Bungalow Chest: a display of the Shaker style

Shaker

Shakers are known for their neatness and sense of order that permeates their art, work, and daily lives. This simplicity is found in their furniture style that the Amish borrow to make things like the Brookside Shaker Bed made by Amish Furniture Home.

Shaker furniture also has a functionality quality that requires every part to have a purpose. This means that there will be no faux drawers or decorative knobs on the piece. Just look at the Bungalow Chest; every door, drawer, and knob on the piece has a utility. There are no embellishments. Shaker furniture is simple, functional. This style is also known for the dovetail joinery technique, which can be seen here.

Mission/Arts and Crafts

The Mission Style can be traced back to the late 19th Century British Arts and Crafts Movement in England. This movement was a return to craftsmanship and artistry which developed as a rebellion against ornate Victorian design and mass production of the Industrial Age. The movement is characterized by simple lines, durable materials and the irreplaceable fine craftsmanship of the human hand.

American Mission Bed

The term ‘Mission’ to describe a rustic, clean-lined style of furniture began around 1895 and is attributed to Joseph McHugh, a furniture manufacturer from New York. The first design was for a straight lined, rush-seated chair which was influenced by and used in the Spanish missions of California.

Today the Mission Style is known for its simple, straight and solid design, emphasizing linear construction, exposed joinery, andmost of all craftsmanship. Look at the American Mission Bed for an example. There are no curved lines. Even the top of the posts are straight, cornered.

Queen Anne Bed: a tribute to classic Queen Anne style

Queen Anne

The Queen Anne style of furniture originated from Great Britain in the early 1700’s. It was revived in the late 1800’s and was a little more ornate than the Shaker and Mission styles, but more subtle than the Victorian style furniture. The subtle ornate look appeals to the Amish simplicity.

The cabriole legs characterize Queen Anne furniture, as well as the fiddle backed chairs and batwinged drawer knobs. The furniture utilizes curves, but keeps them clean. The Queen Anne Bed showcases this style of furniture perfectly.

When looking for your next Amish furniture piece, consider the influences that are at work in each piece and how they will work within the décor of your home. Built by craftsmen who pass on their trade from generation to generation, these artisans are building pieces the same way that furniture makers did over one hundred years ago. These pieces truly are heirloom quality!

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.

American-made Furniture

American made furniture makes up only half the furniture sold in the U.S. It is an industry that can greatly benefit from the Buy American mentality. However, finding such furniture may be a little difficult. Instead of checking the “Made in ____” stamp on every piece of furniture that you buy, tap into another movement that emphasizes the same ideals of the Buy America movement, but on a smaller scale. Buy Local.

To Buy Local is to buy American

We’ve heard politicians and economists alike proclaim that the American economy will find it’s resurgence in the fuel of independent, privately owned American small businesses. This initiative has been carried out in small towns across the country championing the “Buy Local Movement”.  We’ve been big supporters for our local business advocate organization, Think Local First.

Typically, local furniture showrooms are filled with furniture manufactured in nearby plants and warehouses. There is no need to turn over a piece or examine it for a country stamp. In addition, the pieces are handcrafted according to American standards and codes and therefore are both sturdy and stylish.

As we have pointed out in previous blog posts, buying local pieces transfers direct benefits to the community. With local workers selling goods to local homes, capital stays within the the local economy. Local taxes also come from the employees and the furniture company as added benefits for the local government and schools. Local artisans are able to find a larger market for their goods while the consumer takes home a one of a kind piece.

Buying Amish is Buying American

The Amish community of artisans makes and sells their furniture locally. These artisans are known for their craftsmanship and their simplicity. The pieces also adhere to American safety standards, something that has become very important through today’s frequent recalls.

The Amish community also creates their furniture from local materials. For example, the Red Oak Changing Table Wardrobe (shown right) is made from Northern Red Oak wood found in and around the Michigan, Indiana area. No rain forests are harmed or endangered trees are used in the creation of the pieces. The same can be said from all locally made furniture—if it is truly locally made.

Buy Local, Buy American

The point of both movements is to help the economy where you live. The largest benefits are of helping the community, the local artisans, and the employees of larger local furniture manufacturers. Those locally spent dollars get you a piece of furniture that is hand made by skilled people, not a fully automated process. Buying local and buying American can thus mean buying quality.

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.

As you can see from our testimonials, customers love everything about Amish furniture, but many want to know more about the Amish traditions that produce such desirable pieces.  Have you ever wondered who the Amish are? We’d like to takes this moment to answer some of your questions on the Amish culture behind that inspired the furniture.

Question: Do the Amish really believe that electricity and modern culture are evil?

Answer: No, this is a common misconception.  The Amish community chooses not to connect to electrical lines because it would be a connection to the modern world. The Amish lifestyle avoids any conformity to the ways of the modern world and it’s culture. A reliance on electricity (and definitely use of the internet) signifies a conformation.

Additionally, they only use modern conveniences if necessary to get through daily life. In the Amish community, electricity is simply not necessary. They still use the same cooking, working and living practices that our ancestors did as far back as the 17th century.

Question: Do the Amish use anything from the modern world? How do they interact with people outside the Amish community without electricity ?

Answer: Yes, the Amish do use modern conveniences, if the use is indeed necessary to the task at hand. Sometimes, their interactions with people outside the community—Englishers, as Amish call them—requires the use of certain conveniences like a telephone or a vehicle.

For example, some communities may hire a taxi or truck to carry large amounts of supplies or several people to town. This is done only if the horse and wagon are incapable of the job. The trip must also be a necessity, that means no sightseeing or social visits. Some communities also have telephones that are used only for practical and necessary purposes, like calling the taxi.

Question: The Amish are plain but their furniture has distinct character. How do they accomplish this?

Answer: Plain does not have to be bland. Furniture artisans in all cultures show creativity in their work. The furniture for Amish Tables is not overly ornate or heavy on the decorative details. Rather, they are simple pieces with clean lines, shaped for comfort and utility. The furniture is amazingly sturdy. You see this as character in the Amish Tables bedroom furniture line as well as with other pieces throughout the website.

More Questions

Hopefully these answers erased some of the mystery out there about Amish furniture and Amish culture. If you have any more questions for us, email Casey at Casey@amishtables.com and he will answer your question as soon as possible.

If you’re looking for some great web-resources on the web, check out the following sites:

Amish America
Amish FAQ
An Amish FAQ – 20 Most Asked Questions

Feel the Quality

We have been servicing most of our customers through our family websites (AmishTables.com & Amish-Furniture-Home.com) over the past few years, but the showroom has bolstered our hometown affiliation. Customers are now able to feel the handcrafted, heirloom quality that characterizes Amish furniture. As you can see from the picture to the right, our showroom is perfect for hands-on testing.

The ability to experience Amish pieces in person is something we are very happy to provide store visitors. All the testimonials in the world can’t replicate the comfort of laying on one of our beds or sitting in our rocking chairs.

Open House: January 28!

As we kick off this new adventure, we invite you to join us in the official opening this Thursday, January 28. We’re holding an open house from 11:00am-7:00pm. All guests will take home a 5% discount coupon and a complimentary coffee mug. If free gifts and light refreshments aren’t enough to bring you in, how about a drawing for a gift of over $500?! It should be a great day and we look forward to a new era of Amish Tables in Ann Arbor, MI.M

In the News!

Amish Tables was in the news recently. Check out this wonderful article by Angela Smith of Ann Arbor.com: Amish Tables Celebrates Expanded Ann Arbor Showroom.

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.

Now that the world economy is once again in distress people are looking for deals. Once shunned by antique dealers and buyers, Depression furnishings have began to come in to its own and is seeing some demand because the prices are much better deals that other types of “antique” furniture. Another bonus is that there was so much massed produced and it is still so inexpensive that reproductions are virtually unheard of. As the population ages and more estates are liquidated, the stream of Depression furniture will increase in the marketplace and more home owners will be incorporating it in to their designs.

Unlike the solid wood used by our Amish craftsmen, depression era furniture makers engaged in lots of veneer work. While solid wood is always preferred not all veneer furnishings are low-end such as that produced pre-Great Depression. During the Depression era, however, manufacturers had to make furniture attractive to consumers and keep costs low. By layering a thin slice of ornate veneer over less desirable wood the goal was attained. Since there was such a heavy use of veneers Depression-era furniture it is wise to always check out pieces for glue failure. To make sure the veneer is solid; simply tap with your finger. If the thump is solid, the veneer is fine. If the thump is more of a paper-clicking sound it is not. Also watch for any signs of lifting or peeling away.

Furniture manufacturers not only coupled veneers with lower quality woods but also used bleaches, stains and fillers to alter and enhance the characteristics of the wood. Styles were copied from those in style in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Although costs were being cut some are exact replicas; only identified by closely examining the woods used.

Because most pieces from this era don’t compete with the decorative furnishings and accent pieces already in existing in your home, it is an acceptable supplement to your custom built Amish design pieces.

 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

• 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.