How to Safely Clean Mirrors

Irwin Weiner ASID - There are so many inexpensive mirrors available for home decorating; it's nice to finally see the prices going down on essential home accessories! But with the rise of popularity of inexpensive, cheaper mirrors - as well as the collectibility of antique mirrors - comes an epidemic of what's known as "black edge."

This is the condition where a chemical like ammonia from many window cleaning products seeps into the cracks or edges of a mirror and begins to eat away at the silvering on the back edge of the mirror. This can also occur on mirrored walls or on smaller mirror panels when the cleaning product is sprayed into the cracks where two pieces of mirror butt up against one another. And in the case of antique mirrors, you have enough spotting and silvering and natural streaking with age without ruining something beautiful and weathered through improper mirror care. 

The solution is to use a non-ammonia based or green cleaning product, or to make your own natural cleaner. Apply the cleaner to a cloth or spray it in the center of the mirrored panel and swoop down on it with a non-soy-based-in newspaper sheet or paper toweling before the drips get to the edge or in cracks and crevices. For more complete information, go to this thorough How to Clean Mirrors article from HowtoCleanStuff.net.

And today's featured video is from Julie Edelman, author of The Ultimate Accidental Housewife - learn a simple trick for how to keep a bathroom mirror defogged for several weeks!

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Hot Home Decorating Trend - African Style

Irwin Weiner ASID - It's not just that I'm noticing this trending towards all-things African in interior design just because I'm from Africa. It's fairly obvious that something has trended towards the masses and it's a big story when you're seeing the front of Home Goods stores plastered with African accessories and tabletop items.

Vernacular African decor uses lots of hand-carved wood, beautiful lacquered finishes, large scale, bold design, and bright prints ranging from overscale florals to metallics and animal skins. "Natural" is what it's all about, but I'd say it's more "super-natural," a bit larger than life, yet still warm, generous, and inviting.

There are colonial influences in traditional African design along with the dominant native motifs. You'll enjoy the following video we just took in my native Cape Town. Jay spent time interviewing Moenieba and Lesley at Colonial House Design. The interior design house and manufacturer typifies the trendiness of the African design movement in everything they create and customize for their clients. Some of their iconic furnishings and accessories are shown in the above photos and in our video. Enjoy!

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