Home and Decor » Hickory Furniture

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.

Understanding Hickory Hardwood Amish Furniture

admin — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:16:39 +0000

The Amish use nothing but native hardwoods like hickory in their furniture creations to ensure quality and length of life. Hickory is known for its amazing strength and character and has survived in North America since the glaciers and is recognized as America’s oldest hardwood species. The word hickory is actually an English conversion of the Native American word “powcohicora”. Hickory was the wood that won the west, as pioneers crafted wagon wheels out the tree. The Wright Brothers own North Carolina had many trees to choose from yet they chose to whittle their flying machine from the humble hickory.

In North America about a dozen species of hickory trees exist under the genus “Carya”. Found in the eastern U.S., principally in Central and Southern states, the hickory can reach 60 to 120 feet and it is not unusual for it to take 200 years to mature. Botanically there are two groups: the true hickories and the fruit bearing pecan hickories, although the wood is almost identical. Because of its flavor it has long been preferred for meat smokers and barbeques but hickory is also a preferred wood for burning in stoves because of its high caloric rate.

Hickory is the heaviest and the hardest of all American woods and can be very difficult to work with, machine and glue. Although flexible the wood is often splintery; comparable to brown ash in workability. Hickory when cut with the grain will reveal the pores as long channels. The wood is tan to whitish traced with not immediately obvious thin brown lines and the heartwood is pale to red-brown. Hickory’s nature is that of a coarse-textured wood with a fine grain that is typically straight but can be wavy or irregular. This grain pattern receives a full range stains and finishes. Amish craftsmen offer customized medium to dark stains and always rely on RESISTOVAR as a finish as durable as hickory.

The Amish know that hickory is an excellent choice when a piece of furniture or an item needs to be cut thinly but still maintain its strength. Because of its strength it was used as back slats in chairs like the Windsor and occasionally found as the whole piece of furniture. Hickory is so hard it is highly prized for furniture, ladders, wagon wheel spokes, tool handles, drumsticks, sports equipment like lacrosse stick handles, ski bottoms and golf clubs, weaponry bows, and even canes. Because it is a durable and plentiful wood hickory is also used in cabinetry and flooring, adding its character to the room. Today the Amish have a wide range of furniture like cedar chests, tables, and even natural twig trim.

Amish Hickory Furniture and the Log Cabin Home

admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:59:20 +0000

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.