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Kovels say Yes to Furniture as Investments In a Slow Economy

admin — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:37:59 +0000

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.

How To Protect Your Infant, Toddler and Child with an Easy Home Safety Checklist

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 03:42:51 +0000

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

How To Sell Your Collectibles and Heirlooms: Valuable and Smart Tips

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:53:04 +0000

While we may collect things from sports cards to furniture simply for the enjoyment of the hunting and the gathering, most of us collect knowing that there is a chance if needs arose, we could sell that collection. Many a handcrafted Amish built bookcase holds the world’s most prized collectibles. It is a fact that people who love the high quality of Amish design are usually people who admire beautiful and interesting objects of art. It goes without saying they collect anything from handmade quilts to high end art glass. In fact many collect, what else? – Amish furniture.

Whatever your obsession for collecting was routed into there may come a time to part from it. Even in the best of times life changes, money is tight, tastes change, space runs out, you marry someone who finds your beer bottles from around the world clashing with her doily collection…Whatever the reason, time may have come for you to lose the collection and gain the cash. Educating yourself away from the consumer thought process and towards the vendor end of the deal is wise.

The first step to selling your possessions is to determining your market. Ask yourself, where will you get the most money for your valuables? Today the availability of avenues to sell your collectibles is vast. From the old fashioned ads in your local paper to yard sales to online auctions, quite literally the world is your storefront. Decide what venue will give you the greatest access to the people who collect what you do? If you have in your collection any rare items the World Wide Web can pay off best. Bidding wars caused by auction frenzy and world wide monetary value differences can only benefit you the seller. A seller can only win when the world is your bidding audience. Include the auction fees when deciding whether to use an auction service.

A very specific target audience is the collector clubs. You may be able to buy and sell to members who obsess over what you have collected. Collector clubs can be reached through member specific publications or online sites and boards. True collectors are members who take the subject seriously. This is evidence of true passion and a truly passionate collector will come up with the cash if you have what they need to complete their collection.

Determine whether you want to offer the collection in bulk or individually. Ask yourself if selling as a whole or selling individually will bring the greatest yield. If you are in a hurry, selling as a whole is a quick route but, remember that selling separately or in smaller groupings can bring the highest amount. There is more time and effort in separating the collection. You also run the risk of being stuck with the less desirable pieces.

Showcase your collection in its best light, whether with pictures and description in print or online, or by insuring that it is in its best condition. Take the time to research your audience, pick the best marketing venue and display your valuables to your advantage. Caring for your treasures while you own them insures that their value is not diminished by improper storage. Investing in solid hardwood Amish designs like cedar chests, shelves, hutches and storage units not only create an amazing showcase but also help protect your investments.

Amish Solid Wood Furniture: A Brief Education on Veneer and Veneered Furniture

admin — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:17:00 +0000

Wood veneer is used to give furniture a fine wood grain appearance less expensively than using a solid piece of that wood. Wood veneers are produced in very thin, 3 mm or less, sheets. It is most often used on less valuable woods or materials in order to give them an outwardly attractive appearance. Most furniture manufacturers choose to use veneer over less expensive wood in order to cut costs. A more handsome, more expensive piece of veneer can be placed over a less expensive frame, giving the illusion of a solid wood piece. This is one of the oldest furniture manufacturing tricks in the world. Its ancient origins can be traced back to Egypt. Discoveries have been made of Egyptian furnishings and sarcophagi constructed from thin layers of wood glued together.

Some of the most expensive pieces of furniture ever made or sold have had veneer. The master craftsmen of the 18^th century all used veneer in some fashion or form. So, if it was good enough for high end antiquities and even modern furniture makers, why have artisan and craftsman-centric communities like the Shakers and the Amish forsaken using veneer in their heirloom quality pieces? One simple word explains it – that word is integrity.

Not only is there an appearance and a temptation of possible deception when applying veneers but, after a period of time even the best furniture veneers and glues begin to degrade. Expansion and contraction in varying environments can cause peeling and shrinkage. When a veneer layer pulls away from it’s under frame, it causes peeling, chipping and breakage; that may not be easily repaired.

Some of the issue with this has been avoiding by using new technology in the manufacturer of synthetic glues, a great improvement over animal glues. This has led to today’s mass furniture producers to use veneers in greater and greater quantity. Admittedly some designs, such as Modern Contemporary, require the flexibility of veneers to bring more imaginative designs. Of course the beautiful designs done with marquetry and parquetry would be impossible without veneers.

The fact remains solid wood is an unbeatable investment. Many engineered woods simply disintegrate if they are exposed to moisture, unlike solid woods. While its durability and reliability are without question, the honest fact remains that perhaps the greatest appeal of solid wood is its naturally exquisite appearance. Most people consider solid wood furniture more attractive and desirable, especially when designed and crafted by today‘s Amish craftsmen.

Tips To Buying Hand Crafted Hardwood Furniture by the Amish: A Brief Definition of Case Goods

admin — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 04:04:39 +0000

Absolutely no manufacturer of home or office furniture makes finer case goods than the Amish craftsmen of Northern Indiana. Understanding how a great case good item is designed and constructed will insure you have chosen your pieces wisely. Furniture is divided into two basic construction categories – upholstered furnishings and case goods. A case good was originally the furniture designed for storage purposes, such as dresser, cabinets, desks, and bookcases. It is thought that the name case goods derived from the fact that early chest of drawers, evolved from trunks and travel chests, resembled cases.

In today’s furniture industry the category known as case goods has expanded to include tables, headboards, etc. If the furniture item can be included in a bedroom or dining room it most likely falls in to the case good category. Since most case goods involve a framed construction solid wood is consider the best quality material, although other elements can be used, such as plastic, metal, etc.

When examining a case good for purchase it should meet three specifications:

Esthetical value

Quality of materials

Integrity of construction

ESTHETICAL VALUE

Your furniture choices should not just be trends but investments that can be used as your tastes or lifestyle progress. Amish furniture designs include every major décor trend from Mission, Craftsman, Arts and Crafts, Log Cabin, Adirondack, Lodge, Shabby Chic, Modern, Contemporary, Shaker, Traditional, to Tuscan, and on and on. The native hardwoods are available in oak, maple, cherry and walnut, including variations in each of those categories. The Amish include a spectrum of stain option topped by the almost everlasting finish known as ARESISTOVAR.

QUALITY OF MATERIAL

Ask questions of your sales team about the origin of the wood products used to create their designs. Guaranteeing that the wood was properly prepared can promise that the piece will keep its original dimensions, warding off warping and cracking.

The idea of veneer applied to cheaper wood underneath is a matter of taste but the Amish do not craft items in need of veneering. Like the Shakers the Amish believe that their fine furnishings do not need to be covered up by a faux finish in order to persuade you to buy.

INTEGRITY OF CONSTRUCTION

Understanding joint construction and how it affects the lifespan of your pieces will help you to know what to look for, too. The point at which a leg or case is joined to its other parts can determine its strength or its weakness.

Pull out drawers, look underneath and behind. Methodically examine them to see if they have been sanded and finished. This is the sign of true craftsmanship. All moving parts should fit well and move easily.

The finish should be examined in a strong light to check for even application of stain and finish. Run your hand over the surface to be sure you feel a smooth and even finish.

The Amish know their mission is to provide you with heirloom quality furniture built and stained to fit your needs. While there are many Amish furniture craftsmen available to choose from, Amish-Furniture-Home.com, and its dedicated staff, have made it their life’s work to hand select only the finest quality products built. Each piece is built to order and crafted to last generations.

How to Gift, Collect and Display Retro Vintage Bathroom Linens and Hand Towels

admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:57:35 +0000

Vintage bathroom linens, hand towels, finger tip towels and bath linens are beautifully showcased when displayed on a solid wood, Amish designed and built quilt rack, shelf, cabinet, or other organizational furnishing. Placed strategically in the bathroom or guest room, these heirloom quality furniture pieces can hold your collection of Shabby Chic guest linens, from contemporary full bath towels and hand cloths to a collection of vintage or retro classics. Like that unforgettable magic of a trip to grandma’s, delicate bath linen, with its antique monogrammed designs makes you feel comforted.

Once upon a time, in any proper bathroom, only the crispest bathroom linens hung awaiting valued guests. Today many people still purchase reproduction and authentic vintage bathroom linens to use as well as collect and display.

Many of these collectible vintage bathroom linens bore carefully embroidered patterns and personal family monograms. Delicate scalloped edges, crocheted or intricately tatted lace trim bordered these special bathroom towels. Purity and hygiene was displayed in inviting white textiles, all hanging in proud order on a bathroom rack, waiting for the damp and dripping hands of your guests.

Today these valued bath towels and hand linens can be used for many purposes. From dresser scarves to serving towels and table napkins, many collectors of retro bathroom textiles have integrity these heirloom fabrics into their household entertaining tools. The luxurious table tops offered on Amish living room tables make a great home to display a retro monogrammed bathroom towel. With the elegance and durability of Amish designed racks and other storage cabinets, shelves and carts, any bathroom can become a showplace for company.

Bathroom linens with an antique look make excellent gifts for brides-to-be, newlyweds or house warming gifts for singles and families. A keepsake hope chest or quilt rack, stocked with a starter collection of fine bathroom linens, makes a perfect gift for wedding showers or antique collectors alike. The Amish artisan woodworkers design fine wood furnishings with native solid hard woods and a ARESISTOVAR finish that can hold up to bathroom variables and add a valuable design element.

How To Create a Mini Home Office in a Small Space (part 2 ~ Cedar Chests & Trunks)

admin — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:45:44 +0000

A charming idea for a home office that could also double as a coffee table or a bench at the foot of the bed is found inside a chest or trunk. With some imagination any vacant spot in your home big enough for a cedar chest can be converted to a home office. With little more than creative thought many pieces of furniture, not normally used for offices or desks, can be converted to a useful work area for personal or business use. A cedar chest or even a foot locker can easily provide not only sufficient work space but much needed storage space for a mini home office. These enclosed offices are perfect for paying bills, journaling and even crafting without the need for a full office.

A solid wood cedar or hope chest needs only minimal work to transform it to workspace:

1. Inside the wooden chest place a hanging folder file case. These hanging folders and files can not only be used for what they were intended for – file records – but can be used to hold scrap booking or printing paper, notebooks or pads and many other home office supplies.

2. For quick memos you may want to wood glue in a small white board to the inside of the lid.

3. Next to the white board you can affix a pre-fab padded and beribboned French bulletin board to securely display postcards, photos and reminders.

4. Wooden cutlery holders or wooden boxes can be stacked inside to hold pens, pencils, stamps and other office miscellaneous.

5. If your trunk or locker does not have drawers or trays you can use wood glue to attach a strip of molding along each side of the interior, a few inches below the rim. Then you can rest a wooden tray or cutlery holder to be filled with office supplies. These trays can easily slide out of the way to reach the files or boxes below.

6. Don’t forget to place a cushioned lap desk on top, hidden underneath or inside of the chest for easy writing projects.

7. Place a comfy ottoman beside the trunk for level seating.

Now you have turned your well designed and functional Amish chest or trunk into a filing cabinet and storage cubby, a bulletin board for memories old and new, as well as a mini office.

A Brief History of the Evolution of Chest or Chests of Drawers

admin — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:37:05 +0000

Today the Amish craft solid wood chest of drawers as stand alone pieces or part of a bedroom suite. The name Chests of Drawers is literally derived from the furniture piece that was a chest or trunk; a wooden box for storing clothing linens, books, documents and valuables of any kind. The earliest forms were found in many countries and were highly refined in ancient Egypt. From this chest came the installation of separate compartments known as drawers. The word drawer could have been created from the fact the compartment always was drawn out or that it held your drawers (This drawers, or pants, may have also been named because you had to draw them up and suspend or tie them sometimes with a draw string.) Today most bedroom suites include or offer an optional chest of drawers.

The evolution from trunk to chest of drawers was most likely with the addition of a single, or two or three drawer chests called a mule chest. Mule chest, like the animal, was a hybrid – a chest with added drawers. Sometime after the middle of the 17^th century the first chest of drawers as we know it appeared. Usually two small drawers were placed side-by-side at the top followed by three large drawers below. During this period oak was the wood of choice, just as oak is still a top choice with the Amish craftsmen of today.

As the 17^th century faded and the age of walnut emerged many examples are also found in this beautiful hardwood. By 1730 mahogany was in vogue and many styles of chests had evolved, such as the dressing or commode chests. These pieces may include a “brushing slide“. The brushing slide was a wooden slide found in some chests of drawers that pulled forward, sliding out of a slot in the top, providing extra working surface. Dressing chests also included divided top drawers for easy organization of personal toiletries. Some chests included a large drawer or cabinet for hats and drawers for gloves.

By the Victorian era the chest of drawers was designed in a more form versus function, with the function being the most important. Out of the Victorian revolt developed the Mission era furniture in the Arts and Crafts style. This provided sturdy, functional designs in chests of drawers that were handsome in nature and artistically pure. The Shakers also created the elegance of artisans in chests of drawers with straight lined hardwood practicality. From these designs developed Modern furniture examples of chests that we consider a staple of the 20^th Century. All of these furniture styles are still available in oak, maple, hickory, and cherry thanks to the dedication of Amish furniture builders today.

Understanding Cherry Hardwood Amish Furniture

admin — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:09:25 +0000

Cherry has long been a coveted wood and when used in the creation of Amish furniture designs it is a stunning choice. The Amish always choose native hardwoods for their furniture and cherry is one of, if not the, finest hardwood in North America. The elegance of hardwood cherry furniture is showcased in tables, cabinets, china cabinets, chests and baby furniture by today’s Amish furniture experts.

Because of the beauty of the cherry tree’s wood it seems poetically perfect that the cherry tree belongs to the rose family and is labeled Prunus serotina. American Colonists found the cherry a useful and tasteful fruit and used in food and medicine as well as in interior furnishings. Early printmakers created their engraving blocks from cherry. Early American joiners created tables, highboys and chairs that endure still today.

Once called American Mahogany by Early American cabinetmakers it was sadly stained to resemble the non-native mahogany used in English furniture of the period. Ironically, cherry is actually stronger than mahogany and most woodworkers appreciate it more. Whether the cherry wood is finished naturally, to showcase its unusual beauty, or stained to make its figure pop, it is considered by woodworkers to be an exciting wood to work with.

The cherry tree is found in the Midwestern and Eastern United States like Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and New York. The tree usually reaches a height of 60 to 80 feet and can live to the age of 150 to 200 years. Cherry has heartwood of various rich red to reddish browns. Cherry darkens with age or over-exposure to light. Cherry’s sapwood is a velvety white. Characteristically cherry has a fine uniform, straight grain with a satiny, smooth texture. Occasionally a naturally occurring brown pith flecking occurs and small gum pockets.

Cherry is easy to work with and assemble. It holds stain well and develops an excellent smooth finish, especially in the hands of an Amish craftsman using the RESISTOVAR finish. Fine furniture makers and cabinet makers have long sought out cherry wood for their furniture. Often used in moldings, paneling, flooring, doors, boat interiors and musical instruments it is also available in Amish furniture design.

Amish Hope Cedar Chests and Trunks; A Part of History

admin — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 06:52:01 +0000

The cedar chest, hope chest or trunk may well be as many furniture historians believe, the first true piece of furniture. From it, most certainly, evolved the chest of drawers. The box called a trunk or chest was a common sense and practical structure. This wooden framed box was built to store and move personal possessions and it could also be used as a seat or a table. Trunk shapes ranged from the rounded vessels found on Conestoga wagon trains or flat topped and sided for extra storage space like the steamer trunks on ships. Although the shape has varied slightly over the centuries, the concept remains steady.

Every era of history and virtually every culture have some sort of trunk or chest. From Africa to Scandinavia communities built their own form of mobile container for storing and moving personal possessions. Some cultures made very plain and functional boxes while some like the Swedes were heavily decorated. Trunks were flat top to domed, plain or embellished with metal work and leather strappings, upholstered or painted. Some trunks went so far as to document its own history in signatures, dates and heavy decoration.

From the fall of Rome to contemporary retailers trunks have held everything from bolts of silk cloth from the Orient traveling from city to city, or parcels of linen for ladies in waiting, to scarce books coming to print after the end of the Dark Ages and Gutenberg’s printing press made reading a possibility for the masses. Today it may hold an inherited quilt, a family Bible or a little boy’s baseball card collection.

The trunk or the chest, especially made out of insect repelling cedar is still a very sought after a functional piece of furniture whether as storage, a bench at the foot of a bed or a coffee table. The Amish crafted cedar chest is perfect as a baby shower gift – a symbol of a long life of memories to collect. As a symbol of memories to share, young singles and newly married couples still list a hope chest to store their future heirlooms or prize possessions for their new homes on gift registries. Every fall students move out of the parental nest and off to university dormitories on campuses around the world. Most of the students have one thing in common and that is that they packed their homes into storage trunks or chests.

These pieces of portable furniture can hold anything from spare socks to secret dreams and have held a place in history for centuries. In oak, maple, hickory or cherry there are over a dozen designs from Mission style to classic the Amish still design and craft these solid wood time capsules to be enjoyed today and handed down tomorrow.