Not all of these heirloom pieces are actually older. Many are sturdy, real wood pieces of furniture that will hold up for the next several generations. They are the large wardrobes, bookcases, china cabinets and buffets that are all a part of the traditional American household.

There is more than one way to accomplish the traditional-with-a-twist look. It combines current trends in furniture and interior decorating with the clean lines and simplicity that traditional furniture is known for. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Glam It Up

Use crystal vases, mirrors framed in chrome, and other things like chandeliers, metallic pillows, and drapes in your next interior design project. The idea is to add some elegant sparkle to traditional furniture looks. Floating candles in crystal containers, sparkly bowls of metallic stone, beads or marbles also work.

This look can be used in all rooms. For example, place a new crystal chandelier above one of our  Carleton Leg Tables. Lay a gray, shimmering runner down the length of the table, under a crystal vase and flanked by long stem candles in crystal holders. You’ve just turned your rustic Amish-made furniture into an elegant dining experience.

Pump Up the Cozy Factor

For some, making a room more comfortable is the ultimate goal. There is a way to accomplish “cozy” while staying trendy. Start with that traditional dining room table, maybe a Chancellor table (shown below) with Edmond Chairs, all from the Amish Tables catalog.

You can attain cozy by adding slip covers to the chairs. Bold colors are in this year. Try out reds, blues, and even orange. Creams, browns, and grays are also acceptable. Find slipcovers that cover the legs of the chairs. This will soften up the look. Set the center of the table with some large two or three wick pillar candles in colors that match the slipcovers. Add a large flower bouquet as you light the candles at dinner for a nice, cozy meal.

Updating to Modern Times

If modern is your style, then traditional-with-a-twist has something for you as well. In keeping with the dining room makeover, begin with an Escalon Chair and Liberty Trestle Table from our website. Modern trends use light, bold colors against the dark tints, so place a white runner down the middle of the table. Pick out a chrome or metallic sculpture for the centerpiece. You can add more pieces to the room, like a rain suspension chandelier.

Make it Your Own

Traditional with a twist can be whatever you choose it to be. Just begin with traditional, sturdy pieces made of wood, pieces that are built to be heirlooms. The rest of décor is accessorizing to your favorite interior design style.

Can furniture be a wise investment? Even in a slow economy? According to the Kovels website data gatherers number three of the Top Twenty most sought after searches in July 2009 was indeed furniture. The Kovels are considered the leading expert in collectibles and antiques and not only publish the most sought after price guides but now, thanks to the internet, are able to accumulate data in real time based on the results of hundreds of thousands of searches that take place on its website daily.

Furniture has actually held in the top twenty all year while many other collectibles have fallen off drastically. While the small decorative items labeled Occupied Japan remain on top, people are still seeking to identify, find, purchase and sell large items like furniture. Summer time can cause decorators and collectors alike to seek out garden or rustic outdoor themed pieces. Pairing antiques and your Amish designs can give your home a whimsical garden theme.  Rustic furniture made of natural materials, native hardwoods and designed in organic shapes became popular in camps and gardens in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Amish builders craft hickory in to highly sought after furniture that brings the feeling of nature indoors.

Pieces featuring the organic look of log designs like the Lumberjack Hickory bed will remain a family heirloom. Benches, chairs and tables with accents reminding you of bent twigs and roots mimic the Adirondack themes of the Great Camps at the turn of the last century. Original bent twigs chairs sold at a recent Kamelot auction in Philadelphia for $1,230 but the Hickory King chair can be yours and usable for half that. This design theme has held its own for many decades and still remains a top searched furniture item on a top collector’s website, just as the Amish solid wood furniture at Amish-Furniture-Home.com is the number one custom furniture website on any search of fine heirlooms to invest in during any economy.

 

There may not be a better known or more duplicated wooden chair in the world than the Windsor. The Windsor is well recognized for its bentwood back frame and its pegged legs going directly in to its wooden seat. The Windsor is differentiated from other styles of chairs because of this styling that normally are framed with an apron. 

Somewhere around the beginning of the 18th century, not surprisingly around Windsor Castle in England, this chair was conceived. Although it was the custom that chairs were crafted by cabinetmakers, this chair seems to have been crafted by turners and wheelwrights. This may indeed explain the spoke-like design of the Windsor. 

The chair in fashion at the time was the fine Queen Anne and it is likely the wheelwrights tried to fashion a chair but because of more rustic tools and skills they used the round backs and splats of the Queen Anne but incidentally created the Windsor. The English Windsor is in fact well known for its pierced slatted back. A Windsor chairs legs are invariably splayed outward and some even had the fancier cabriole leg rather than the turned. Throughout the 19th century the legs stuck into wood instead of framed with an apron. In the U.S. especially, the style began to be the front two legs only were joined in this way.  

It took no time at all for the Windsor to make its way to the New World; first appearing in Philadelphia after 1725 and within a half a century they were the most popular chair in use. The lightweight Windsor had everything a good chair required – strength, beauty, easy to construct, and highly comfortable. The variations they were created in were various and included fan, hoop, comb back, and bow back.

The chairs were usually marriages of different woods; each known for its strengths in the area it was chosen for. The turned parts worked best with maples, oaks, ash, birch or beech. The seats, shaped in a saddle were easier to carve out in pine and birch, or in England elm. The bentwood frames were best suited for birch, beech, hickory or ash. An interesting note about the recognizable saddle seat design – if you find one with a flat seat, especially with tack marks, authorities believe these were originally upholstered.

Today Amish craftsman bring sturdy and exceptionally handsome and functional Windsor chairs to grace any room in your home of office. Built from the finest American hardwoods and stained in your choice of colors, these chairs can be an heirloom treasured for generations.   

 Renting furniture seems like a viable option in a bad economy that is suffering from a credit crisis. In fact renting home furnishings is usually a losing investment in most circumstances and not an answer to no or bad credit. Investing in high end, solidly built heirloom quality furniture, if only a piece at a time, is a more stable financial decision. In some short term cases renting furniture instead of investing in permanent goods may make sense. Keep in mind this is renting with the intention of it being short term and not rent-to-own. For instance, your company has moved you to a job for a year. Even renting for home staging to sell or events can be financially sound. Instead of buying furniture that expensive movers will haul away in a few months, it very well might make more sense to rent. Mass produced furniture depreciates, while moving, packing and storage expenses keep going up. These situations are not common but do exist so here are a few tips to help educate you on renting vs. owning.

QUALITY VS. AFFORDABLE –

Even in temporary situations you don’t want to buy anything that falls apart. Rental centers are not apt to carry a handcrafted heavy duty finely built maple dining room set but are sure to have press board with photo-finish. Test out the furniture before you rent it. If it feels weak or uncomfortable in the store it will in your home.

BE A SMART CONSUMER -

When renting furniture you are entering in to a contract that is binding. Quite simply, you need to read it and understand it BEFORE you sign it. The details can haunt you and your check book for many months. How much do they require down? What is the agreed upon conditions of returning the furniture? Is there a hidden delivery fee? What is normal wear and tear? Are the items you are receiving pre-rented or new?

Even at a rental store you should be asking what the country of origin the furniture maker is located. Also ask for guarantees and return policies.

WHAT IS THE ACTUAL COSTS? –

Doe sit make more sense to buy used furniture for your short term use than to invest in renting? How many months are you staying in this situation? How much to buy a couch or dining room set? Divide it by the months you are staying and if renting is more then buy. This of course is under the condition that you can pay cash and not have to finance furniture, adding on interest. Consider even buying one good investment piece and supplementing with rental items. You will have something that is yours that makes you feel like your home.

Whatever you decide, whether it is to go all rental, all used or to supplement with one or two pieces of quality furnishings like the Amish create, stay away from rent-to-own centers. The interest rates are exorbitant but are hidden in months of payments that cause the final price to be triple its value. By the time you are done paying these mass produced items are no longer in existence. Also, if you are an apartment or house renter remember that you will be spending a great deal of income on a home and its furnishings that will not be yours. Renting may not be the answer to credit when it comes to furniture

 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

A portico is a porch or walkway with a roof supported by columns, often leading to the entrance of a building. George Washington added a full length portico to Mount Vernon in the late 1700’s. It was a 94 foot piazza, a term quite commonly used in that era. In fact a piazza originally was an Italian design for a public square with room for pedestrians.

The Washington family did not have the availability of Amish crafted patio furniture but they did furnish their outdoor patio room with thirty Windsor chairs. Painted Windsor chairs where often used as outdoor patio furniture. In true Grecian style the Washingtons took tea outdoors.

Nowhere was the porch made as famous as in the South. Southern plantation home builders included massive wrap around porches that enjoyed the cool of the evening on a sweltering Southern night.

By the mid-1800’s porches on any size American home was common place. Large eighteenth century British homes had always had terraces to view their gardens from but soon they fell into the American porch fashion. Terraces were uncovered and often the garden held a gazebo for resting and enjoying the flora and fauna. Since gazebos were for the rich the idea of adding a porch to the home allowed even the commoner to enjoy the garden.

More United States presidents than George Washington are famous for their use of the porch. William McKinley ran for office from what appeared to be his front porch in his same named “front porch campaign”.

Every artisan has some sort of mystery or secret and Sheraton was no exception. While he is credited as one the three biggest designers of his time, there is no evidence he actually ever owned a workshop. In fact, there is no evidence that he ever made large amounts of any type of furniture, including those he drafted out in his famous book. Sadly, Sheraton passed away at age 55, having been employed as a journeyman cabinet-maker for many years and later an author, leaving his family in “distressing circumstances”.

Thomas Sheraton is recognized to have provided the world with exquisite draftsmanship and technically important information when he designed his catalogue. He had a knack for focusing on the details that was so often missed by other author’s design books. Influenced by French designs, Sheraton’s mind was drawn to the geometry and the precision of Louis XVI. Sheraton also enjoyed the use of satinwood in his furniture and many pieces built in the late 1700’s using satinwood were blamed on or credited to his design theories. He did believe that for his large library tables mahogany was the preferred wood.

Sheraton published again. In 1803 he completed The Cabinet Dictionary but he never finished The Cabinet-Maker, Upholsterer, and General Artist’s Encyclopedia. Only one volume was published in 1805, a year before he passed away.

George Hepplewhite (abt. 1727 – June 21, 1786)

The late 1700s saw England and France changing, causing a drastic change in American furniture tastes. George Hepplewhite, a London cabinetmaker and chair maker, began designing pieces that became very popular in not only Europe but in America. Hepplewhite style is characterized by straight leg forms, refined curves and painting and high quality inlay work. While the richness of mahogany woods is most associated with Hepplewhite designs he also used rosewood, satinwood, and tulipwood on the inlays. Dining room furniture began seeing sideboards and is associated with Hepplewhite furniture. Hepplewhite chairs often sport a shield shaped back. Pieces that were upholstered featured fabrics in designs like small birds and floral that carried down over the entire frame. The upholstery fabric was then finished with ornamental upholstery tacks.

Featuring many similarities, it is often hard to quickly discern Hepplewhite from Sheraton styles. To make matters more complicated there were no exclusive copyrights or patents in America at that time so wood workers could freely use each other’s design ideas, especially if they were marketable. There are no pieces of furniture made by Hepplewhite or his firm known to exist and some critiques and historians question the existence of George Hepplewhite. His style took hold posthumously, and not until after his wife Alice published design books she insisted were drafted by her late husband.

Thomas Sheraton (1750-1806)

British born Sheraton, like most furniture makers of his time was another cabinetmaker. Thomas Sheraton also stood out because he was a publisher and preacher. His furniture designs were widely popular and greatly influenced American furniture. Sheraton was well thought of as a superb draftsman and many of the designs are based on classical architecture. Sadly, although he wore many hats, was overworked and highly acclaimed he was barely able to earn a living, dying destitute.

Sheraton style is square, straight lined, solidly constructed furniture with slender legs that were either round or square and tapered toward the foot. His chair backs were square and often had a central panel above the top rail with high “S” shaped arms. Like other designers of his time, Sheraton used mahogany as the preferred wood. As Sheraton’s career was winding down the French Empire style became popular in Europe and he tried his hand in it. Sheraton found God was in the details and usually decorated his furniture wherever possible. His heavy embellishments of carving, inlay, and painting left few plain surfaces. A piece designed in the style of Sheraton will be adorned with urns, fan shapes, leaves, stars along with brass hardware and round glass knobs.

Thomas Chippendale (June 5 1718 – November 1779)

Chippendale was the first style of furniture in England that was named after the designer and not after a ruling monarch. Chippendale had something in his background that the other two great British designers did not. Thomas Chippendale was much more than just a cabinet maker, he was an interior designer. Like the other two, Chippendale was a published and popular author of furniture design. Working with the upholsterer James Rannie and later with Rannie’s assistant, Thomas Haig, Chippendale maintained artistic control of his well-appointed furnishings.

Not to veer from the popular, the finest Chippendale style pieces were usually crafted from mahogany but walnut, cherry and maple were used for less expensive versions. Many Chippendale pieces have cabriole legs and have a shell motif. American cabinetmakers often incorporated the claw-and-ball foot into their versions of Chippendale designs. The style of claw-and-ball feet was already passé with English furniture craftsmen but in America the feet were still being used.

Unlike Hepplewhite who has no surviving pieces, Chippendale has twenty-six documented commissions in estates, castles and in the original aristocratic houses for which they were created. The workshop the elder began was continued by his son, Thomas Chippendale, the younger (1749-1822). Young Chippendale was fond of working in the later Neoclassical and Regency styles.

Due to poor health Wallace Nutting retired from the pulpit at age forty-three. It was a loss to the ministry but a gain to the art of photography and the reproduction of high end antique furniture. Dr. Nutting moved to a large house in Framingham, MA where he started purchasing historic structures that he wanted to use as backdrops for his photography. Nutting would restore the homes and then decorate them with period furnishings. His collection included American antiques, along with pieces from the 17th century including a carved 1685 Sunflower chest in oak, pine, and maple which he found in Wethersfield, CT, 18th century pieces and a huge collection of chests of drawers, Windsor chairs, cupboards, boxes, bookcases, cabinets, and more.

Along with the home furniture he also collects home furnishings. He collected over 600 period domestic utensils made of wood, pewter, and wrought iron. By 1928, Nutting had written his book “Furniture Treasury” illustrated with pictures of his and others collections. This is credited as the first widely circulated reference book on American antiques. In fact, he lists his first book published as “Windsor Chairs, 1917″. His rarest publication was Old New England Pictures, copyrighted 1913.

In 1917, Wallace Nutting opened a furniture factory in Saugus, MA. This factory was created to make reproductions of his antiques collection. Nutting chose the Windsor chair as his pilot offering, pricing them at a hefty premium, and sold them by the thousands. Nutting’s desire in recreating antiques in reproduction furniture was to “produce the best forms, put together in the finest manner,..”, and “…to make correct pieces of their period available.” Although Nutting says he lost money in the furniture venture it is worth noting that he was so correct in the old manner of furniture craftsmanship that on occasion unscrupulous people would distress his furniture, selling it as ‘period’ for a hundred times the purchase price. In the early days the company’s paper tag would either fall off or be intentionally removed.

In 1922 he sold his empire of photography and furniture and retired. The new owners used the Wallace Nutting name as a brand but after only two years of low quality and the destruction of his reputation and name Wallace Nutting exercised his rights to buy it back. To differentiate his product from theirs Wallace Nutting burned his name, “in plain capitals” into all the furniture.

With the Arts and Crafts Movement reaching its zenith from 1900 to 1915 by 1901, Stickley had turned “mission” furniture into an American living room standard. Suffering from an over-exposure to the gilded machine age of Victorian England, social reformers such as William Morris and John Ruskin founded the Arts & Crafts movement in Britain during the late nineteenth century. Their literal philosophy declared that a return to simplicity was needed to protect society from the growing inhumanity of the Industrial Revolution.

After traveling to Europe, Gustav Stickley was deeply inspired by these European social reformers. After his return to the States Stickley constructed an organic philosophy of simplicity and function that became famous world round. His take on the Arts and Crafts philosophy came to life in his radical and functional furniture style. Furniture was not the only thing Gustav cared about when creating an organic environment for the American home, and in fact he soon began designing the actual homes. Stickley published the famous Craftsman magazine, hosting the Craftsman Home Builders Club, through which tens of thousands of blueprints for homes were free to subscribers.

Today Amish craftsman, many like Stickley of German ancestry, bring the same honest, integrity that Gustav Stickley sought when he designed his American idea of Arts and Crafts called Craftsman. Solid native American hardwoods, fantastic stain choices and durable construction and finishes, are all available now in Mission, Craftsman and Arts and Crafts designs; thanks to the honorable woodworking Amish artisans, keeping Stickley alive today.