placed where your head goes.

Then the appropriate size must be determined for the item to be embroidered, as the size on a pillow case will differ to the size on a duvet cover for instance. Also keep in mind that a good quality thread is key along with great precision and skill to ensure that the final product is neat and secure. For more info on embroidery, let me know. Hope you have a fun and great day!