Formaldehyde

Pressed wood is used in many mass produced pieces. In addition to being a lower quality product, pressed wood contains urea-formaldehyde that is used in the adhesive. Pressed woods include particleboard, hardwood plywood used for panels and medium density fiberboard.

The formaldehyde is a gas that, when used throughout a home, can cause irritation in the eyes, nose, and throat as well as tiredness, asthma symptoms and rashes. People who are sensitive to the formaldehyde may experience more severe symptoms.

The concentration of the chemical in the home increases with the number of pressed board furniture pieces. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advises limiting the number of pressed board pieces in the home in order to reduce the risk of formaldehyde contamination.

Polyvinyl Chloride

A chemical used in many plastics is also used to coat many low quality wood furniture pieces. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is considered a serious threat to human health and the environment for several reasons.

• The material uses or produces chemicals like vinyl chloride that are linked to cancers.
• Production of the material leads to groundwater and air pollution.
• Additives like lead are used in production and can become a hazard to your home.

Polyvinyl chloride is found in furniture made of faux wood and/or faux leather. They are inexpensive pieces, which appeals to families on a budget. However, the PVC can cause health problems that far outweigh the furniture savings. Buying real wood furniture is the only way to avoid buying pieces made with PVC as it is difficult to determine if the piece has been coated with the material.

Volatile Organic Compounds

Identifiable by the strong “new furniture smell” volatile organic compounds or VOC’s are a category of chemicals that include formaldehyde and also acetaldehyde, benzene, xylene, toluene and isocyanates. These chemicals are found in the stains, paints and furniture of a lower quality than real wood. Although formaldehyde is the headlining carcinogen in the group, the other compounds also buildup in the home environment, leading to allergic reactions.

Toxic Free Living

Buying real wood from a company known for using quality products is the best way to keep your home environment free of these harmful chemicals.  Many Amish furniture outlets like Amish Tables support chemical free stains and adhesives, resulting in eco-freindly, toxic-free furniture.

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!

How to Choose a Wall Color to go With Your Furniture

Choosing the ideal room color for your new interior design project is never easy. Whether you’re decorating a new house, or just giving your living room a makeover, it’s difficult to imagine the final product.

This article from eHow.com points your interior decorating ship in the right direction with some tips to get you started. More often than not, choosing a wall color that goes with your furniture is personal preference, but there are a few rules you should abide to. Neutral colors are good if your furniture pops, but you can also use a color wheel to provide your furniture with complementary backgrounds. For instance, if you’re outfitting your bedroom with the deep browns of Amish frames and cabinets, you should paint your walls with a deep blue. More tips in the article.

Eco-Friendly Furniture Benefits both You and the Environment

We’re very proud to be a part of the “Eco-friendly Furniture” movement with our Amish products satisfying the terms of Green furniture. Amish craftsman avoid harmful stains and materials in favor of all-natural woods and procedures.

If you are looking to “Green-ify” your home with eco-friendly furniture, this article has tips and advice for finding your perfect couch or dresser. By going green you are reducing extraneous waste and saving the environment. Some manufactures even fight deforestation and global warming by donating portions of their sales to environmentalist campaigns and initiatives.

Two Similar Chairs, Two Different Price Points

At Amish Tables, we take pride in each piece of furniture that goes out our showroom door, and each piece that is sold through our website. As our testimonials point out, all of our customers have a deep appreciation for the heirloom quality and craftsmanship that make Amish furniture so special. Although many of our pieces are more expensive than dressers and bed-frames you’ll find at iKea or Target, it’s the details that make our pieces so loved around the world.

Which of these Adirondack Chairs do you think came from our showroom?

A recent post by Abbey Koplovitz on her blog, On Interior Design points out how two similar looking furniture pieces, like a chair from an Amish craftsman and a chair from a retailer can be priced differently. Abbey encourages a 360 degree analysis of furniture pieces and their ornateness to witness the beauty a higher price can bring.

Weatherproofing Your Outdoor Furniture

Spring is (almost) in full bloom here in Michigan and it’s the perfect time to start preparing for outdoor gatherings. Whether you’ve just purchased some new patio furniture, or you’re ready to shield your old furniture from this summer’s weather conditions, it’s important to protect your investment… especially if you just picked up your new outdoor Amish furniture.

The bloggers at Decorating Knowledge have put together their Spring guide to furniture weather-proofing in a recent blog post. Wicker, Wood, Metal and Upholstered pieces can all benefit from their tips.

Reused Wood in Eco Interior Design

It’s been shown that synthetic carpets are very damaging to the environment, both in production and elimination. These unnatural fibers leave their mark on nature for years and years. So why not just avoid these unfriendly fibers and go with the hardwoods look?

As Green Home and Design points out, the hardwood look is both sleek and sustainable. You can go one step further and use reclaimed wood pieces to refurbish your hardwood floors. These woods should be protected, but again, keep Green strategies in place and pick up some eco-friendly stains, varnishes or mattes.

This Years Bedroom Trends – Part 3 – Natural Materials

As a few posts in this Carnival point out, it’s important to consider your carbon footprint when shopping for furniture these days. You have the ability to make a big difference when you buy dressers or tables made of wood from well managed forests with replanting schemes. This post from Terry’s Fabric’s in the UK provides tips for finding the right tones to make your next interior design both homey and eco-friendly.

“Don’t Call it Brown” Furniture Makes a Comeback

Despite our sputtering economy, furniture sales are picking up according to those in attendance at Antiques in Charlottesville, a furniture show held in January. Antiques and fine furniture isn’t the draw it once was, but handcrafted, American-made wood furniture still has a quality beloved by many.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for some excellent posts coming up this week and we look forward to bringing you next month’s Blog Carnival on everything Amish Furniture has to offer!

5 Reasons Why Fine Furniture is Eco-Friendly

1. Recyclable. True heirloom, fine furniture is recyclable in an unconventional way. Several owners can reuse the piece before the end of that heirloom is carted off to the landfill. Long after their original use, some furniture is reclaimed or the accessories (like handles, knobs and hinges) are used as interior decoration. Accessories are also placed on other functional furniture to add character.
2. Durability. Although the original pricing on fine furniture can be quite expensive, the pieces end up lasting much longer than other types of furniture. In this way, the fine pieces end up saving you the cost of replacing them every few years (sooner if made of inferior materials). Furthermore, broken furniture goes into the trash–unusable. Like all durable goods, fine furniture’s longevity equals one less tree that has to be cut down.
3. Natural. Fine furniture that is similar to the pieces made at Amish Tables isn’t made using plastics. The plastics and other materials contribute to the nation’s petroleum dependence and to global warming. There are also no veneers (wood or synthetic filler) to inhibit quality or particleboard, known to release small amounts of toxic formaldehyde into the air.
4. Pesticide free crops. The fine furniture makers that supply Amish Tables and a few other distributors prohibit the use of pesticides on the new cotton grown for use in its upholstery.
5. Transported efficiently. Family furniture makers, including those working with Amish Tables, custom make each piece. They then ship it from the showroom direct to your home. There is no distribution center and thus no need for the additional freight. That and the ship-on-demand-system cuts down on unnecessary freight emissions.

No Need to Suffer When Going Green

Everyone can contribute to the green effort, without sacrificing style in your home. However, the change to eco-friendly living does require you to research not only the furniture that you intend to buy, but also the company making it. Make sure that the manufacturer supports environmentally conscience activities from the material acquisition to your doorstep.

This first posting focuses on some common themes on our blog, such as Going Green, Woodworking, Interior Design, and Amish innovations. If you’d like to see one of your posts appear in next month’s Carnival, email us or ping us on Twitter.

Enjoy the Carnival!

Furniture from Recycled Wine Barrels

You can go Green in so many ways these days. Most of the time, going Green involves mindfully conserving energy, but there’s also the “reusable materials” route. This post on Makezine.com showcases handmade furniture that has been recycled from oak wine barrels.  Charming, sturdy and GREEN furniture for your next design project.

Affordable Ventless Fireplaces

Sorry, chimney sweeps. No more soot and clean-up with these fireplaces.  You can find plenty of traditionally charming fireplaces in our catalog, but if you’re looking for a modern look, a ventless fireplace might be your best choice. These stunning models install right into a wall and burn bio-ethanol for a warm, yet eco-friendly ambiance.

TV Cabinet Buying Tips

This post comes from a fellow Amish Furniture distributor in Indiana. As the post accurately points out, shopping for TV Cabinets is an overwhelming task these days.  First, ask yourself what your needs are for your TV Cabinet and then move on to the purchase.

Design*Sponge 2009 Gift Guides: Under $100

Design*Sponge is a great interior design/crafty blog that we follow regularly, with advice to fill your interior design with personality and flair.  This post, while a bit dated, has great ideas that can freshen up your decor for cheap.

Learn Woodworking With Megan (a Real Teacher)

This post goes out to our readers in Indiana especially. Woodworking Magazine is a valuable resource for any craftsman that know their way around a workbench. Their blog is just as valuable, producing daily hints and tips about their latest projects and pieces. If you’re looking to get started with woodworking, check out this post announcing a great class to start this May in Indiana.

Making Furniture with Sawdust

Here’s some inspiration for our “Do-it-Yourself” and crafts readers. After reading this post, that leftover sawdust won’t seem half as annoying. Lea Bogdan of Inhabitat.com, profiles a handcrafted coffee table crafted from sawdust scraps.  The table was recently honored in Designbloom’s Intelligent Hand competition. Make sure you check out the cool pictures posted on the blog. Now that’s recycling!

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for some excellent posts coming up this week and we look forward to bringing you next month’s Blog Carnival on everything Amish Furniture has to offer!

What is Reclaimed Wood?

Reclaimed wood is lumber from an existing structure that is made into a piece of furniture. This makes reclaimed wood a recycled product.  Any wood that is sturdy, but no longer needed in its original structure can be reclaimed. Many people love the character that the wood has, with its nail holes, nicks, and scuffs collected over time. Theses features are often the most charming and appealing to customers.  The eco-friendly quality is just a plus.

The Sustainable Wood Option

Another green, real wood furniture choice is sustainable wood. When loggers chop down trees for sustainable wood they plant more trees in its place.  This ensures that the forest will continue to thrive long after the loggers leave. Sustainable wood is also harvested using methods that are both eco-friendly and that will promote future tree growth.

You’ll know your furniture was made from sustainable wood with a certification of verification.  A certificate verifying that the wood was harvested in a sustainable manner accompanies the furniture.

Eco-Friendly Materials

In addition to real wood, eco-friendly furniture must be manufactured with green materials. This means:

• No petroleum based upholstery
• Use of non-toxic glue
• Finishing with water based paint or stain.

Come Back to Wood

Now you know that going green doesn’t mean giving up the durable handcrafted furniture that you love. Buying reclaimed or sustainable woods made of eco-friendly materials is a way to reduce your carbon footprint on the earth, while also remaining comfortable and fashionable.