The Nest.com

Living Room

You can dramatically change the look of your living room no matter how small your budget may be. A great place to start is by painting an accent wall a shade or two darker than your existing color. Another budget friendly option is to add new throw pillows in a variety of prints, colors, and textures. A new area rug or slipcovers on your existing furniture can make a big difference as well.

Bedroom

Does the look of your bedroom need waking up? Why not give it a fresh coat of paint? While you are at it, add some molding to give it a nice finished look. If you are not interested in painting the whole room, consider painting just the furniture. You could also try dressing up your bed by making a fabric slip cover for your headboard or by adding new pillows and linens.

Bathroom

Photo Credit: Real Simple

Who doesn’t like to go to the spa? You can give your drab bathroom a spa-like feel by painting the walls a soft, relaxing color. Instead of buying expensive artwork, try buying scrapbooking paper and framing it. Plants and aromatic candles are also affordable accessories that can change the appearance of any bathroom. For a real spa-like feel indulge in new towels. Setting a basket full of rolled towels near the bathtub can not only be stylish but also a storage solution.

Kitchen

Kitchen redesigns always improve the overall look of a home and don’t have to cost a fortune. Almost everything in your kitchen can be repainted, refinished, or renewed; you can repaint your walls, cabinets, or even your appliances. If painting sounds like too much work, updating your cabinetry hardware can be a refreshing change. Another economical choice would be to replace old rugs, dish rags, and towels with new ones. New curtains, updated plumbing fixtures, shiny counter top appliances, and a fresh bowl of fruit can also have impact when trying to give a kitchen a fresh look.

Photo Credit: Real Simple

Dining Room

Dining rooms tend to be forgotten about when doing home makeovers but there are many ways to refresh this room too. Everything in your dining room can be painted. If you don’t want to paint your table and chairs but want to give them a new look, try reupholstering your chairs. This is much easier than it sounds, all you need is about a 1/2 yard of fabric, a heavy duty stapler, and the ability to wrap a present. Other low-cost decorating options include a new mirror, wall hangings, window coverings, and a fresh and pretty centerpiece.

Guest post from Bailey Harris. Bailey writes for Area Rugs, a retail site that sells brand name area rugs.

Photo Credit: Apartment Therapy

Sometimes, it’s about doing more with less, so if you’re looking to update or change the look of your living space but don’t want to drop a lot of money right now, then it’s time for this handy Do-It-Yourself guide.  Refinishing used pieces is a great way to spruce up a room.

In our last post, “5 Vital Tips for Antique Shopping“, we discussed trying to find pieces that are well made and affordable.  Some of these pieces require a little love so that they can shine again.  The following DIY provides the needed steps to bring your newly acquired piece back to life with with some TLC.

Thankfully, this DIY project is so easy, its one that you could tackle this weekend.  You’ll be amazed how a little elbow grease and trip to the home improvement store can up the style in your home.

How To: Stain Your Furniture

Here’s how you knock this project out over the weekend:

1. Sanding: Put down a drop cloth to collect the sanding debris and protect the bottom of your furniture.  Work outside if possible or failing that, in a garage.  If you do this inside you’ll be finding dust for months!  Gently sand the surface of your furniture, using uniform pressure throughout until the old finish is gone.  If you’re dealing with something large like a hutch or table a power sander might be worth the investment.
2. Prepare for the Stain: You’re going to want to take your time and make sure all of the dust is gone.  Wipe it down with a moist rag that is lint free.  Let it dry and then wipe it again.  Then repeat the wipe down one more time with a dry cloth and let the piece sit for a bit.  Examine it after awhile and see if the wiping needs to be repeated.  Make sure your drop cloth is completely free of dust and then cover it with something absorbent like newspaper.  If the piece is large, prop it up with wood blocks so you can easily work on the bottom edges.
3. Staining: Mix the can of stain up vigorously to make sure the tint is uniform throughout.  You will need to mix the stain as you work a few times to make sure the tint doesn’t settle on the bottom of the can.  Work in sections, starting on the underside.  Stain a section and wipe off the excess so that the wood grain shows through.  Make sure to have plenty of lint free cloths ready to go for this section.  You can always add more stain later so don’t worry about wiping too much away.
4. Dry: The stain will take about a day to fully dry.  In the meantime put it somewhere dust and dirt free that is also blocked from the wind.  There is nothing like leaving your piece to dry somewhere and find a random leaf or something stuck to it the next day.  The weather also plays a role in drying; a lot of humidity in the air will slow the drying process.
5. Final Finish: Check for rough spots or areas that may need to be touched up.  Sand rough spots lightly and re-stain where necessary.  After you’re satisfied with the finished project, apply the sealant coat.  This is either made from wax or polyurethane.  This will protect your work for years to come, so it’s a very important step.

Knowing how to stain your own furniture pays off in spades over the years.  Quality furniture, like the pieces we sell here at Amish Tables, can be refinished again through the years.  This gives you a piece of quality furniture that you can change to match a new style or just freshen up to make it as good as new.

Welcome to Amish Furniture Home’s Fourth Blog Carnival! We have collected posts from around the web that focus on updating one room of your home. With these simple steps, you could make over a room in a weekend! For this post we chose a guest room, but these steps could easily be applied to almost any room! If you choose to follow these steps, email us photos of your redesign and your design could be featured on our blog!

If you’d like to see one of your posts appear in next month’s Carnival, email us at marketing@amishtables.com or message us on Twitter. Remember, each article can be found by clicking the blue title before each summary.

Happy Re-Designing!

Ok, you have decided you are finally going to tackle that “catch-all” room. But where do you start? Blogger Janell Beals gives our readers some tips in this post.  In order to go through this too, we have picked an inspiration room, revealed next.

Here it is! This is the inspiration for the guest room, courtesy of Noir Blanc Interiors‘ Beach House Decor Blog!  You will see the photo of this guest room at the beginning of this post.  We love the relaxed colors and a little touch of the seaside. It is still summer after all!  We chose this as our inspiration room, because with some simple additions and a little planning, we felt this could be an easily attainable room for you our readers!

We love ceilings and like Barbara Miller we feel that they all too often get forgotten. We think her interesting paper technique could be a good addition to the guest room design we are working towards. If this is too daunting another idea would be to use a slightly darker shade on the ceiling, like a lovely warm gray!

How To: No Sew Faux Roman Shade

Working through our guest room re-design, we wanted to find a quick and easy curtain that we could make.  We found this great “How To” post from the blog High Heeled Foot in the Door. Of course making curtains yourself allows you the freedom to pick fabrics and colors that work with your scheme.  If you need more privacy, you could always add sheers behind the curtains or make them longer!

What bed is complete without some throw pillows? This handy “How To” from Fresh Nest Design is another perfect way to tie your scheme together, especially if you are also making your own Faux Roman Shade!  Instead of the rosettes, you could also use ribbon, buttons, or nothing at all depending on the type of fabric you are using.  If you don’t have time to do anything else, this is a great way to freshen up any room.  Think of new pillows on your sofa, instant pops of fresh color!

Now What? Hopefully this Carnival has inspired you to to bring life to an un-inspired room in your home; you have a decent arsenal of tools to get this job done in one weekend. But what next?

It is time to start pulling your design together, piece by piece.  In our strategy, we would purchase all our items to make sure we can get the complete look we are hoping for. Then comes the time to pick your weekend, prep, paint and reassemble the room! You can tackle the DIY projects in between paint coats or you could do them ahead of time, so there is less to do over the weekend.

We have pulled together a style guide (complete with shopping resources) based on the featured room inspiration. Its a little different, but we think the feel is similar. What do you think?

Style Guide – Resources

1) Monogrammed Sheets: Restoration Hardware

2) Duvet Covers: Potterybarn

3) Shell Print: Etsy

4) Vintage Shell Print: Etsy

5) Fossil Lamp: West Elm

6) Plain Tin Slate Wool Rug: Dash & Albert

7) Royal Master Sealight Floor Lamp: Restoration Hardware

Linen: Home Fabrics & Rugs

Everything in your home has some sort of pattern or texture and is a color. The chances are high that you selected your custom Amish built furniture’s specifications based on what you liked about the color of the stain and the grain or pattern of the wood. These elements play together to give each piece, and then eventually each room, its overall appearance.

If you didn’t consider these elements when decorating your home, perhaps now is the time to take a moment to learn how important textures and colors are in building the environment you wish to live in. The impact of pattern, texture and color is enormous and can be used to play up a room’s best features, but when incorrectly used,they can accent a room’s flaws. Used skillfully, you can use these elements to fool the eye of the beholder.

Textures & Patterns

Color use is an easier skill to acquire than the knowledge of patterns and texture usage. A simple tip is the size of the pattern should match the size of the room. If you’re looking to be bold, mix patterns to add interest to your design. Textures can also create the perceived desire to touch and create a whole new dimension in your room.

The textures we choose also affect our perceptions of the color in the theme. Different textures reflect light differently and cause us to perceive color to be varying in shades because of light and shadows. It can actually add a new depth to your color scheme.

Color

Room Size

You can make a room appear bigger or smaller than it is by using proper color techniques. In the case of a small apartment, educating oneself on the tricks of color can help you to feel as if you have more space. Color is the most cost effective decorating tool in your bag of tricks. Color is associated with moods and can literally affect you psychologically. Remember that darker colors create warmth and coziness while light colors promote a breezier and open space.

Get Cozy

In a large room color can actually draw the room in, creating a cozier setting. A ceiling painted only a shade lighter than its walls and floor coverings creates the illusion of a much higher ceiling. To draw in a disproportionately high ceiling simply bring the ceiling’s color down to the picture level. This trick lengthens the walls and appears to bring the ceiling closer.

Decorate Boldly

Everything you do can be corrected or changed, so it is alright to be brave. However, keep in mind that your room is the backdrop for the things you love, such as your Amish solid wood heirloom designs. The colors and patterns should never overshadow the furniture or important collections in the home.

The Slow Food movement goes to the root of the love food, quite literally. They feel that in order to preserve the cultural cuisine we must preserve the food plants as well as seeds. They also believe that the domesticated food animals are included in that preservation. Slow Food lovers have formed and are sustaining seed banks that are storing heirloom seeds that may otherwise be lost. The idea of farming within an ecoregion is a big part of the belief system. Like the great orator William Morris speaking out for artisan and craftsmanship in furniture during the Arts and Crafts Movement, the Slow Food movement has local leaders who are responsible for promoting local artisans, local farmers, and local flavors through regional events like wine tastings, and farmers’ markets.

Besides preserving the seeds and the animals used in preparing a Slow Food meal the philosophy of the members is that we should be preserving and promoting local and traditional food products, along with their stories or lore and their preparation. They even host celebrations of local cuisine within each region. They also promote the art of eating quality food and educate consumers on the high risk involved in consuming fast foods. They also help educate consumers on the facts about commercial agriculture and “factory farming” with the high rate of hormones and the environmental impacts.

An heirloom quality solid Native hardwood table created by Amish craftsmen is the perfect place to host a Convivium a Casa. These events bring small groups of the movement’s local membership together to enjoy the pleasure of each others company in the intimacy of a host home. Here they share in the preparation and joys of a fine meal at a fine table. Each host a Convivium a Casa decides on how many people they would like to invite. Small groups of perhaps 6 to 10 people do allow for a more comfortable evening of conversation and fellowship. As a host, you get the honor of setting the menu and plans for the evening, although you can enlist the help of those who will be attending. Attendees and the host do provide the food for potlucks or do absorb or split all costs if not. By determining the format and the costs in advance it will allow members to know how much the event will cost.

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

With the passing of Memorial Day summer is officially here and so is the need to learn how to care for the solid wood patio furniture hand built by skilled Amish craftsmen. Most people assume that since it is outdoor furniture that its mere ruggedness means no cleaning or maintenance – or at best it gets its first out cleaning and its end of the year cleaning. While the high quality outdoor patio, porch and deck furniture available from Amish designers and woodworkers is made only from the best native hardwoods available it still needs care to insure your investment for many years. From chairs to tables these pieces have fantastic moisture tolerant properties and do withstand rigorous outdoor extremes, but care is still required for a lifetime of use.

SOAP AND WATER? IS IT REALLY THAT SIMPLE?  Yes, a simple bath of a mild soap and water once a week is the simplest and most inexpensive care you can give your wooden outdoor furniture. From outdoor meal residue, pollution, bird droppings and even chlorine from the pool, no matter what your furniture is exposed to the faster you remove it from the surface the less the chances of damage. Simple and often overlooked items like carbonated sodas can create a chemical reaction on even the most durable of furniture finishes.

Warm, soapy water and a lint free rag followed by a rinse of clear water to remove any soapy film residue is all you will need. Drying is always a good idea to prevent warping from too much moisture. Remember to use caution on any bare woods because the water will raise the grain. It’s also a good idea to wipe down any outdoor furniture that isn’t under a covered area even after a rain.  

TOO TOUGH FOR A BUBBLE BATH?  Many regions cannot help it; there water is full of hard minerals. If your outdoor furniture has mineral deposits from water left standing, these deposits can be carefully rubbed off with either rubbing compound or polishing compound. Remember to use care and follow directions. You will also have to give the same rubbing to the whole connected area to even it out.

Also check for splinters that may need a bit of sanding to prevent injuries or snagged clothing.

COVER IT? BUT, IT’S OUTDOOR FURNITURE!  One of the best investments you can make when deciding to decorate your patio or deck with wood patio furniture is in patio furniture covers. Good quality patio furniture covers are made of synthetic material and can literally add years to your furniture items. They are available in standard sizes, or you could have them custom made for your furniture and can be found in decorative colors. No matter how sturdy and durable your Amish furniture and its finish is adding additional protection from the elements, such as sunlight and water, two of the most destructive elements for wood, is a smart consumers choice.

Solid custom built wooden patio furniture is definitely the biggest statement you can make this summer. Since you were smart enough to invest in the best it is also smart to be responsible for this furniture. If covers are not an immediate option when furniture is not in use then consider moving pieces indoors, especially for long term storage.

• Create unity by grouping like items with like items. By grouping items by theme, color, shape, texture or material you get the biggest visual bang. You can create the illusion of hiring a curator who has organized your shelves to feel like treasures. You can create a visual pop by grouping like colors, such as white pottery, together. Placed against the dark wood of your custom stained shelving these items stand out. Grouping boxes, spheres, etc. create instant emphasis that cannot be duplicated when spread apart.
• Instead of placing a few smaller knick-knacks on the shelf try to choose big, bold accessories. Select items that you can see it from across the room. Smaller items achieve more visual presence when you gather them containers. An old jar filled with vintage marbles, seashells collected at the beach or even a basket of loose family photos create interest.
• Go for asymmetrical arrangements of three, five or seven objects. Also remember not to center them but place them off-center. Odd numbers are visually most interesting in interior design. Balance is good but if not done right can be boring. Use combinations of short, medium and tall objects to make the eye fall at various levels.
• A very powerful statement can be created when there is nothing but art or photos on display. Try leaning your collection or overlapping edges. Mix up frame sizes, shapes and styles.
• Shiny items add interest, too. Add glass, crystal and silver objects to make shelf arrangements literally twinkle. A mirror placed at the back or bottom of a shelf will also impact the visual effect of the objects placed in front or on it.
• In modern or contemporary settings always keep it simple. A more streamlined approach is the best fit for contemporary and modern spaces. Minimalism does not mean any decorations of collections, just well thought out ones. Modern contemporary is based on form following function and it is best to go with shelves decorated in an uncluttered look. 
• A little light on the subject is good. Illuminate your shelves by spotlighting the arrangements. If you did not opt for pre-installed lighting with your custom solid wood Amish bookcases or shelves, then add track lighting in the ceiling. A professional touch can be gained by discreetly tucking tiny up-lights behind a vase or other items, creating a backlight to the arrangement.