Treat your Father to a Custom Plasma TV Unit

Dad has been there through the best and the worst, supportive and caring, ready to help and offer a hand; why not thank Dad with a Custom Plasma TV Unit?  We have a wide variety of styles that are sure to compliment any living room space.  Like all of our furniture, plasma TV units are built to order.  You can choose the wood type, stain and even special finishing techniques.  Place your Father’s day order by July 1 and he will have it in time for that Kickoff game this Fall!   See all the different options available here.

Dad not a TV guy? What about these ideas?

Of course if a plasma TV unit or entertainment unit is not what you are looking for, we have over 2000 products to choose from on our website.  Maybe a new coffee table like the Kenwood pictured to the right, or a pub table and bar stools.  The choices are endless!

Valuable Savings for you, Perfect Gifts for Dad

Looking for a great deal for Dad?  We have a variety of additional items available in our clearance area which will make Dad’s day and yours!  Visit our showroom to see the items in person or view our clearance section on our website at: www.amish-furniture-home.com

Long before the drink was popular in England and then in the New World it was highly regarded by the Ethiopians and the Muslims. Brought to Europe via Italy and then the East India Company, coffee initially was frowned upon by the church. Although the church prohibited it and in some countries women were banned from coffeehouses eventually coffee became a worldwide recognized beverage of choice for socializing. Along with the need for furniture other items came in to the marketplace for the making and serving of coffee, such as coffee sets, coffee makers and coffee tins.

Coffee tins are one of the prized possessions of collectors of coffee memorabilia, kitchen collectibles and advertising collectibles. There are over 1300 known designs; most chromolithographed. With the phenomenon of coffee houses and coffee shops the collectibility of coffee tins has also risen for businesses as well as home owners.

 Packaged tins of already roasted coffees became more popular as the the process became better in the late 1800’s. Still, coffee in tins could not be guaranteed to be fresh because they were not airtight. With the invention of vacuum packaging in 1903 by Hills Brothers. Coffee tins could now be trusted to be air tight and fresh for weeks. By 1920 even Folgers was using vacuum packing and the world was brewing a more convenient cup of coffee.

If you would like to stock your Amish built bookcases, shelves or hutches with your favorite coffee collectible here are a few tips:

Like any collectible, condition is key. Avoid rust, dents, scratches that are more than wear and tear.

• Paper labels that are not written on and intact are desired.
• Unopened cans are more desirable than opened ones but if it is opened be sure you have a matching lid.
• If you can choose then choose the cans with the best graphics. Chromolithographed, graphics with many colors, are more desired than tins with only one or two colors.
• With so many tins to choose from many collectors prefer to focus on one region to fill their custom shelves and cabinets with.

PLANTER BASKET GIFTSET-

If mom is a gardener she can find reports and inspiration at the National Gardening Associations website http://www.garden.org/regional/report . Write this site on a card and place it inside a custom stained cedar planter, along with new gardening tools, gloves, seeds or plants.

MAKE A WISH -

What mom really wishes for is a relaxing spot to call her own. This wishing well is available for gardens or yard decors ranging in size from 30″ wide to 50″ wide. It can be placed on a patio, as an accent to a water feature or even indoors as a planter. Don’t forget to include a bag of pennies for tossing!

MAKE MOM A ROCK STAR -

So you think your mom can’t rock? Her kind of rocking may not be to heavy metal but she can certainly rock out to solid wood! With a good book, or a grandchild on her knee, she can watch the world go by from her porch with a customized old fashion rocker. The Amish crafters build Adirondack Rocking Chairs, crafted from aromatic red cedar which has a natural resistance to rot. Custom stained, no mom could resist this heirloom rocking chair.

RELAXING GLIDERS AND SWINGS -

Moms are stressed. It comes with the territory. Therapists have long known that the act of rocking, swinging and gliding is beneficial to a human’s mind and body. The pendulum action is soothing while also making you more focused. Set on sturdy frames, the Straightback Deluxe Glider or the Suspended Swings provide an enjoyable gliding or swinging experience. Customized from aromatic red cedar, which has a natural resistance to rot, these are available in varying shades of stain.

BREAKFAST OR BRUNCH ON THE DECK -

The Elegant Chat set is perfect for holding a casual breakfast or brunch buffet on Mother’s Day. Later it will be a well used gift, serving snacks at pool-side parties, relaxing in the cool of the evening or playing cards with friends out on the patio. Constructed from aromatic red cedar, this wood has a natural resistance to rot. This solid wood, custom-made and custom stained set includes a generous 36″ round table and four straight-back chairs.

LUNCH IN HER BACKYARD PARK -

A simple Picnic Table Set is a great addition to any yard, patio or deck. This design features moveable benches that are independent from the table. This style gives you more options for varying seating arrangements. Pack a picnic basket full of mom’s favorite items (and those are always things she didn’t have to cook herself!) and hold a picnic in honor of her.

Your mother deserves something for Mother’s Day that is not only worthy of her but useful. Life is stressful and mom’s never take time to relax and care for themselves. While swings are not usually associated with adults and are usually found in the backyard or playgrounds, exclusively for children. In fact, swinging for adults can be very therapuetic and relaxing. A swing that is set in motion will oscillate like a pendulem, gently rocking and comforting the person seated in or on the hanging seat.

Swinging may seem a minimal way to actually work through stress but medical professionals have proven that children and adults with Sensory Integration issues, ADHD, and Autism all benefit from daily movement and stimulation. Occupational therapists often use different types of swings and swinging techniques to help regulate patient’s bodies. Swinging therapy helps them to focus while increasing body awareness. Besides that, the Amish swings are attractive, whimsical, nostalgic and just plain fun!

The Amish craftsmen create swings with or without independent frames for suspension. Whether you want to suspend your solid wood swing from the ceiling of your porch or from a strong wooden frame, a hand-crafted hickory, red oak, cherry, walnut and quarter sawn white oak swing will last a lifetime.

The generous 5-foot swing seating allows for more than one adult or child to swing at a time. These swings come in a variety of sizes, shapes and styles. The Deacons Bench Swing is a vertically slatted design with interesting architecture. It also can be custom ordered in separated rocker seating. The Adirondack style (available in a smaller 4 foot concept) swing sets are made from aromatic red cedar which has a natural resistance to rot.

If you are looking for a set in the yard or on a porch but do not wish to suspend it from a structure why not try an arbor? These sturdy and stunning arbors are available with sunrise designs on the side; making a beautiful impression when walking through any garden. You can then add a custom built five-foot swing in several wood options for relaxing and entertaining. The Sunrise Arbor walkway is a full 78″ wide.

The tripod settee is just what you would expect in a traditional swing set frame. Three legs on each end of the trestle support the swinging action with a stable foundation for carefree swinging. Now mom can enjoy the feel of a traditional porch swing even if she doesn’t have a porch, or doesn’t want to have suspension applied to her porch roof.

Because the Amish crafters design in either a free hanging, tripod or arbor base, their swings can be set up anywhere. Thinking of everything the woodworkers applied shelves on each side for snacks or beverages – or the Mother’s Day brunch you’re going to make her.

Easter is celebrated by many Christian denominations in the spring of each year and the Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch are no exception. In fact, in many Amish communities a second day is even added to celebrations such as Christmas, Easter, or Pentecost. The Amish do celebrate these holidays as a sacred time, but adding a second day allows for religious observations on one day and quiet family activities the next. The additional days are called Second Christmas, Easter Monday, and Pentecost Monday. Good Friday and Whit Monday (the day after Pentecost) are also kept. This extra day may be allotted to visiting friends or relations, shopping or various recreational activities.

The day prior to Pentecost, is called Ascension Day and it is a holiday for families to go visiting, or perhaps go fishing together. While most homes in American have fallen into a commercialized celebration of Easter, Easter festivities in an Amish home are spared from commercial trimmings. The European tradition of decorating or painting eggs may still be seen in some Amish households. Like many other children the Amish may receive a basket of candy. The Easter Bunny does not visit Amish homes and the Easter season is considered a sacred holiday. This is a time to observe religious customs such as fasting and to meditate on scriptures. The extra day is a time to enjoy a day from work and participate in family gatherings or quiet celebrations.

Shrove Tuesday is known as “Fasnacht Day,” or “Fastnacht.” Shrove Tuesday falls the day before Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday marks the season of fasting known as Lent; a Catholic custom that lingered on into some Protestant churches. While Lent was not allowed to be observed in many of the Anabaptist churches because the Anabaptists rejected all the Christian holy days believing that these holy days were created by the Romans, some of the other Pennsylvania Dutch or, more accurately, the Pennsylvania Germans did keep with their European Lutheran backgrounds.

The Pennsylvania Dutch prepared for Lent on the Monday before Ash Wednesday. Dough was put out in straw baskets to rise and later be cut into squares and deep-fried in fat. These deep fried dough squares and served with hot coffee at breakfast, where they are split in half and spread with honey or coated with confectioners’ sugar. The Pennsylvania Dutch knew that 40 days of sacrifice lay ahead and thought it wise to use up all the fats and sugars in the house and gorge themselves on delicacies prior to the fast.

“Gruna Dunaschdawk,” or Green Thursday, is the day before Good Friday. This was the day to eat something green with the belief that this act would insure good health for the next year. “Kaofreidawk,” or Good Friday, immediately follows Green Thursday. On Good Friday the family would attend church services and the “haus frau”, or housewife, would begin the boiling and decorating of the eggs. There was also a traditional meal to break the Lenten fast on Easter morning.

One of the Pennsylvania Dutch groups, the Amish, has a diet considered to be considerably low in processed foods. Although influences have crept in based on the various regional and religious backgrounds (predominantly the Amish, Mennonite, Moravians, etc.) of each of the Pennsylvania Dutch communities, the tables and cupboards of a typical home are loaded with the resources of the agricultural lifestyle they cultivated in Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

Bringing little with them except salt and a few spices, these early Pennsylvania Dutch cooks were highly ingenious in their methods of food preservation. Using methods like smoking, drying, brining, pickling and even dried fruits in their cooking, they made their larder full. The philosophy of balance was achieved with the salty pickling and the sweet treats creating the seven sweets and seven sours meal.

True to their beliefs in not wasting resources, the Pennsylvania Dutch cooks often made use of food parts otherwise discarded. Like the Shakers the Pennsylvania Dutch were green before green was fashionable, honoring God and their world by using their assets in a responsible and accountable fashion. From pig organs to watermelon rind, nothing is wasted in the home of a Pennsylvania Dutch family.

Especially maintained by Amish families today, is the idea of seven sweets and seven sours, which stems from an ancient European custom based on the belief that everything should be properly balanced. Usually served in large families, and especially when serving company, seven various pickled foods, relishes, and spreads are laid out on the table. Because of the lack of of refrigeration these are often preserved in the summer for winter consumption. Alongside these are served the heartier starchy, and more filling dishes as part of the evening meal. These delicacies can be accompaniments or served by themselves.

The traditional sweet and savory or sweet and sour foods can be mixed all in the same dish as long as “seven sweets and seven sours” should be represented. The traditional “sweets” are usually based on locally-grown fruits such as apples, berries, or even candied watermelon rind. The “sours” are pickled onion, cauliflower, beets, tomato relish, spiced cucumbers and even more specialties that grew from definite German Old World influences. Their spicy flavors and their endless variety fill many an Amish themed country store. Spicy, pickled, preserved and cured, the Pennsylvania Dutch woman has always known how to present a spread for large families and groups from spiced peaches to pickled chow chow.

• FLOWERS & FOLIAGE-

Quite simply, flowers can create a theme. They can also indicate a seasonal direction to your celebration. While it would be nice to be able to afford a fresh cut bouquet from even the grocery your arrangements do not have to include even a single bloom or blossom. For instance, a contemporary theme, one of bold sparseness, can be reflected in a tall glass vase, weighted with river rocks or glass baubles and holding long, wispy wooden stems or branches cut from your yard. Seasonal fruit vines or branches, again found in the great outdoors, filled and flowing from a vase speaks to the local fruits you may serve. Even a bowl of colorful vegetables can add a pop of color.

By placing a coordinating wreath at the door you can easily carry the theme from your threshold to your foyer and living room and then to your Amish custom built dining room suite. If you have an old wreath just recycle and reclaim it by adding fresh touches to it, or create one from vines or bendable branches. A door piece does not have to be round but instead can be a gathered and beribboned bunch of florals or foliage.

Inexpensive candles always highlight the most simple table arrangements. If the theme is a tea party, why not fill the tea pot with blooms? A garden theme looks great with already owned garden tools as a center piece. Stop and look around before going out to buy a new centerpiece, but never skip on the center piece, since it is high impact for low cost and a focal point of the meal.

• TABLE LINENS-

Table linens can range from a coveted vintage lace table cloth, to an Amish quilt or to a crisp and inexpensive fabric piece or sheet. A set of plain white napkins is always a great investment. The napkins can be bound with something carrying the theme of the day or the theme of the floral and foliage arrangements. A simple ribbon makes an understated napkin ring. Large napkins can even be converted to placemats when unfolded. Stained napkins and table cloths can be bleached out or tea stained into a recycled and highly fashionable shabby chicness.

• WHO’S WHO-

If you want to provide a sense of elegance and thoughtfulness, make each guest a place card. The art of using place cards kicks any tea, lunch or dinner up to the next level and can be created for virtually nothing. While even nicely printing each guest’s name on a simple tent-folded, plain 3 x 5 card is a statement, you can also pick up a favor for each guest at a dollar store. A small frame holding their place card, a basket of candies with their name attached, a candle with a labeled name, a sachet with the name in marker…the list of place card favors is endless and very affordable.

Another fun thing to do is to create a menu for each plate. Today’s computers usually come with templates to create cards and menus, or you can search online. It adds a touch of fun and class.

• COLORS-

Something as simple as color can actually be a theme for your event. All white, or the latest trend of using only black and white, can develop a boring dinner party into something spectacular for no added costs. If you use bold colors remember do not mix even one pastel and visa versa and keep the coloring throughout the arrangements and the linens.

• MIX AND MATCH-

Can’t afford additional place settings or maybe you don’t have a set of fine china at all? Thrift stores hold treasured pieces of china and glassware that can be bought for pennies to create an eclectic and enviable dinnerware collection that no one else has. While an entire table of matching dishes is indeed very elegant it can also be cost prohibitive and even blah. Why not show some imagination and pick out the best of each find you can. You can even mix it with your own set of dishes to extend them when the guest list grows longer than your place settings.

 By using these tips and more to come here at Amish-Furniture-Home.com you can host and enjoy many cost effective and unforgettable events with your well appointed Amish built furniture investments.

Winter is officially here. This year’s wintry weather has spread in full force in to parts of the country that have not seen snow…well, ever. When the warm sunshine of summertime is a distant memory one big consolation is that you can finally crank up the fireplace. After insuring that your

WOOD: Use only dry hardwoods like oak, hickory, ash, birch, or maple. A clear radial crack along the cross section of the log is a good sign your log is dry enough to burn. Although plentiful, and the first wood you see “free” signs on in people’s yards, avoid burning softwoods like pine or spruce. These soft woods burn too quickly, and because of high sap content, require more frequently chimney cleaning. Find a dry and cool place to store your wood to insure logs are ready when you need them. Fruitwoods are a fragrant alternative.

TINDER: No big blaze started without some tiny tinder. Collect and store in attractive baskets, jars or vases some small twigs or pine branches. Various sizes of coordinating pottery or planters on the hearth are great storage choices that add interest to your fireplace area. Tie the splinters up in attractive bundles for storage. You can fill a large jar with pine needles layered with small pinecones for a display that is useful and themed.

KINDLE: Collect bigger pieces of tinder, from finger to wrist sized thickness, known as kindling. Some tightly twisted newspapers also work here. These newspaper “logs” work great and make a wonderful family project. To make rolling easier first wet the newspaper a section at a time. Then spread out each section on a flat surface protected by a plastic sheet or a garbage bag. Now tightly roll the paper into a log, securing the ends with twine. Let it dry overnight.

Pinecones, especially dipped in wax, along with dried herbs like sage, rosemary, and cinnamon sticks make fragrant kindling. These kindling kits make thoughtful and cost saving gifts. Simply bundle dried herbs and small pinecones inside a sheet of newspaper, then secure the ends with raffia ribbon or cotton twine. Now, nestle the herb bundle under the logs, leaving a “fuse” end sticking out. As your creation burns the herbs inside will ignite and not only help start the logs burning but fragrantly scent the room.

TOOLS: Basic fireplace utensils are usually sold in sets and come in very attractive designs that can fit in to any décor. A good set should include a poker, a set of tongs, a shovel, a whisk broom and a dustpan for ash removal. For safety’s sake and decorative covering, always buy a fireplace screen. Safety should be your first thought.

MATCHES: Wooden matches burn much slower than paper matches and gives you more time to ignite tinder and kindling. While any wooden kitchen match will work, the long fireplace matches are best.

FIREWOOD CARRIER: Always use a firewood tote to bring wood inside. It saves your sweaters, your steps, and can save your back from stress and your hands from splinters. An old pillowcase or towel with straps or handles from fabric, an old belt or old purse straps sewn on makes a very compact and inexpensive tote that can be folded and tucked in a basket.

IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO HAVE A WOOD BURNING FIREPLACE YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE WITHOUT THE EFFECTS OF A RELAXING AND THERAPEUTIC HEARTH. AMISH BUILDERS CREATE CUSTOM ELITE FIREPLACES IN NATIVE HARDWOODS AND A WIDE ARRAY OF STYLES AND STAINS. THESE FIREPLACES ARE ELECTRIC AND EFFICIENT ON FUEL AND THE ECOLOGY.