Some of our furniture is delivered without surface treatment (e.g. Shelves and the birch Bag Shelf). Usually the only care that untreated wood needs is dusting. If the wood has become dirty, it can be sanded with fine sandpaper. Minimal dirt can often be removed using an ordinary eraser.

If you want to add surface treatment to your untreated wood furniture, you can buy soap flakes, oil, tinted oil and egg oil tempera in our stores and our online shop.

Important points when using untreated wood in wet rooms!  

Untreated oak that becomes very wet can leach a brown stain. An oak product should therefore be surface treated if you are going to place it in a bathroom. Birch does not leach but untreated birch products can become slightly marked in wet environments.

Oiled surfaces – natural & tinted oil

We treat furniture with oil before delivery. All you need for day-to-day maintenance is a wipe with warm water. Soap spray for wood is recommended as a mild cleaner where necessary (available to buy in our stores and our online shop). Use soap spray no more than once a week, otherwise the surface can become saturated/sticky. An oiled piece of furniture needs oiling regularly to maintain its resistance to marks and to avoid dry cracking. How frequently you need to oil your furniture depends on the amount of wear it is exposed to.

Important things to bear in mind when using tinted oil:

White oil and brown oil contain pigments which make the surface lighter or darker respectively the more coats of oil are used. The furniture is just as easy to care for as when using natural oil but takes a little more work to be restored to its original condition. You should take more care when oiling a white/brown oiled piece of furniture to avoid the pigment being rubbed off and the surface looking blotchy. WOCA’s oils are a good option for maintaining your wood surface.

When using tinted oil:

Remember to shake/stir the oil well so the pigment is distributed evenly. Add a coat of tinted oil using a brush or cloth.

How to oil your furniture:

Clean with wood cleaner or warm water and a little gentle detergent (ideally a soap solution for wood). Use a washing up sponge that won’t scratch, or a soft nail brush. Make sure all dirt has been wiped away. Leave to dry. Sand the surface with fine sandpaper, first 240 grit then 400 grit, always in the direction of the grain. Wipe with a dry, lint-free cloth. Pour oil onto a rag or washing-up sponge and wipe thinly over the surface. Remember that the surrounding temperature and the temperature of the furniture should be above 15 ° C. Leave the oil to penetrate for about 15–20 minutes. Wipe off surplus oil properly to avoid the oil forming a skin and creating a layer similar to lacquer. Repeat the wiping stage until the surface feels dry (ideally once an hour for three hours). Then polish properly with a dry cloth. The newly oiled surface will be ready to use after about 24 hours.

The furniture will be dry after a couple of days but the hardening process will continue over the next few weeks. Avoid placing textiles on recently oiled surfaces. Wipe the surface as usual in the event of spills.

Note! Remember that oily rags can self-ignite. Soak your used cloths in water and put them in a well-sealed plastic bag or burn them if possible.

Look after your oiled dining table!

» The table top should be oiled at least once a year to keep the surface saturated and avoid cracks. Maintenance oil for wood is available to buy in our shops.
» Liquid can leave marks if it is left too long on an oiled table.
» Use a cloth and warm water for daily care and a soap spray for wood (available to buy in our shops) a maximum of once a week. Soap spray cleans and saturates the pores of the wood, protecting it from dirt and liquid at the same time.
» Use appropriate stain removal products for wood (available to buy in our shops or here) if you need them.
» Remember to check and tighten screws and fittings from time to time.

Tempera painted surfaces are very sensitive in the first months and a newly painted piece of furniture should therefore be treated with extra care to avoid marks or chipping. Over time, the egg oil tempera will harden and become extremely hardwearing.

Tempera painted surfaces can be wiped gently with olive oil soap and water – the soap can be bought in our stores. Lines and marks can be removed using a clean eraser. Moisten any marks and the surrounding area with a sponge. Try to sponge off the mark. If this doesn’t work, leave the cleaning substance to work for a while. Then brush the mark with a soft or medium-hard brush using short strokes. Brush the area around the mark at the same time so any difference in shine is not as obvious. The paint will take on different characteristics depending on the pigments involved – those containing ultramarine (blue and graphite) cannot withstand contact with acids (e.g. lemon and sour apples). Tempera painted furniture (light shades especially) has a tendency to yellow when placed in a shady part of the room. Move the furniture into sunlight for a couple of days to remove the yellowing.

Note! "Top-up pots" (in the colours of the furniture) are available to buy from our customer services for a symbolic amount. We recommend using the pots for minor marks/chips but ideally not in prominent places as spot painting on a limited area can easily produce darker marks. Test on a less visible area to see how much difference in shade there is. Larger surfaces should not be painted with “top-up pots".

Note! Tempera paint is a fresh product and must be kept in the fridge to ensure it lasts. Opened packaging can be kept in a fridge for several months.

Linen has high tensile strength but is low stretch, while the fibres are compact. All this means that linen fabric wrinkles easily, which brings it to life and makes it extra attractive. The smoothness of the fibres gives the fabric a slightly shiny surface, which means that colours are reproduced beautifully. Linen has high moisture absorbency, which means it feels cool. The compact and smooth surface of the fibres means the surface of linen does not deeply absorb dust and dirt, so dust and dirty marks are usually easy to remove. This means that linen does not need to be washed at high temperatures either.

Linen fabric has a tendency to stretch, which means that our linen cushion covers will “grow” with age. As linen shrinks when washed, we therefore recommend regular washing to retain the shape of your covers. 

See care instructions for the furnishing fabric you have chosen – some linen covers can be washed at 30° C but we generally recommend that you have our fabric covers professionally cleaned/dry cleaned. When washing with water, we recommend soaking (preferably overnight) before washing to avoid creases. Do not tumble dry!

Wool is made from fibres from animal hide, usually from sheep. It is a hardwearing material with many natural benefits. Wool naturally repels dirt and withstands stains to a higher extent than other fibres, while its sheen also makes it beautiful to dye. Wool upholstery keeps its shape well and the wool fibre is extremely hardwearing, but is often blended with another fibre to further increase its durability. Wool does not catch fire easily, making it an environmentally friendly alternative to textiles treated with flame-retardant chemicals. It is renewable and biodegradable.

Woven wool fabrics in principle always contain surplus fibres, which are released and emerge with use. This doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with the fabric; it is an integral characteristic of wool fibre. The easiest way to deal with this is to use a lint remover or to very carefully run a razor blade over the surface.

See the care instructions for the furnishing fabric you have chosen. We generally recommend that you have all our fabric covers professionally cleaned/dry cleaned.

Cotton is a plant fibre. It is easy to work with, hardwearing, can be woven in a wide number of ways and is very suitable for dyeing as the fibres are highly absorbent. At the same time, it takes a large amount of water and pesticides to grow it and protect the growing crop from insects.

We use cotton fabric manufactured in line with Oeko-Tex, which doesn’t necessarily mean that the cotton itself is organically grown but means that minimum chemicals are used when manufacturing yarn and fabric, and that closed systems are used.

See the care instructions for the furnishing fabric you have chosen. We generally recommend that you have all our fabric covers professionally cleaned/dry cleaned.

Hemp is a plant fibre that is very similar to linen but hemp doesn’t get quite as wrinkled. The fibre is strong (high tensile strength) and has a low absorption capacity, which means that textiles made from hemp feel cool. Hemp is resilient and farmers don’t need pesticides or fertilisers to grow it; in fact it adds nutrients to the soil. Hemp is the natural fibre that produces the most fibre per acre. Only industrial hemp approved for growing by the EU is used for textile manufacture.

Just like linen fabric, hemp has a tendency to stretch, which means that our cushion covers will “grow” with use. We therefore recommend regular washing so that the fabric shrinks slightly to retain the shape of your covers. See the care instructions for the furnishing fabric you have chosen. We generally recommend that you have all our fabric covers professionally cleaned/dry cleaned.

Leather is a living material with natural changes in colour and variations. We have deliberately chosen to use leather that shows the marks of insect bites, etc. – this helps to give the leather a truly authentic look. For environmental reasons, we solely use skins tanned without using chrome.

General advice for leather:

» Do not place the furniture too close to a heat source. Leave an air gap of 20–30 cm. Exposure to direct sunlight will make light leather darker and fade darker colours, as well as making the leather dry and thus brittle.
» Only use a dry, soft cloth for ordinary cleaning. Do not use a vacuum cleaner as it can scratch the surface. Where necessary, wipe or rub the whole surface carefully with a clean, soft cloth wrung out well in clean water.
» Different maintenance treatments are recommended depending on the choice of leather. See specific care advice for the respective leather upholstery on the furnishing textiles & covers page.
» Using leather cream or leather oil can result in slight changes to the colour.

Note! Don’t use chemical surface treatment, cleaning products or soap solutions. They can destroy or discolour the surface of the leather, especially if it is damaged or worn.

We do not dye sheepskins, instead letting them retain their natural colour. The colour will therefore vary depending on the appearance of the sheep. We only use vegetable tanned sheepskins for our upholstery. Vegetable tanning is an environmentally friendly method which uses tanning agents from the plant kingdom. Naturally tanning leather in a traditional way takes several weeks – it’s a slow process that takes a lot of hard work. Vegetable tanning means that the sheepskin is free from toxins such as chrome, which is otherwise common and considerably cheaper. Our sheepskins come from different sheep farmers across Sweden.

General advice for sheepskin:

» Air and shake the sheepskin outside regularly. The sheepskin will absorb oxygen and become clean and fluffy. Fixed sheepskin upholstery can be sprayed with water to regain its curls. Clean it by carefully brushing with a cat brush.
» Stubborn stains can be removed by spraying the affected part of the sheepskin with water, massaging in potato flour, leaving to dry and then vacuuming or brushing off.
» Vegetable tanned sheepskin cannot be machine washed.

It is important that our textiles last a long time. Therefore we sometimes allow artificial/synthetic fibres to be blended in to increase the stability and durability of the fabric and thus its lifetime.

Polyamide and polyester are hardwearing and elastic synthetic fibres that are often used in furnishing fabrics to increase the lifetime of the textile. Viscose and Tencel are examples of artificial fibres made from wood pulp, cellulose. They add shine, produce a beautiful fall and give the textile greater strength. The fibre is more elastic than cotton, for example, which means it tends to wrinkle less.

See the care instructions for the furnishing fabric you have chosen. We generally recommend that you have all our fabric covers professionally cleaned/dry cleaned.

The seabird feathers in our cushions and sofa cushions come from certified suppliers subject to tough criteria in terms of animal welfare and product quality. The feathers are checked, washed and treated in line with stringent regulations. We solely use seabird feathers from the food industry. Seabird feathers in furniture cushions produce outstanding seating comfort and this natural material is extremely long-lasting at the same time.

General advice for down/feathers:

» The cushions need to be shaken and plumped up regularly to retain their volume. This ensures they keep their shape and the feathers are not squashed.
» Feathers dry out in an indoor climate and will become flat over time. To prevent this, leave the cushions outside (under cover) for a few hours for time to time to add humidity. This will ensure the feathers regain their elasticity and airiness.

The raw material used to make genuine natural latex mainly comes from rubber trees in South East Asia. It is important to distinguish between the products natural latex (from rubber trees) and synthetic latex (a chemically produced product). There are various natural latex labels that ensure sustainable growing and decent working conditions. We have chosen to use ECO-certified natural latex, certified via the eco-INSTITUT-Label in Germany. ECO-certified natural latex undergoes careful, extensive laboratory analysis to ensure its authenticity and rule out the presence of toxins and harmful substances. The ECO-certified natural latex used in our products is produced in an organically sustainable way.

Read more about the eco-INSTITUT-Label here.

Note! The natural latex that Norrgavel uses is 100% of natural origin and is ECO-certified. However, the term “natural latex” is not protected and some furniture companies sometimes use it incorrectly as a description although the stuffing material they use mostly consists of synthetic latex made from the raw material oil (and may contain solvents and toxic nitrous amides).

Concrete hardens over a long period of time, becoming stronger and more resilient over the years. Porous materials like concrete are prone to marks. When you get your concrete product home, it will have been treated but it is important to maintain the concrete to give it a stronger and more resilient surface. Remember to be extra careful with a concrete table top for the first six months as this is when it is most sensitive. Avoid placing porous containers, plant pot saucers etc straight onto the concrete as they can release moisture and generate surface marks and discolouration. We recommend placing felt pads under things placed on top of concrete and moving them from time to time.

General advice for concrete:

» Only use a cloth and warm water for cleaning. Avoid cleaning products. However, it is OK to use neutral and uncoloured soap.
» Concrete table tops can be maintained with concrete wax. Once or twice a year is recommended. Concrete wax is available to buy in our shops. Apply following the instructions on the pack.
» Natural materials like concrete are often sensitive to marks. Marks usually occur when some type of liquid is left on the concrete surface for a long time. Acid is the worst enemy of a concrete table top – lemon, vinegar and fruit acids will make the table top “weather” and disintegrate unless they are removed immediately.
» If there is a spill, use a polishing cloth (microfibre cloth) and work into the mark in circles. If you rub the same spot hard with the microfibre cloth, it can cause fine scratches. These usually disappear if you gently polish the area and add a new coat of wax.

The limestone we use is quarried in Jämtland in northern Sweden, in a place called Grytan outside Brunflo. It formed more than 400 million years ago and is one of the oldest and hardest limestones in Europe. Limestone is a very pure mineral.

General advice for limestone:

» Only use a slightly damp cloth (warm water) for everyday cleaning.
» Constant use of neutral, uncoloured natural soap (available to buy in our shops) with a pH of more than 7, will soak into the limestone making it more attractive and more hardwearing too.
» Polished limestone surfaces have limited absorption capacity so you only need to use a small amount of soap. A surface oversaturated with soap will become blotchy and matt. If this happens, clean it with water and a neutral cleaning product with a pH above 7.
» Marks must be removed quickly to prevent them from spreading in the stone material. If the stain penetrates deep down, it can be very difficult or impossible to remove. Try to absorb the mark with kitchen towel or absorbent material (like bentonite clay or potato flour). Work it in with a damp cloth and water. Then use a solution of water and a neutral cleaning product with a pH above 7.
» Limestone may crack if exposed to sudden, local heat. Never place a hot pan or casserole straight onto a limestone surface.

Note! Acids can cause corrosive damage to limestone. Examples of acids are: cleaning products with a pH below 7, limescale removers, carbon dioxide, lemon, wine, vinegar, fruit juice, etc. Limestone cannot withstand salt either.