When you strip away all of the marketing and commercialism of the season, it’s really all about spending time with the people you care about.  Dinners, brunches, games, long talks over coffee, catching up while enjoying some football or a parade are all on docket for the upcoming months.  Notice how most of the most precious moments take place around the table?

Holiday Entertaining

If you’re hosting the festivities this year and are looking to flush out your dinning room furniture, then you need to have a look at the wonderful specimens of Amish craftsmanship we offer here at AmishTables.com.  Not only are our tables made by some of the best furniture artisans in the country and with the finest materials, they are also extremely functional.  Add leaves as you need to expand your table to fit everybody that shows up this season.  With expandable tables that can fit up to twenty-two people, we’ve got your whole clan covered.

Heirloom Quality Tailored to Your Needs

Our dining room tables are heirloom quality and will become a part of the family memories you make over the years.  Just because Amish craftsman use centuries old techniques to make their tables, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t stylish and perfect for almost any interior design look you’re after.  Our selection encompasses a wide variety, so no matter what you’re looking for we have the table for you.  Here are just some of the different options that are available on the different tables:

• Top Shapes:  Rectangular, Square, Boat, Round or Oval.
• Seating Capacity:  You can chose between oval tables that seat six all the way up to our monster twenty-two person expandable rectangular table.
• Hardwood:  Several versions of oak, cherry, maple, hickory and walnut depending on the table.
• Legs:  Customize the look of your table with Regular, Shaker, Round Shaker, Hooiser, Fluted and Farmer legs.
• Edge styles:  Various tables are available with Beveled, Chamfer, Mission, Ogee and Roundover edges.

No matter what size, shape or style of Amish dining room table you select, you’re going to get a product made to the highest quality standards with the best materials, right here in the United States.  They are all made from slow grown North American hardwoods and constructed to withstand the test of time.

Don’t worry about the abuse that your family, guests, kids and pets will inevitably inflict on these tables.  Our tables can last you decades and since they are made from real wood can be refinished and repaired if they get worn, dented, chewed on or anything else you can throw at it!  Don’t worry about any of that; just sit back and enjoy the times with your loved ones around your new Amish table.

• 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.

Thanksgiving dinner is over and Black Friday shopping has brought home gifts, wrapping supplies and the realization that the biggest holiday of the year is only a few short weeks away. One quick glance at your home lets you know that not only are you not ready to face the decorating and gift planning but there is no way you are prepared to host any celebrations in your home. With a few simple steps you can organize your home in time to not only host a spectacular seasonal gathering but you yourself will feel better and more relaxed.

1. Start a donation container. As you begin preparing your home make some elimination decisions. Place these items in the box. When it is full immediately put it in the car and drop it off at a charitable thrift store before you change your mind.

2. Mentally the challenge of readying your entire home can be overwhelming and thus, seemingly impossible. Breaking it down into digestible pieces makes the tasks manageable. Divide your home in to the number of days you can actually devote to organizing. 10 rooms in 20 days is 2 days per room. Remember – you can do this.

3. Begin at the doorway. Start with the porch and the entryway so that the first thing you see when you come in is a conquered area. Then chip away from the doorway in. This also allows you to feel more comfortable with guests who stop in over the yuletide season. They will not see you bedroom, so leave it for last. Conquer what is necessary then what is needed.

4. After the doorway move to the common living area. Box up everything you don’t need over the holidays to give the room an open feel. After Christmas you can begin to sort out these boxes to determine what can be permanently eliminated. This is one room you should do a deep cleaning in since it will see heavy traffic. Polish your solid wood furniture with a lightly dampened cloth and then a soft buffing cloth. Vacuum your hardwood framed upholstered couches or sofas. Clean your leather recliners and ottomans with a fine leather cleaner. Vacuum and move on.

5. The third room to deep clean and throw out any products you have not used this year is the common bathroom. This room should be spotless and welcoming with soaps and clean towels.

6. The next room to clean is the kitchen. While it would be great to organize it all, this is not the time. Instead box everything from your counters you will not need before New Years and scrub the counters, the cabinet fronts, the stove top, the sink and the floor. The only deep cleaning should be the fridge and freezer. Put out fresh kitchen towels.

7. If you are hosting a meal or event the last essential room to focus on is the dining room. Just as you did your solid wood living room furniture, damp wipe your dining room set and the buff to a gleam. Protect your dining room table tops and buffets from damage due to traffic with elite custom table pads. Clean your chandelier and bulbs and be sure the floor is either vacuumed, swept or mopped clean. Don’t forget to check your chairs for any fabric stains or stray food stuck on.

Amish Hickory furniture in the Log cabin themed home is as much about a lifestyle as a design style. The creation of this interior design may be the simplest and most economical interior design for you to capture because of its use of found natural items as decoration and the use of quality investment pieces from the Amish. Using organic furniture and natural elements as accessory tools you will achieve the native and outdoor feeling of the Log Cabin lifestyle; a lifestyle that showcases the beauty and functionality of native hardwoods.

The Amish create furniture for your rustic Log Cabin style dwelling from red or white oak, walnut & cherry accentuated by the deciduous hickory tree. Like the Amish community, the Cabin home hosts an atmosphere of simplicity, hospitality and gracious living. The Log Cabin interior is a home that demands when you walk inside the door you slow down and relax. It is a home that friends and family love to gather in, spinning memories as they gather round an Amish crafted red oak and hickory pub table and bar stools.

Mixing antiques throughout your cabin home helps bring personality while the Amish rustic furniture brings character. Use heirlooms from the past alongside your new Amish heirloom furniture. Worn, painted pieces blended with the high quality Amish Log Cabin hickory bring a storyline to your room. Birch bark picture frames highlighting your family gatherings sitting atop a chest made of walnut with hickory twig accents say more than you can about the life you lead.

The bounty of nature is captured by Amish woodworkers in the hand made solid wood creations for the Log Cabin lifestyle. The use of comfortable accessories such as quilts, denim pillows, flannel throw blankets and leather upholstery make the room wrap around and hug you in its atmosphere. From fireplace to candle light, the Log Cabin longs for the warming glow of either. Adding elements like fishing poles, hiking boots and fishing creels take the guest on a journey far from the every day. River rocks, wildlife depictions, wrought iron chandeliers, and found items that depict the wilderness you love are essential for the creation of your own personal camp.

 The modern day Amish craftsmen have kept the tradition of Mission furniture, crafted in hard solid American woods, alive into the 21st Century. Mission design was originally inspired by Southwestern North America’s buildings, actually real Missions built for and by missionaries. The Southwest United States had architecture that was influenced by the natural environment that the Native Americans and Mexicans lived in. In the late 1800’s a furniture designer spotted the substantial styles that used native materials and created a new market for Mission furniture, accessories and even homes.

At the advent of Mission was another movement crossing the pond from England, the Arts and Crafts philosophy. The Arts and Crafts movement was a blatant revolt against the industrial age where everything was mass produced by machines. They, as artists and art supporters, believed that there was an overwhelming need to go back to handmade items that were high quality and showed integrity, such as in the Middle Ages. The Amish community that crafts the Mission furniture today has always held the same beliefs.

With this form follows function, back to the basics ideals, Arts and Crafts followers and artisans appropriated the heavy and homemade air of Mission with its use of square design, hardwood oaks, mortise-and-tenon jointing and use of dark stain. The upholstery was not flowery, like the opulent Victorian styles, but usually made of rugged leathers. Hardware was heavy hammered copper and oversized exposed nail heads. Always the furniture was usable as well as beautiful and made from native hardwoods.

The Amish still recreate the sturdy and straight line hardwood furniture in dining room tables, living room furniture and bedroom creations. Still made of the same native oaks, quarter sawn oaks, maples and cherry these pieces are the same museum quality that the artisans in Arts and Crafts heyday practiced. Though Mission is not a subtle design it is full of warmth and charm. Today there are many series, all continuing in the standards of the founders of Mission. Classic, Bridger, Brooklyn, McCoy, Ridgecrest, Royal, Shaker, Springhill, West Lake, West Village, Landmark and Flush are all custom made in the today in Amish country by contemporary believers of the Arts and Craft Society of yesteryear.

You’ve wisely invested in your home and lifestyle by acquiring high end Amish furniture that will last a lifetime but did you realize you can include an heirloom Amish timepiece, an alternative to traditional Grandfather Clocks, to match your décor? While still as collectible as antique clocks Amish clocks require less maintenance and have just as much visual impact on a design.

Long before computers and cell phones the most technical thing a person owned was perhaps the clock. For approximately 350 years homes have held the traditional long case clock, often called the Grandfather Clock. Although centuries have past since first designed, the Amish Grandfather tall-case clock can be a timeless focal point of your modern home’s décor that will reward you hourly.

Selecting only one is not easy since they have many designs to choose from, including clocks suited for homes styled in Mission, Craftsman, Arts and Crafts, Adirondack, Lodge, Cabin, Cottage and even West Lake. All available in American hardwoods like red oak, quarter-sawn white oak, hickory, cherry and maple; matching your décor is easy. By selecting the design, the wood and then the stain you can have a custom clock made for your home’s personal style. Do you have the rustic look of the Lodge or Cabin designs? Choose Old Country style with its hickory twig embellishments. Do you have more modern sensibilities? Design a grandfather clock in a dark cherry finish and the straight lines of the Shakers. Especially in modern, sometimes stark designs, a clock can add that touch of hominess you desire.

Amish artistry is highly recognized and sought after and as a designer cabinet clock your money is well invested. While integrity is always a hallmark of Amish craftsmanship, you should select quality timepieces as well as practical. The Amish craftsmen have designed and built solid wood Grandfather Clocks in many styles to last. People can go a lifetime with no real thought over the timepieces in their homes; not realizing a high quality clock is one of their best investments for functional, aesthetic and inheritable qualities. Sculpturally the Amish floor clock is an undisputed piece of art. Created by skilled wood artists these are not just clocks but investments, meant for a lifetime of use, to be handed down as an inherited piece like all Amish furniture.

Oak is a very strong wood that can have a reddish-orange or whitish-sage tint to it. Oak has an attractive wide open grain pattern that will look different depending on how it is cut. Oak is a popular choice for most furniture makers because it is easily carved and takes stain evenly. Buyers will benefit from oak furniture because it won’t shrink, swell, or warp easily.

Cherry is another durable and incredibly strong wood that has a reddish-brown tone to it. The grain pattern is very straight and tight and the coloring becomes darker as the wood ages. Cherry wood is also incredibly easy is carve out with decorative accents and it resists shrinking, warping, and swelling.

Maple is the hardest wood species that is grown in the United States. It has an ivory or beige color to it and the grain pattern is very slight. Maple is preferred by many furniture makers due to its durability, but it can be difficult to carve out details due to its hard nature. It is also highly resistant to shrinking, warping, and everyday wear and tear.