Antiques are vulnerable to damage from sunlight

I grew up in a house full of antiques — as did my mom, and her mom before her.  My family has been collecting antiques for that long…  Four generations!

One of the things that I’ve had drilled into me since childhood is that antiques are like vampires – they can’t stand the sun.  My mom says that my grandmother (who died when I was just a kid) had a routine of opening all the drapes on the west side of the house in the morning, and all the drapes on the east side of the house in the afternoon.  That way none of her antique furniture ever saw direct sunlight.

Luckily, these days there is a much better way of protecting your antiques from the sun.  Many modern replacement windows blocks UV rays, which is the type of light that is most damaging to antique furniture.  You can get UV protection in virtually any type of window, whether it is a picture window or a set of French doors.  This kind of protection is invaluable because it enables you to open the windows anytime you like, without worrying about whether the sun will damage your antiques.

If you collect books or collectibles that are kept in a glass case, you should also consider buying a case that has UV protection in the glass; or, if your cases are antiques (as mine are), you should consider replacing the glass with UV resistant glass.  While it is possible to arrange the furniture so that the cases never face the windows, it is much better not to have to worry about it at all.

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