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3 Tips for Organized Family Togetherness

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:26:03 +0000

Family rooms are a place where the entire family gathers, with their respective clutter in tow. No matter how many times you tell the kids to put away their toys, the family room is a magnet for clutter. The collective messiness makes the space appear smaller and less inviting. Fortunately, there are ways to organize the family room, without the expense of a remodeling project.

Tip 1: Divide, and then Conquer

Family rooms are often very large, open spaces – perfect for family bonding and lounging. They are sometimes attached to other rooms like the kitchen or formal living room. Whatever the makeup of the space, it must be divided into areas of function based on your family’s habits. For example, designate an area for children and their toys and an area for office work.

Make the Divisions. Paint the walls a different color to recognize different parts of the room These colors should be taken from the room’s overall color scheme.

Use the furniture to create dividers as well. For example, make a corner of the family room the child’s space. Pull the child’s toy bins (especially if they’re stackable or on a rack) to make a third wall. No matter how short the wall may be, it serves as a visual divider in the room. You can also use the couch or a loveseat to create a partition as well.

Tip 2: Use Functional Furniture

Family rooms are clutter magnates. Come to terms with this fact and you can move on to the multipurpose furniture. Examples of functional furniture is the coffee table with deep working drawers, a combination chest with storage/resting places, hollow ottomans or an end tables with drawers and/or shelves. Entertainment centers are some of the best functional pieces because they come with several shelves, drawers, and cabinets that can contain the clutter.

Give the furniture a function. Every family is different, so I suggest sitting down and deciding what role each piece will play in your family room. For instance, coffee tables like the Amies Coffee Table found at Amish Tables has multiple drawers and shelves. These can be used for containing reading materials or coloring books and crayons. The takeout menus, mail-to be-sorted or books that the family is reading can be stored in the drawers and shelves. Give each piece and each drawer/shelf a purpose that the family agrees on and acknowledges.

Tip 3: Keep the Flat Surfaces Just That—Flat!

In the interior organization business, there is a law of flat surfaces. These tabletops, desktops, and even exposed shelves always attract clutter, loose change, notes, and so on. Very soon, the surface and the room is overflowing in papers, files, books, and other things.

Break the law! Unlike the law of gravity, the law of flat surfaces is breakable. Use baskets that fit under the end tables and coffee table. Designate a basket for toys, blankets, stray clothing, etc. so that you can easily remove these things from the flat surfaces.

Use pieces like the Amish Tables’ Spring Hill File Cabinet that looks like an end table. It places an organizational concept, like the file cabinet in the middle of the family living space. This makes filing those stray papers much easier. Also, look into ottomans with removable tops and a storage space inside.

Relax

The goal is to be together as a family without the stress of the surrounding mess. This mess makes the room uninviting and filled with distractions. These tips on organization are created to make both banishing the clutter and keeping it away an easy task. In time, the family room can be a place where the family can be together. Organizing the family room can make it a more function and comfortable gathering place.

New Year’s Celebration Tips: How To Clean Up and Remove Wine and Alcohol Stains and Rings (part 1)

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 04:58:10 +0000

New Year’s Eve parties bring together the old and the new to be celebrated and memorialized by one and all. The ritual of good food, great memories and celebratory toasts all mark the end of the old year and the beginning of a new and promise filled year. Unfortunately, some of those toasts are memorable for the wrong reasons. Wine stains and drink rings are often the markings left behind of a good time and not something you will enjoy seeing on New Year’s Day. Although your solidly designed Amish hardwoods and upholstered pieces are protected by ARESITOVAR and hopefully custom made elite table pads, the occasional mishap occurs. Here are some tips from the experts on salvaging your good New Year’s memories and furniture.

RED WINE- While ARESISTOVAR has a tested tolerance to alcohol spills your upholstery and carpets may not have that window of resistance. Wine, especially red wine and even non-alcohol grape juices, must be taken care of right away

As fast as possible blot the stain with paper towels.

Always use white paper towels, as colored towels may stain.

Avoid scrubbing or rubbing the stain since this can cause the stain to further penetrate the fabric.

Use cold water only. Hot water may set the stain.

Gently work from the edges of the spill to the center to prevent bleeding or spreading.

Blot the stain until no more wine comes off onto the towel.

If the stain is still prominent after blotting try mixing cool water and some Dawn dishwashing liquid in a spray bottle. With a light spray mist the stain. Be careful not to saturate the fabric. After the stain is covered, gently blot until the stain is removed.

Air dry

REMEMBER- Heed any special care instructions that may have came from the manufacturer. Safe home remedies are best to try before turning to harsh chemicals or paying for a professional fabric cleaning. Whether it is carpet or upholstered furniture, these tips apply.

Some other remedies that many wine drinkers swear by are a simple application of carbonated soda water. This can lift wine stains and other food stains, like barbeque sauce, out of the carpets and fabrics. Another wine connoisseur tip is to deal with red wine spills by using white wine. Odd as it may seem, if you spill red wine you can then pour a glass of white over the stain. The white wine supposedly neutralizes the red wine and the stain seems to disappear before your eyes.

As always, use common sense and care when using any products on your custom upholstered Amish furniture, sofas, arm chairs and ottomans.

5 Options to Living Room Seating: Sofas, Couches, Loveseats, Easy Chairs, Recliners, Ottomans, Benches, Rockers and Gliders

admin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 04:55:11 +0000

1. The perfect sofa or couch is a welcoming sign that you are home. The most utilized and important piece of furniture you purchase besides a bed, may very well be your couch. For many young adults just starting out the couch may function as living room seating, dining room seating and bed. For more established homes the sofa is their decorating showpiece; a masterpiece of elegance and comfort. Two matching sofas, facing each other, creates a formal conversation area while one reclining couch in front of your plasma stand says relaxing comfort.

Whether you use you sofa for quiet Sunday mornings curled up with the newspaper or you are the neighborhood hotspot for the football games, investing in a well framed and well upholstered couch will provide you with years of well appointed seating as well as save you money in the long run. Beware of cardboard framed or poorly constructed sofas that need replacing every few years.

2. The loveseat is the perfect size for small living rooms or as an added seating option with a sofa. Just as in the facing sofa scenario, a smaller room looks elegant with two facing loveseats for a conversation pit. Loveseats also work great in over-sized bedrooms for a personal and cozy reading nook. A well placed love seat is the perfect spot for watching a romantic movie or just stretch out to read.

3. The easy chair or side chair is a very versatile addition to the sofa or couch. They are easily moved when space is needed or you need to rearrange a room. When paired in small places may actually work better than a larger couch. While a couch tolerates company and companionship, whether you want it or not, the easy chair is a one man or woman show.

Following the same advise on purchasing a couch is wise. One well bought chair can be used for a lifetime and re-used in other rooms of the house as tastes or styles change. Sturdy framing of the arms and back in solid wood like the Amish craft is imperative for durability. Adding an ottoman crates the perfect spot for reading or just being.

4. The recliner chair has been in development for centuries. Even in biblical times men ate in a recumbent fashion so it seems to be our nature to recline for full relaxation. There is noting more frustration and money wasting than purchasing a poorly built recliner. If the mechanisms in a recliner are not crafted extremely well it is not long before the feature begins to fail or the seating begins to lean and wobble.

The solid wood framed Morris design from the Amish still uses the concept of the great Arts and Crafts designers William Morris and Gustav Stickley. Simple rods slide to notches on a hinged back in high gauge steel. The chairs are built out of the highest quality solid native woods.

5. Of course, don’t limit yourself to sofas, couches, easy chairs, side chairs and recliners when fitting your home with seating options. Try benches or rocking chairs, especially in Adirondack or Lodge designs. Several ottomans or footstools can be used as extra seating or topped with a tray make tabletops. All Amish living room furniture is guaranteed to be a safe investment in decorating classics.

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.

Affordable Amish Furniture

admin — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:54:03 +0000

Amish furniture is well known for its high quality craftsmanship, beauty, and long lasting sturdiness. However, you might not think that you can afford to own a piece of handmade Amish furniture, but you’d be surprised how affordable it really is. Even on the smallest budget, you can start adding Amish furniture pieces to your home one handmade piece at a time.

To start off with, you might want to consider getting a beautiful little plant stand as your first Amish made piece. Plant stands are incredibly useful in any room of the house and can be used for plants, lamps, books, magazines, baskets, or even art displays. A finely made Amish plant stand cost less than $100 and will give you years of useful style.

There’s nothing better than propping your feet up after a long day of work, so you might be interested in a small footstool or ottoman to go with your favorite comfy chair. Amish made ottomans can be upholstered in decorative fabric or fashionable leather and can be stained to go with any style home. You can even choose one with a glider that you can use with your favorite rocking chair or gliding recliner. You can get an Amish footstool for less than $200.

Good, solid, attractive barstools that will last decades rather than years are hard to come by, but Amish made barstools are built to last. Hardwood barstools are perfect for high countertops in the kitchen or around pub tables in your basement bar. You will also find that most Amish made dining room chairs are available in a barstool style as well. Priced between $100 and $200 each, you won’t find a better quality barstool with more charm than an Amish made barstool.