Safety
Safety is the foremost concern in looking for childrens’ furniture. Parents look for things that will be sturdy, and not harmful to the child’s health.

• Consider pieces made of real wood, with no ply-board pieces added.
• Also look at U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website to find any product recalls on wood furniture. This way, you will know what pieces to avoid during your search.
• When shopping, ask about the type of paints and finishes used on the furniture. Look at the furniture company websites to see what types of finishes and paints that they use. Stay away from chemicals that are toxic or that contain formaldehyde.

The right size furniture
Size is a great issue, because most wood furniture is constructed for infants or adults. Choose beds and bookcases that are easy for your little one to access. For example, the BonBelle Chest is a five drawer chest that a toddler can use, as well as a teen. Even baby furniture like the French Country Changer/Chest is one that the child can use at any age.

Heirloom Quality
That brings us to the next point, timeless furniture. Look for functional pieces that the child can use as he grows. Try not to outfit the room with pieces that will be irrelevant before the child is even old enough to use them. The real wood construction makes the pieces sturdy. Find a piece that isn’t too short or tall for the child and his room.

Color considerations
Parents are tempted to paint everything, even the furniture, a pastel color when planning the nursery. While this is fine for the walls (which can be repainted inexpensively), furniture is too expensive to replace in the two years it takes a child to leave the infant stage for toddlerhood. Furthermore, children like bold colors while teens tend toward darker contrasts. These preferences will result in several furniture changes.

Instead, look for real wood pieces in natural colors that will integrate well with pastels, bolds or neutrals. The Bow Mission Bed in hickory is an example. It is a color that will complement the pastels and not overshadow the bold toddler colors. It will stand against the dark teen years as well.

When picking out the furniture for your child’s room, whether it’s a new nursery or a teen’s room remodel, seek out real wood pieces like those from Amish Furniture Home. They are safe, sturdy products that can grow with your child and can be used at any age.

Here at Amish Tables, we believe embrace everything about Amish Furniture. That includes the it’s timeless quality and amazing craftsmanship, but also the lesser known eco-friendly, sustainability factors of Amish furniture. There’s also the amazing creativity that goes into interior designs integrating Amish pieces.

For this, our second Blog Carnival, we have collected posts from around the web that reflect the many aspects and elements that make Amish furniture beloved by so many.If you’d like to see one of your posts appear in next month’s Carnival, email us at casey@amishtables.com or ping us on Twitter. Remember, each article can be found by clicking the red title before each summary.

Enjoy the Carnival!

Color Your Interior To Match Your Moods – 16 Million Of Them

As we have documented numerous times on this blog, the color of your walls plays a critical role in your interior design. This post from Inventor’s Spot highlights a neat idea to help you keep your interior design fresh, without all the paint brushes. With this Living Colors Lamp you can change the “mood” of any room to match your furniture or other lighting effects. Don’t let the color of your wall hold you back from refreshing your furniture palette either.

Bug Infested Wood Transformed into Sleek Modern Furniture

It’s not over ’til it’s over for furniture makers at Straight Line Designs. The effects of global warming have produced higher-than-normal levels of Pine Beetles living in woodland areas, which has led to a landscape of damaged wood. Whereas many woodworkers have thrown this wood to the curb, Straight Line has found ways to transform “garbage” wood into beautiful arrangements.

Family and Furniture Drive Yalie

Wood furniture evokes a passion and sentimentality unlike it’s metal and plastic siblings. At Amish Tables, we recognize that each piece of furniture has its own spirit and personality. This concept is shared by Kerry Triffin and his wife Elizabeth Orsini, co-owners of Fairhaven Furniture in Connecticut for the past 30 years. Kerry works with woodworkers from all over the country, specializing in quality and craftsmanship. This article explains how furniture is so special, it’s apart of you for life:

“There’s some furniture that’s like a wife or a husband: You’d like it to go down the stream of life with you”

We absolutely hold this belief and it’s apparent in all our lines of furniture, like the Batavia Bed that will last for generations.

How To Select Wall Decorations

Wall Decorations are a crucial element to any interior design plan. When you walk into a dining room or living room, the walls should complement the rest of the furniture in the room.  But what are your options when it comes to wall decor?  This post from TCN-Seven.com points out five brilliant methods to covering your walls with more than just dry wall.

Eco-designers Display Eco-friendly Furniture at Milan Expo

This post comes from GreenDiary.com and chronicles the highlights from the Milan International Furniture Fair in which designers created eco-friendly furniture. Some designers went the extra mile and crafted pieces in the shape of flowers, grass and leaves. Check out the post for some breathtaking pictures.

It’s Only Natural

In honor of Earth Day last week, this blogger collected furniture pieces from around the web and describes what each designer intended with their “Green” piece. Great ideas and a wonderful blog post.

That does it for this Blog Carnival! Thanks to all those that submitted and look forward to next month’s post. And remember to keep the discussion going on our Facebook page. We post daily and have a great group of followers that would love to hear from you! Talk to you soon!

Furniture stores are chock full of “hand made” and “American Made” goods. The spirited “Buy American” campaign has always been apart of the American retail market, spurring US shoppers to support the economy and their neighbors.

Due to a variety of patriotic issues in the past decade, the authenticity of “American-Made” claims were rarely questioned. However, that was before the cribs started breaking.

A Revelation in a Recall

The American furniture industry, along with the National Consumer Safety Commission, set rules and guidelines for manufacturing safe furniture products. Unfortunately, these are rules that other nations tend to forgo. Usually, costs and time constraints prevent routine checks and safety measures. This leads to shortcuts in manufacturing and eventually an injury or (God forbid) death from use of that product. It also reveals that the furniture pieces were not truly made in the U.S.

The Year the Cribs Started Breaking

The large crib recall of 2009 is an example of how the safety issues can lead to the unimaginable. A number of deaths resulted in a large-scale recall of the baby furniture. More than one U.S. company imported and sold cribs that were not made to our nation’s furniture industry standards. One problem was a gap between the mattress and the wooden rail on the side of the crib. It was large enough to injure the infant.

Crumbling Slats

The slats themselves were also an issue. They were made from materials that could not withstand the daily crib use. Many of the cribs suffered broken slats, another hazard for small children.

The slats on many of the cribs were also too far apart to meet the furniture industry standards. The baby could get his head through the gap and have severe difficulty getting out. The subsequent crib recall revealed that the cribs were really manufactured in China, contrary to what their advertisers would have you believe. These cribs, like many other recalled furniture pieces before them, came from a nation that did not adhere to the same set of furniture-making standards and regulations as all U.S. furniture companies would have.

Truly American Made

A true American Made product is manufactured here in the U.S., using materials from American farms, forests, rivers and other natural resources. The true companies also adhere to standards that have consumer safety and product quality in mind. Family owned businesses like Amish Tables, LLC augment each new standard to the workmanship that the company has used for decades. The result is a truly American Made, safe, and gorgeous crib for your baby.

 

Hardwood as a natural resource that has helped shaped not just communities but the evolution of societies in to countries such as the United States. Natural resources have always been a major factor in determining how well an environment can sustain people but wood has an influence that runs deeper than everything but food and water. Wood supplies shelter, furniture, wheels, toys, fencing, tools, weapons, a heating resource and even medicines and foods. How America was settled would have been drastically altered if hardwoods were not readily available.

Early settlers realized that wood at different stages of dryness could be used for different things more effectively. Whether choosing green wood or seasoned or cured wood was dependent on what it was being used for. When wood is fresh cut it is still green and full of moisture but as it dries it shrinks. Tool handles, for instance would have to be tightly fit for serviceability, so dry or seasoned woods would be the best choice. Rough hewn furniture or fence posts could be green because shrinkage and tightness of joinery may not be an issue. 

Woods were cured in several ways. From kiln dried to boil cured the early settlers learned to tame their natural surroundings. Wood could be placed by a fire, tending them to prevent burning and warping. This was especially good for small pieces like tool handles. Small pieces of wood may also be boiled for hours, drawing out the woods sap. Once the wood dried out the wood pieces were cured and ready to use. A more industrious way to dry wood is to build a kiln. A platform was built a few feet off the ground with small fires underneath. There may even be a covering or roof over the top and even walls. Wood is laid on the platform to allow plenty of air circulation. The fires must be tended to constantly. The other, less practical way that wood could be dried was simply time. By carefully bundling and storing wood workers could avoid the dreaded warping when stored in a dry place.

North American hardwoods are not only highly sought after for their beauty but for their durability. Some of the hardwoods enjoyed by the Amish woodworkers today are:

 CHERRY –

Cherry is fairly hard, with a deep richness in its color and a slightly wavy grain. The bark was used for cough syrup and the wood for fine furniture.

MAPLE –

Maple is light in color with a wavy grain that is great for carving and lathe work. Kitchen tools were often crafted of maple. Musical instruments use maple since it can be thinned without splintering. Baby furniture is often made of maple.

 OAK –

Easily worked, oak is a very hard wood. White oak is a used in basketry. Oak is used for everything from flooring to whiskey barrels. Once considered a poor man’s furniture wood it had a resurgence in popularity and in value in the last century. Green, unseasoned oak, is famous for its ability to hold a hot fire.

 WALNUT –

An easy wood to work and is considered very warm and beautiful. While it was used for fences and even paneling it is highly prized in fine furniture.

 HICKORY –

Slightly wavy grains are characteristic of hickory. Hickory is notoriously hard to work with but is desired because is flexible and durable. Like oak, hickory burns well and is often used for smoking meats. The ash from hickory is used to make lye soaps. The bark could be chewed like gum. Hickory was highly favored for wagon parts because it could take the stress.

 Each of these North American woods is used for their special characteristics. Few craftsmen remain who know and understand the personalities of each wood like the Amish. The survival of this skill is dependent on the trade being passed down to young Amish crafters in each community who will create heirloom custom designs for your home that you can enjoy for a lifetime and pass to your next generation.        

THEMES- Some themed rooms do attempt to draft all the Disney characters in the attempt to get the flavor of the theme park all in one room. While this can work beautifully if thought out and not too cluttered with over a half a century of characters, more impact can be created by narrowing it to one character or movie.  There are inspirational themes for even the pickiest pre-teens, such as Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers.

WALL COLORS -Wall colors create a canvas to build your world on. For instance, the Disney princess world is in pastels such as  pale blue, yellow or pink. Most of the male oriented Disney themes are in bright primary colors such as the reds and oranges for pirates, Toy Story, CARS, etc. Painting each wall a different color can add interest or create a bold statement with one wall differing as a focal point.  

FURNITURE – The largest piece of furniture in a room is usually the bed and the Amish have crafted beds from twin to king, along with the amazing flexibility of the convertible cribs that will last a childhood or more. Themed bedding with pirate ships or race cars are available in every major store and will tie together any theme. Creating a mysterious tent by suspending gauze or fabric above the bed for a canopy is an inexpensive way to create the mood.  Solid wood cedar chests can be treasure chests while bookcases and shelving, custom stained to match your Amish heirloom furnishings, will hold all of your Disney collectibles.

FLOOR COVERS – Use oriental rugs as magic carpets from Aladdin or a canvas rug, painted with a race track for CARS and including Matchbox or Hot Wheels for interactive play. Princess Pocohantas loves faux animal skin rugs and a Mulan themed room is easily enhanced by choosing Bamboo rugs.

WINDOWS – Window treatments should be playful but functional. Think theatrical when cutting foam board to create portals on a pirate ship or placing shutters inside the windows to recreate the Old World styling of Beauty and the Beast. Alladdin themes are beautified by hanging an Indian inspired candle lantern, with its intricate cut-outs that silhouette in the dark in a window. This same simple candle lantern can just as easily become Tinkerbell’s home. A painted on Arabic arch or a deep sea theme surrounding the window frame is simple enough for even those artistically challenged parents.

Along with your child develop and an idea of what you want the room to be. Use that vision to trigger your inner child’s imagination. Use resources to inspire you and include your child in the creative process. Before you know it you will transport your child’s room into their own happiest place on earth.

You just have to believe!

 Sadly, the passing of Mike Tyson’s young daughter has brought to the forefront home safety issues.  Home can be one of the most dangerous places for a small child or infant and it is of major concern to safety and health officials. By following a few simple steps you can help to eliminate commonly overlooked areas in your home and increase your comfort and your family’s safety.

USED BABY FURNITURE - It is not just a sales gimmick crafted by the baby furniture industry to part you with your money. Used baby furniture may save you money but cost you injuries or even a baby’s life. A good rule is no furniture later than 1978.

1. The first step in insuring the safety of your infant is to check with the manufacturer or online to be certain that the item has not been recalled.

2. Obtain current guidelines for measurement such as distance between side rail bars. Currently they are 2 3/8 inches apart, with no large cut-outs on head and foot boards.

3. Is the paint loose or chipping and most of all child safe and lead free?

4. Cedar chests or toy chests should have hinge support to prevent the lid from slamming down on little fingers or heads.

Choosing solid wood handcrafted furniture protects your investment and your child. Solid hardwoods withstand generations of children and their teething episodes.

KITCHEN -

1. Kitchen chairs and stools should be positioned far enough away from stoves that if a toddler mounted them they could not reach hot burners or pots.

2. Have you put child locks on your pantries and custom made cupboards or cabinets?

3. Move all knives and sharp objects farther back in the drawers and cabinets.

LIVINGROOM -

1. Move all glass objects to the back of your Amish built tables. A heavy vase, object d’art or picture frame can be a deadly weapon when it’s pulled down on to a curious child’s head.

2. Cable all window shades cords and electrical cords up and away.

3. Be sure your big plasma or HDTV television is securely mounted to your custom built television stand or entertainment center. Home injuries to children have increased by a record 41% because of oversized televisions.

4. Are your bookcases secured? Solid wood bookcases are well built and steady but on carpet or uneven flooring an accident can happen. Simple wall brackets can secure any cabinet or book case.

5. Have you applied protective padding or rubber corners to your solid wood living room tables? The corners are sharp and can cause injury to a small child.

6. Have you protected your child from entering your fireplace area? Whether electric, wood or gas it is an obvious area that should never given easy access to.

BATHROOMS -

1. Amish crafted corner cabinets and bookcases make beautiful and functional bathroom furnishings to store prescriptions and toiletries in. Be sure to secure these items to prevent ingestion by a child. This includes prescriptions, mouthwashes, hair sprays, perfumes, etc.

HOME OFFICE -

1. Check for cords, whether from electrical or telephones. It is wise to unplug when not in use and wind up those cords. Dangling cords attract and easily go from playful toy to noose.

OUTDOOR FURNITURE-

1. Check for splinters that may have occurred with use and changes in the wood. While Amish outdoor furniture is finished by hand regular care and maintenance will prevent accidents.

GUN CABINETS -

1. Amish craftsmen build handsome gun cabinets complete with locking features. Remember -KEEP THE KEY HIDDEN AND AMMUNITION STORED SEPERATELY

Some of the most expensive pieces of furniture ever made or sold have had veneer. The master craftsmen of the 18^th century all used veneer in some fashion or form. So, if it was good enough for high end antiquities and even modern furniture makers, why have artisan and craftsman-centric communities like the Shakers and the Amish forsaken using veneer in their heirloom quality pieces? One simple word explains it – that word is integrity.

Not only is there an appearance and a temptation of possible deception when applying veneers but, after a period of time even the best furniture veneers and glues begin to degrade. Expansion and contraction in varying environments can cause peeling and shrinkage. When a veneer layer pulls away from it’s under frame, it causes peeling, chipping and breakage; that may not be easily repaired.

Some of the issue with this has been avoiding by using new technology in the manufacturer of synthetic glues, a great improvement over animal glues. This has led to today’s mass furniture producers to use veneers in greater and greater quantity. Admittedly some designs, such as Modern Contemporary, require the flexibility of veneers to bring more imaginative designs. Of course the beautiful designs done with marquetry and parquetry would be impossible without veneers.

The fact remains solid wood is an unbeatable investment. Many engineered woods simply disintegrate if they are exposed to moisture, unlike solid woods. While its durability and reliability are without question, the honest fact remains that perhaps the greatest appeal of solid wood is its naturally exquisite appearance. Most people consider solid wood furniture more attractive and desirable, especially when designed and crafted by today‘s Amish craftsmen.

The ideal bed for an infant or toddler is a crib crafted by Amish craftsmen from solid hardwoods, native to North America. Although the Amish have perfected the art of baby beds, cribs, armoires and changing stations they did invent the practical child’s bed. Baby cribs have been around for centuries. As early as Moses, babies may have been placed in baskets. The famous manger scene also denotes a need for the Christ child to have a bed of his own, separate from his parent’s. Native Americans cradled their babies in a multitude of styles, including bark cradles, skin cradles, lattice cradles, board cradles, basket cradles and many more.

Until the mid-1600’s bedrooms were less common than beds, since any room in the house could have one and sitting areas commonly had beds similar to daybeds. The first types of cribs used were most likely like cradles placed right next to the parent’s bed. The earliest and most common type of cradle had rockers or a rocking capable shape. Often converted from other items, most were homemade from things like hollowed out logs or other wood that could be found easily and crafted by the man of the house. Cradles began to be designed and produced by woodworkers, not unlike the Amish woodworkers today, who also designed other home furnishings of the time. More sophisticated cradle designs included a cheval style frame so they could be rocked gently.

Once the child outgrew the cradle they often slept in a small bed, or trundle, that could fit under the parent’s bed during the day. This trundle bed was a low bed meant to be slid under a higher bed. By the 19th century more modern versions of the crib arrived and were meant to be the next step after a cradle. Cradles and cribs were often passed down through many children of the household and became heirlooms just like the cherished ones available from the Amish.

While crib design has shown a steady improvement of features, the same basic shape and form have remained unchanged. The Amish craft cribs that are under stringent quality and safety rules to ensure that children are safe from harm. These government standards coupled with the self-regulations of the Amish are continually being updated. New products are tested for safety and any expert in child care knows the value of hardwoods in crib design. An heirloom Amish crib or cradle will give no indication of ever wearing out, no matter how many hands may rock it.

ANALYZE YOUR ENVIRONMENT- By reviewing your space and determining what design style and function you need for each room of the home you have begun your plan. Take in to consideration each member, including pets, guests both long term and short, along with future addition to your family when determining best usage and style for your space.

Ask yourself honest questions about yourself and fellow house mates. Are you really going to need a formal living room or is your lifestyle more of comfortable casualness? Are you private sort and creating a very personal home environment or are you a social family creating a home theater and game center for friends to pop in and relax? By asking these questions you can develop an accurate plan for investing in your personal atmosphere.

INVENTORY YOURSELF- While buying furnishings and accessories will be necessary, one cost effective tool is working with what you may already have, or what friends or family may be willing to donate to your home. By carefully documenting every piece of furniture and accessories you have to work with you have effectively warehoused your collection like a designer inventorying their stock for the client.

INVENTORY YOUR WANTS- Next list the reasonable wants that fit in to your newly analyzed design plan. While many people believe they must buy more furniture for cheaper prices, in fact the opposite is true. The bulk of your furniture should be considered an investment. Are you investing in furniture that can grow and change with your life? A well furnished home is one that can grow and change as you and the family do.

Remember that wise home design means choosing a few high quality pieces that will last rather than disposable furnishings that must be replaced in a few years. By carefully choosing pieces that you can live with and that will last your investment will pay for itself. Quite simply, as your tastes change over the years you can change out paint schemes, accessories, rugs, art, lamps, etc and effectively and inexpensively create an entirely new back drop to your high end investments like hand crafted Amish furniture.

 

Armoire – An early french term for a cabinet, wardrobe or closet that is usually tall. The armoire originally was used for storing weaponry in medieval times rather than clothing. Usually double doors cover the interior which contains shelves, open space or hanging apparatuses.  

Wardrobe - A wardrobe is a cabinet intended primarily for the storage of clothing. British vocabulary sometimes gave it the name “oakley” because the closets were constructed predominently from oak. A hanging cupboard, the wardrobe evolved from a room-sized walk in with shelves and lockers to what we know today. A wardrobe can be a huge, cumbersome and highly ornate cabinet or a smaller more diminuitive storage unit. First constructed from oak, later walnut became the wood of choice for many wardrobes.

 In Europe many homes were never designed with a built-in closet. The first wardrobes were patterned after the armor bearing closets known as armoires. The wardrobe usually has double doors, carried to the floor and usually covering the drawers at the base. Inside there may be hanging rods as well as sliding shelves and may have mirrors.

Cheffonier or Chiffonier –  Some definitions describe a chiffonier as a tall set of drawers while others say it is a piece of furniture that is smaller than a sideboard with the whole of the front enclosed by doors and typically sits wide and low; a sort of buffet. There was often a shelf, raised and hosting a pierced brass gallery at its back. The doors were usually panelled and even edged with brass-beading. A chiffoniers feet were either pads or claws, or gilded sphinxes.

The French translation means “rag-gatherer” or “rag-picker”, suggesting that it was originally built to receive odds and ends that had no other storage place in the home. Cheffoniers date from the Empire style of furniture in England and were built of the favorite wood of that era, the rosewood.

Chifferobe or Chifforobe – A hybrid piece of furniture built to function as a closet in the twentieth century. Popular more in the southern United States than anywhere else, chifferobes were first seen advertised in the 1908 Sears and Roebucks Catalogue. The product description described the chifferobe as a modern invention. Many passages of popular southern literature (To Kill a Mockingbird, Wise Blood and The Ballad of Sad Café, to mention a few) use the furniture known as a chifferobe in their settings. The name chifforobe came from blending the words chiffonier and wardrobe.

Traditionally the chifferobe combines both a long space for hanging clothes like a wardrobe along with a set of drawers like a chest of drawers. Most designs host a side by side function, with closet down one and the drawers on the other.

The Amish carpenters of Northern Indiana build custom made closets for your home without ever tracking in a single footprint or leaving a shred of saw dust. With solid hardwoods and dovetailed drawers these wardrobes and armoires are available for living rooms, offices and bedrooms in oak, cherry, maple and hickory, along with a wide variety of stains. The interiors can even be personalized. For the nursery or child’s bedroom the Amish have designed an armoire changing table just their size.