Thank you for joining us in this discussion. As always, please email your questions on Amish traditions and practices to Casey at Casey@AmishTables.com.

Rumspringa is period in a young Amish person’s life that has been greatly misrepresented in the media. Contrary to depictions shown on TV or on the front of magazines, Amish parents do not push their children into the English world for exposure to sex, drugs, and modern technology.

It is also not a time in a young Amish person’s life when he or she must decide to live the Amish life. In truth, Rumspringa is not as exciting as the movies make it out to be. However, it is a vital period in the Amish teen’s life.

Socializing

Rumspringa begins at age 16 and lasts until the young person marries. It is a period of socialization, when the young men and women get together, date, and get to know one another in order to find a mate. Socializing is not done at parties in the modern world that include drugs and alcohol. They are more along the lines of card games, singing, and enjoying one another’s company.

Courtship

It is common and expected that Amish teens engage in courtship activities when finding a mate. Unlike courtship in the English society, Amish courtship is kept modest. The young men lead the family to believe that he is going out for a business purpose, while the young woman slips out of the house as soon as her parents turn in. The couple stays out until the early morning hours, from Saturday into Sunday. Unlike the media version depiction of Rumspringa, courtship takes place within the community and under the veil of night.

Exploring

Some Amish youth do try worldly things like radios, clothing, or some types of entertainment like a movie. However, these dalliances are done in secret and by young men and women who are not baptized into the church. The extent of the exploration is also determined by the Ordnung, set of rules for Amish and Old Order Mennonite living.

More liberal Amish communities may produce youth who experiment more during Rumspringa than others. The majority are conservative in Rumspringa and stick close to their community’s rules.

Hopefully, this clears up some of your confusion about rumspringa. It is merely a passage into adulthood and marriage, not a wild oats sowing period. Unfortunately, until more is learned about the Amish culture, the prevailing image of Rumspringa will outshine the innocent reality.

Trying to keep up with yearly trend changes can get expensive. It could also leave you with uncomfortable, useless furniture and unattractive pieces that are too fragile to have around children. Fortunately, there are other ways to keep up with the trend without breaking the bank, sacrificing comfort, or relegating the kids to their bedrooms until next year’s trend.

5 Ways to Go Trendy while Staying Family Friendly

1. Durability – You should begin any redecoration with quality furniture that can serve the family, and withstand it. Also look for storage — the necessity in family furniture. AmishFurnitureHome.com’s vast inventory of furniture provides tons of extra storage with additional (sometimes hidden) spaces. Amish craftsman build with sturdy woods, which are perfect for family use.
2. Slipcovers – This handy fashion accessory is your friend when trying to chase the trends. They can change the look of a sofa, loveseat, and even dining room chairs. Slipcovers are a fraction of the price of a new piece and they come in all colors and patterns. The slipcovers can be long or short, made of spandex, cotton, or fabric blends. You can easily argue that the best quality of the slipcovers is their durability. Spills are inevitable so why not make the cleanup easier?  Simply pull the cover off the furniture and toss it in the wash. Change them as often as you like without breaking the bank.
3. Pull the shades. A lampshade is another fix for a room. Change it as much as the slipcovers because they are similar in variety and pricing. The decorating possibilities are endless.
4. Stained Wood – Put a little hard work into the decorating by stripping and staining or reupholstering your furniture pieces. Stains can change the look in a matter of hours. Upholstery works in the same way. All it takes is the price of the stain, upholstery nails, fabric, and tools.
5. Covers – Cover up your table, cabinet and buffet tops for a different look. Take a trendy pattern and make it into a runner, tablecloth, throw or mat for a vase, decorative basket, candles or any other accessory. This is better than buying new furniture for a different look.

The Trendy Family Rooms

A family doesn’t have to relegate you to scuffed, scarred, mis-matched or damaged furniture. Pick your furniture today, knowing that, even on a whim, your family room could be transformed into Trendy, without losing the comfort and family friendly atmosphere.

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.

Everything in your home has some sort of pattern or texture and is a color. The chances are high that you selected your custom Amish built furniture’s specifications based on what you liked about the color of the stain and the grain or pattern of the wood. These elements play together to give each piece, and then eventually each room, its overall appearance.

If you didn’t consider these elements when decorating your home, perhaps now is the time to take a moment to learn how important textures and colors are in building the environment you wish to live in. The impact of pattern, texture and color is enormous and can be used to play up a room’s best features, but when incorrectly used,they can accent a room’s flaws. Used skillfully, you can use these elements to fool the eye of the beholder.

Textures & Patterns

Color use is an easier skill to acquire than the knowledge of patterns and texture usage. A simple tip is the size of the pattern should match the size of the room. If you’re looking to be bold, mix patterns to add interest to your design. Textures can also create the perceived desire to touch and create a whole new dimension in your room.

The textures we choose also affect our perceptions of the color in the theme. Different textures reflect light differently and cause us to perceive color to be varying in shades because of light and shadows. It can actually add a new depth to your color scheme.

Color

Room Size

You can make a room appear bigger or smaller than it is by using proper color techniques. In the case of a small apartment, educating oneself on the tricks of color can help you to feel as if you have more space. Color is the most cost effective decorating tool in your bag of tricks. Color is associated with moods and can literally affect you psychologically. Remember that darker colors create warmth and coziness while light colors promote a breezier and open space.

Get Cozy

In a large room color can actually draw the room in, creating a cozier setting. A ceiling painted only a shade lighter than its walls and floor coverings creates the illusion of a much higher ceiling. To draw in a disproportionately high ceiling simply bring the ceiling’s color down to the picture level. This trick lengthens the walls and appears to bring the ceiling closer.

Decorate Boldly

Everything you do can be corrected or changed, so it is alright to be brave. However, keep in mind that your room is the backdrop for the things you love, such as your Amish solid wood heirloom designs. The colors and patterns should never overshadow the furniture or important collections in the home.

The Shakers were always a small group whose self-imposed abstinence insured their demise. At their zenith the group held about 4000 members spread among nineteen self-sustaining communities. The Shakers lived the example set forth in the Holy Bible about living in the world without being a part of it. The community’s business sense was astonishing, especially for a small nineteenth century religious organization.

Although not part of the world it is obvious that Ann Lee, the group’s founder who had arrived the New World pre-American Revolution, was influenced by the Federal design style of that era. The Shakers had taken the Federal template and created a less formal and more rural design based on the needs and ideals of the farming communities they settled in. The influence of their religious beliefs and their country settings brought forth functional furniture with clean and simple lines. This was especially appealing to those who were suffocating under the opulence and gilding that was the Victorians.

The Shakers not only opened the door for the Arts and Crafts Movement in America but actually inspired some of its founders. The cousin of Arts and Crafts, American Mission and its father, Gustav Stickley, were quite possibly more warmly welcomed because of the influence of the Shaker ideals and products.

The years surrounding Civil War was not just a separation of tastes politically but one in interior décor. The last part of the 19^th century in North America saw the blending of many very strong interior design tastes within one home. Many consider this to be the Eclectic period in American history. This eclectic collecting may have resulted from the easier access to more thanks to the Industrial Revolution. Machine made products kept products flowing at a much less expensive rate. Large scale manufacturers in Grand Rapids, Michigan were pumping out furniture to the common man at easy to pay for levels.

BRIEF INTERESTING FACTS FROM THE LATTER 19TH CENTURY ECLECTIC ERA-

• In rapid sequence designers birthed first Gothic then Elizabethan and finally rococo. While these co-existed in popularity in the mid-century they did not co-exist under the same roof. All three were used and admired but not blended.  
• The latter half of this century saw even more design styles, like the Renaissance style, emerge but none truly retire.
• This was the era of the kings; from France to England and from Louis to Henri.
• The big English furniture designers Chippendale, Sheraton and Hepplewhite shined brightly in the Victorian days. Colonial, Centennial Revival and Empire became common by the turn of the century.
• In large part thanks to William Morris and his Arts and Crafts philosophy and followers furniture was being influenced by far away lands like Turkey, Japan and Persia.
• Charles Eastlake agreed with Morris and Lewis Day on their discrimination against mass produced furniture and wrote a book touting the belief that home furnishings should be made by hand or machine workers that truly took artisan pride in their work.
• During these decades many felt a prejudice towards keeping it American and a cry went out to create a style distinctly American.
• Very distinct designs and designers emerged during this time and many published books that became hard and fast bibles used by designers, cabinetmakers and other furniture builders.
• Almost always if a design style became popular the wallpapers, rugs and accessories  appropriate to that style became available.
• No matter how modest the home it was believed that there should be a library, a sort of retreat for the family.

The 20^th century saw less desire for homes to be so eclectic. A yearning for something more simple in American homes was emerging. The birth of styles like Modernism had brought a sense of more efficient and less cluttered designs like the contemporary designs found from Amish-Furniture-Home.com.

 

Hardwood as a natural resource that has helped shaped not just communities but the evolution of societies in to countries such as the United States. Natural resources have always been a major factor in determining how well an environment can sustain people but wood has an influence that runs deeper than everything but food and water. Wood supplies shelter, furniture, wheels, toys, fencing, tools, weapons, a heating resource and even medicines and foods. How America was settled would have been drastically altered if hardwoods were not readily available.

Early settlers realized that wood at different stages of dryness could be used for different things more effectively. Whether choosing green wood or seasoned or cured wood was dependent on what it was being used for. When wood is fresh cut it is still green and full of moisture but as it dries it shrinks. Tool handles, for instance would have to be tightly fit for serviceability, so dry or seasoned woods would be the best choice. Rough hewn furniture or fence posts could be green because shrinkage and tightness of joinery may not be an issue. 

Woods were cured in several ways. From kiln dried to boil cured the early settlers learned to tame their natural surroundings. Wood could be placed by a fire, tending them to prevent burning and warping. This was especially good for small pieces like tool handles. Small pieces of wood may also be boiled for hours, drawing out the woods sap. Once the wood dried out the wood pieces were cured and ready to use. A more industrious way to dry wood is to build a kiln. A platform was built a few feet off the ground with small fires underneath. There may even be a covering or roof over the top and even walls. Wood is laid on the platform to allow plenty of air circulation. The fires must be tended to constantly. The other, less practical way that wood could be dried was simply time. By carefully bundling and storing wood workers could avoid the dreaded warping when stored in a dry place.

North American hardwoods are not only highly sought after for their beauty but for their durability. Some of the hardwoods enjoyed by the Amish woodworkers today are:

 CHERRY –

Cherry is fairly hard, with a deep richness in its color and a slightly wavy grain. The bark was used for cough syrup and the wood for fine furniture.

MAPLE –

Maple is light in color with a wavy grain that is great for carving and lathe work. Kitchen tools were often crafted of maple. Musical instruments use maple since it can be thinned without splintering. Baby furniture is often made of maple.

 OAK –

Easily worked, oak is a very hard wood. White oak is a used in basketry. Oak is used for everything from flooring to whiskey barrels. Once considered a poor man’s furniture wood it had a resurgence in popularity and in value in the last century. Green, unseasoned oak, is famous for its ability to hold a hot fire.

 WALNUT –

An easy wood to work and is considered very warm and beautiful. While it was used for fences and even paneling it is highly prized in fine furniture.

 HICKORY –

Slightly wavy grains are characteristic of hickory. Hickory is notoriously hard to work with but is desired because is flexible and durable. Like oak, hickory burns well and is often used for smoking meats. The ash from hickory is used to make lye soaps. The bark could be chewed like gum. Hickory was highly favored for wagon parts because it could take the stress.

 Each of these North American woods is used for their special characteristics. Few craftsmen remain who know and understand the personalities of each wood like the Amish. The survival of this skill is dependent on the trade being passed down to young Amish crafters in each community who will create heirloom custom designs for your home that you can enjoy for a lifetime and pass to your next generation.        

                                                                         

Federal is a very classical design style that also saw the designer Duncan Phyfe and his earliest works. Mahogany was the wood of choice used in presenting the best Federal pieces, although some are found in curly maple, rosewood, cherry and other fruitwoods. While some glass and china knobs were used the ornamentation best suited for such formal pieces was brass and to represent the new mascot of the nation, eagles were popular accessories. Another symbol of a strong, dominant young nation was the lion and lion’s paws and heads were proudly displayed. To suggest the bounty found in the new world object such as cornucopias were applied or carved. The welcoming sign of the times was the pineapple, often seen in Williamsburg and known as the Williamsburg pineapple, was also used.

Many connoisseurs of fine furniture see many design influences in Federal furniture. Obvious influences include Hepplewhite, Sheraton, Duncan Phyfe (the big three designers of the time, still popular today), Adam, English Regency, French Directoire and Louis XIV and finally the heavier Empire, the furniture that finally succeeded Federal in popularity by the 1830s.

An interesting, yet debated, piece of trivia about case goods such the Federal secretaries and cabinets is the presence of thirteen panes of glass. Many of these pieces have doors in which each door is composed of 13 pieces of glass with a mahogany lattice work or frames surround them. While no one can substantiate this theory, especially since most English secretaries from other makers comprise the same 13 pieces of glass, it does make for a good tale when showing your Federal desk to friends.

Like the designers and builders of the ever popular Federal furniture, the Amish craft heirloom pieces in solid wood to pass down to the next generation. Bookcases, desks, and many other fine pieces can be built and stained to fit your home and compliment the fine Federal antiques you have painstakingly collected.

 

There may not be a better known or more duplicated wooden chair in the world than the Windsor. The Windsor is well recognized for its bentwood back frame and its pegged legs going directly in to its wooden seat. The Windsor is differentiated from other styles of chairs because of this styling that normally are framed with an apron. 

Somewhere around the beginning of the 18th century, not surprisingly around Windsor Castle in England, this chair was conceived. Although it was the custom that chairs were crafted by cabinetmakers, this chair seems to have been crafted by turners and wheelwrights. This may indeed explain the spoke-like design of the Windsor. 

The chair in fashion at the time was the fine Queen Anne and it is likely the wheelwrights tried to fashion a chair but because of more rustic tools and skills they used the round backs and splats of the Queen Anne but incidentally created the Windsor. The English Windsor is in fact well known for its pierced slatted back. A Windsor chairs legs are invariably splayed outward and some even had the fancier cabriole leg rather than the turned. Throughout the 19th century the legs stuck into wood instead of framed with an apron. In the U.S. especially, the style began to be the front two legs only were joined in this way.  

It took no time at all for the Windsor to make its way to the New World; first appearing in Philadelphia after 1725 and within a half a century they were the most popular chair in use. The lightweight Windsor had everything a good chair required – strength, beauty, easy to construct, and highly comfortable. The variations they were created in were various and included fan, hoop, comb back, and bow back.

The chairs were usually marriages of different woods; each known for its strengths in the area it was chosen for. The turned parts worked best with maples, oaks, ash, birch or beech. The seats, shaped in a saddle were easier to carve out in pine and birch, or in England elm. The bentwood frames were best suited for birch, beech, hickory or ash. An interesting note about the recognizable saddle seat design – if you find one with a flat seat, especially with tack marks, authorities believe these were originally upholstered.

Today Amish craftsman bring sturdy and exceptionally handsome and functional Windsor chairs to grace any room in your home of office. Built from the finest American hardwoods and stained in your choice of colors, these chairs can be an heirloom treasured for generations.   

THEMES- Some themed rooms do attempt to draft all the Disney characters in the attempt to get the flavor of the theme park all in one room. While this can work beautifully if thought out and not too cluttered with over a half a century of characters, more impact can be created by narrowing it to one character or movie.  There are inspirational themes for even the pickiest pre-teens, such as Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers.

WALL COLORS -Wall colors create a canvas to build your world on. For instance, the Disney princess world is in pastels such as  pale blue, yellow or pink. Most of the male oriented Disney themes are in bright primary colors such as the reds and oranges for pirates, Toy Story, CARS, etc. Painting each wall a different color can add interest or create a bold statement with one wall differing as a focal point.  

FURNITURE – The largest piece of furniture in a room is usually the bed and the Amish have crafted beds from twin to king, along with the amazing flexibility of the convertible cribs that will last a childhood or more. Themed bedding with pirate ships or race cars are available in every major store and will tie together any theme. Creating a mysterious tent by suspending gauze or fabric above the bed for a canopy is an inexpensive way to create the mood.  Solid wood cedar chests can be treasure chests while bookcases and shelving, custom stained to match your Amish heirloom furnishings, will hold all of your Disney collectibles.

FLOOR COVERS – Use oriental rugs as magic carpets from Aladdin or a canvas rug, painted with a race track for CARS and including Matchbox or Hot Wheels for interactive play. Princess Pocohantas loves faux animal skin rugs and a Mulan themed room is easily enhanced by choosing Bamboo rugs.

WINDOWS – Window treatments should be playful but functional. Think theatrical when cutting foam board to create portals on a pirate ship or placing shutters inside the windows to recreate the Old World styling of Beauty and the Beast. Alladdin themes are beautified by hanging an Indian inspired candle lantern, with its intricate cut-outs that silhouette in the dark in a window. This same simple candle lantern can just as easily become Tinkerbell’s home. A painted on Arabic arch or a deep sea theme surrounding the window frame is simple enough for even those artistically challenged parents.

Along with your child develop and an idea of what you want the room to be. Use that vision to trigger your inner child’s imagination. Use resources to inspire you and include your child in the creative process. Before you know it you will transport your child’s room into their own happiest place on earth.

You just have to believe!