How to Protect Your Furniture
Furniture placement
Take a note of where the sun does come in and see if it does fall on any of your furniture that has the possibility to fade. Rearrange your furniture so any fabric or leather lounges aren't within the direct sunlight, and other fabrics aren't in the way either. Such things as lampshades, expensive rugs, bed linen and photographs on the wall. It may sometimes be impossible to keep everything from the sun however, you may take other protective measures, such as putting UV glass on your pictures, which will cut back on the damaging Ultra violet rays. Arrange you furniture in such a way so that it is not in the path of the main traffic with the house. This way it won't get knocked or kicked and will avoid being chipped or scratched. If you have young children you might want to put fragile or expensive furniture pieces away in storage until they are old enough to not cause them any harm.
Blinds and curtains
Having the right roller blinds, curtains or shutters is an effective method to keep the sun off your furniture. Make sure your curtains have heavy backing because these are better at keeping the heat during summer and also keep your warmth in during wintertime, which can greatly assist save on ac and heating costs. Remember to close your blinds during the heat of the day and when the sun is streaming directly through the window on to your furniture.
Furniture protection
Slip covers on lounges are a good idea, particularly around the arm rests, because these can be simply removed and washed. You may also protect fabric and leather with products specifically for this purpose. Have your fabric lounge suite dry cleaned at least once annually. It's comparatively cheap and keeps your lounge looking like new. If pets really are a problem, and also you don't wish to banish them outdoors, you could place in child proof gates to ensure that they're out of rooms where your good furnishings are. Cats often scratch furniture and can do a lot of damage, so purchase them a scratching post and train them to use that instead of your lounge suite. You can also deter pets from jumping on lounges through getting a spray bottle and spraying them with water every time they go to jump up.