Photo Credit: Country Living

When it comes to buying new furniture, it sometimes seems as though your options are limited.  You can either buy a mass produced piece, which can be trendy and lack character or pay a lot more money for something made with some true craftsmanship.  If you refuse to go down the first road but don’t have enough money for the second option, then you need to check out antiquing.

Finding an older piece of furniture that was made with high quality materials and superior craftsmanship is a lot easier than you think.  It may not look the best on the outside, but like mom always said, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”  With some patience, a sharp eye and some elbow grease, you can turn a rough looking antique into a stylish piece of furniture that will last you years.

Sorting through garage sales, flea markets and even online auctions for antiques can be a blast, but if you don’t know what to look for you’re going to miss out or waste money on something that isn’t right for you and your home.  Follow these five simple tips and you can avoid a lot of headaches:

1) Proper Preparation

Making sure you are ready and have your “game face” on when you go antiquing makes things a whole lot easier.  First, get a general idea what you’re looking for.  Do you need certain piece or have to fill an empty space in your furniture lineup?  If so measure that space and know what will fit and what won’t.  If you’re just out browsing and aren’t sure what you’re after, take key measurements of your house: door widths and general room dimensions.

Visit a couple of auctions, flea markets and other antique sales to get a feeling for what things cost.  Online auctions are a great resource to find out about prices and help you know when a seller is asking for way too much.  Pick yourself up some antique pricing guides if you’re going to be doing a lot of this.  Having them handy in your car will help answer a lot of questions you might otherwise have to just guess on.

Make sure you come ready to buy and transport your find home.  That means bringing or borrowing a truck or something similar if you’re in the market for larger pieces.  Rope, blankets and padding will all come in useful too.  Don’t depend on the seller for any of this, as it may be used as a bargaining chip against you.

2) Inspect Intensely

When you come across something that looks interesting make sure you give it a thorough inspection.  Examine the piece for blemishes, cracks or any areas that may show signs of being repaired previously.  If possible, pick it up and look at the bottom of it as well as inside, on the top and any other area that may not be easily visible.  Try to identify anything that gives a hint to where and when it was made.

3) Arrive Early, Stay Late

Make sure you’re there when the festivities kick off so you get a feeling for all of the pieces available.  If you find something you just can’t live without, make sure you let the seller know you’re interested.  However, don’t expect to get a deal first thing in the morning.  With buyers all around, sellers might not feel like giving up too much.  This will change throughout the day though.  By sticking around until the later hours of the sale you can get some good deals.  Many sellers would rather sacrifice some of their profits then pack the pieces back up and cart them home.

4) Don’t Get Hung Up on Value

I know it sounds crazy because you’re here trying to get a deal on some furniture, but don’t get too obsessed with value.  Pay what you feel comfortable for a piece, factoring in the work and materials it will take to bring it back to its former glory.  If you love the piece and are comfortable with the price, then go for it.  Even though it may not be the greatest deal, the bigger part of this adventure is being happy with your find and the way it fits in your home!

5) Be Friendly

Yeah, it sounds like common sense but a lot of people let their manners fly out the window when they are negotiating with strangers.  The people selling their antiques are people too.  If they are owners like you would deal with at a garage sale, then they may have sentimental attachments to their pieces.  Marching up and declaring “it’s junk” and that “they are lucky you’re here to take it off their hands” is a quick way to get the cold shoulder.

Even if they are professional antiques dealers, you can still let them know you’re interested and want to negotiate without being rude.  Try these simple and polite ways to let them know you want to haggle:

• Is this the best possible price?
• I really like this piece but I only have X dollars, what can you do on the price?
• Is there any wiggle room on the price?
• I can see this piece needs to be fixed up a bit, considering that, would you accept X?

Follow these simple steps and you’ll be ready to buy antiques like a pro and get a great deal on quality furniture.  If you’re not the handiest person, check out our upcoming post on how to stain furniture.  We’ll walk you through what to do with that perfect piece that needs to be refinished.

Decorating these places becomes a challenge because most mainstream furniture makers design their pieces to fit the larger homes. Just because you have a small space, does not mean you have to forego the wood furniture. With these helpful hints, you can choose pieces that will not only fit but maximize your space.

Tips for Furnishing a Small Space

• Look for multifunction pieces. In a small space, storage is at a premium. Look for furniture that serves a dual purpose, like Amish Furniture Home’s Amies Coffee Table that has drawers and cabinets for storage.  Another option would be the Modesto Lift Top Coffee Table, which has easily accessible space to store TV remotes, magazines, laptops, and other items.  In small bedrooms, with little to no space for additional dressers, the Platform Bed allows for needed storage with drawers that line the base of the bed.
• Consider wall units. Instead of trying to fit multiple pieces in one room, look for a taller and wider case piece that can house your entertainment pieces, books, DVDs and CDs.   This entertainment unit maximizes storage while saving on floor space.
• Utilize corners or hallways.  Choose pieces like the Legacy Corner Cabinet, which will create space out of a difficult to use corner.  Utilizing a wider hallway or entry way for a bookcase or even a sofa table can also provide a place for keys, purses and other items needed on a daily basis.
• Living area turned bedroom space. Futons like the McIntosh Mission not only provide stylish seating space but also a comfortable bed for visiting friends or family members.
• Customize. Most of Amish Furniture Home’s pieces can be customized to fit your space.  This can go a long way in providing the exact amount of storage you need and to fit the space you have.

Once you have picked those specific pieces to furnish your space, another way to keep it looking great is to eliminate any clutter. Clear off flat surfaces and use that extra storage to “find a place for everything”.  The extra effort to put “everything in its place” will go a long way in maintaining the look of your small, but expertly furnished space.

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.

There are four basic pieces used for sitting in America. They are the couch, settee, loveseat and the sofa. Each has its own, distinct characteristics and role in furniture history.

Sofa

The sofa was the beginning of the couch’s evolutionary chain. It was a lounge that had one arm, a back. Sofas were fully cushioned and primarily intended as furniture on which ladies could lounge. Sofas were created around the 17th century for the aristocrat’s bedroom.  These bedrooms were even larger than today’s version of the Master Bedroom and had a great focus on relaxation.

The parlor was in fashion around this time and was primarily used for funerals and receiving guests. Surprisingly, comfort was rarely a point of concern as stiff chairs furnished the room. Comfort was reserved for bedrooms with plush bedding and the sofa lounge.

After the Industrial Revolution, large furnishings like the sofa were mass produced and thus cheaper. The lower classes could finally afford these comfortable pieces of furniture. However, the working family’s bedroom was very small.

Consequently, the sofa was placed in the largest room which came to be known as the Living Room. The sofa gained another arm and was upholstered across the entire back to accommodate the family. And once the television burst onto the scene in the 20th century, the sofa evolved again — this time it was longer and came to be known as the Couch.

Settee

A Settee is a formal version of the couches we use today. It had the high back, attached to the bench seat, with arms that are meant to be a supportive rest. Settees are upholstered but not designed for comfort. The Hilltop Settee in our showroom is an outdoor version of this furniture piece. Notice how the seat and back of the settee are upholstered.

The settee was actually two steps before the couch on the furniture evolution charts, although you still may hear couches referred to as settees. It was created to be a double chair. Furniture makers soon created a version that was slightly smaller than the normal settee. It was called a “courting seat” or a loveseat.

Loveseat

The loveseat was made specifically for lovers. It soon became cushioned for extra comfort. The upholstering was on the arms, seat and back. Loveseats like the Skyline Loveseat, can also be designed as recliners. This feature only enhances the comfort factor that the seats are known for.

Choices, Choices

Deciding on the right furniture piece for your family room often involves choosing the right colors and patterns. Knowing the origins of the piece you’re sitting on not only helps to narrow the field of choices. It can also become a great conversation starter.

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.

Tip 1: Divide, and then Conquer

Family rooms are often very large, open spaces – perfect for family bonding and lounging. They are sometimes attached to other rooms like the kitchen or formal living room. Whatever the makeup of the space, it must be divided into areas of function based on your family’s habits. For example, designate an area for children and their toys and an area for office work.

Make the Divisions. Paint the walls a different color to recognize different parts of the room These colors should be taken from the room’s overall color scheme.

Use the furniture to create dividers as well. For example, make a corner of the family room the child’s space. Pull the child’s toy bins (especially if they’re stackable or on a rack) to make a third wall. No matter how short the wall may be, it serves as a visual divider in the room. You can also use the couch or a loveseat to create a partition as well.

Tip 2: Use Functional Furniture

Family rooms are clutter magnates. Come to terms with this fact and you can move on to the multipurpose furniture. Examples of functional furniture is the coffee table with deep working drawers, a combination chest with storage/resting places, hollow ottomans or an end tables with drawers and/or shelves.  Entertainment centers are some of the best functional pieces because they come with several shelves, drawers, and cabinets that can contain the clutter.

Give the furniture a function. Every family is different, so I suggest sitting down and deciding what role each piece will play in your family room.  For instance, coffee tables like the Amies Coffee Table found at Amish Tables has multiple drawers and shelves. These can be used for containing reading materials or coloring books and crayons. The takeout menus, mail-to be-sorted or books that the family is reading can be stored in the drawers and shelves. Give each piece and each drawer/shelf a purpose that the family agrees on and acknowledges.

Tip 3: Keep the Flat Surfaces Just That—Flat!

In the interior organization business, there is a law of flat surfaces. These tabletops, desktops, and even exposed shelves always attract clutter, loose change, notes, and so on. Very soon, the surface and the room is overflowing in papers, files, books, and other things.

Break the law! Unlike the law of gravity, the law of flat surfaces is breakable. Use baskets that fit under the end tables and coffee table. Designate a basket for toys, blankets, stray clothing, etc. so that you can easily remove these things from the flat surfaces.

Use pieces like the Amish Tables’ Spring Hill File Cabinet that looks like an end table. It places an organizational concept, like the file cabinet in the middle of the family living space. This makes filing those stray papers much easier. Also, look into ottomans with removable tops and a storage space inside.

Relax

The goal is to be together as a family without the stress of the surrounding mess. This mess makes the room uninviting and filled with distractions. These tips on organization are created to make both banishing the clutter and keeping it away an easy task. In time, the family room can be a place where the family can be together.  Organizing the family room can make it a more function and comfortable gathering place.

5 Tips for Modernizing the Home Office

This year, 2010 is the perfect time to start redecorating your home workspace. The trend for the next decade calls for color and simplicity (something that Amish Furniture Home is known for). There are five ways to implement the trend into your home office for a new modern look.

1. Use Color

The new decade calls for bold colors and the most basic hues on the color wheel. They are the red, blue, black and white—the primary colors. Find the boldest and brightest of these colors in your desk chair cushion, area rug for the floor or traffic rugs for larger offices. Use a neutral color to offset the bold accents. Because this is a home office, you cannot forget the supplies. Use them to accentuate your office. Look for bold colors in staplers, in/out bins, files, push pins, trashcans, pencil holders, sharpeners and other accessories.


2. Stay Away from Detail

Modernizing for 2010 calls for the clean look. This means staying away from ornate details in the furniture along with intricate upholstery patterns and a complicated rug design. For this modernization, plain and bold are the only requirements.

3. Clean Lines

Many people believe that modernizing entails space age, uncomfortable furniture. On the contrary, the modernization for 2010 only calls for clean lines and shapes that can be considered geometric. Above all else, the décor must be simple. This is actually a style of furniture that the Amish are known for—clean and simple. Amish Furniture Home has pieces that are made in this way. Look at the royal mission desk as an example of the lines needed to modernize your home office.

4. Go Natural

In the spirit of conservation and becoming more in tune to the environment, the new modern home office uses environmentally safe, sustainable, and natural materials. Materials like bamboo and wood from sustainable sources are safer on the environment than plastics and are more inviting than the industrial chrome of the commercial office. An example is the Caledonia File Cabinet for natural inspiration (shown right).

5. Clear the Clutter

Finally, the modernized home office must be clutter free. Look for pieces with plenty of storage space—drawers, shelves etc. Modernize with pieces like the Amish Furniture Home’s Arts and Crafts Bookcase that has plenty of storage needed to keep your home office de-cluttered.

Modernize Without Fear

The year 2010 is a perfect time to think about applying the new trend to your office. In addition to the tax benefit, the comfort, simplicity, and bold colors will be a muse to get your mind in the work mode. If you need another incentive, just ask your accountants—the new look may be tax deductible.

What’s a Blog Carnival?

A blog carnival is a type of blog event that is easily compared to print magazines (thanks Wikipedia!).  They’re published according to a regular schedule and revolve around a central topic with content coming from multiple sources.

Blog carnivals are a fun way for bloggers to provide their readers regular collections of recently published, high quality resources. With these blog carnivals, web communities can begin a discussion and get a high standard of information on a certain niche.

In addition to AFH’s carnival, you can find a wide range of carnivals, or even start your own, at BlogCarnival.

The Amish Furniture Home Carnival

Our Carnival will be posted every third Wednesday of the month.

If you’d like to submit your post for inclusion, entries will be due by the Sunday preceding the third Wednesday of each month. That means that submissions for next month are due by Sunday, February 14 (Happy Valentines Day!), with the first carnival going up on Wednesday, February 17.

Submissions can made in one of two ways:

1. Complete the form on our BlogCarnival page
2. Contact us directly at @amishhome on Twitter with the URL, title and a brief description of your post

Please only submit posts that fall within the following topics:

• Interior Design
• Amish Furniture
• Green Furniture
• Sustainable Living
• Bringing the Family Together
• Ann Arbor
• Michigan Furniture

The articles we accept will be rewarded with a do-follow link from our blog and will have the honor of being included with some of the best content on the net.

Please limit your submissions to two posts per month.

Thanks for reading and we look forward to your posts! Let’s have some fun, it’s a carnival after all!

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.

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.