Amish Originals Furniture Co.: Nursery Decor Know-How

Decorating a nursery is a little different than decorating an older child’s room, mostly because you are designing a room for someone you haven’t met yet. – Rosie Pope

There is so much to think about when a baby is on the way, including putting together a nursery that welcomes, comforts, and supports a new life and the newest part of your family.

Here are a few suggestions and tips that may help you along the way....

▪ Strive for serenity and simplicity.  Keep it simple and easy.  Go neutral, muted, or subdued for colors, floor coverings, and furniture.  Going neutral creates an easy backdrop to accommodate gender, personalities, interests, changes as your child grows, and eventual repurposing.

Think about task and ambient lighting. Add a dimmer switch (yeah, saves $$, but mostly helps when you are creating a time-for-bed ritual or when you are dealing with an immediate need, like teething or a cold and a bright overhead light just might make things worse). 

▪ Add pops of color, character, and depth. How do you add color to a neutral background? Textiles, bedding, window treatments, art, easy-remove wall decals, accents, lighting, and accessories. Soft tones (greys and muted tones over brights) are easiest on infant eyes. Consider using with tones of the same color.

▪ Consider gender-neutral. Neutral nursery decor is a savings savvy way for creative reuse, especially if there may be brothers and sisters in the future.

▪ Keep adaptability in mind. Look for multifunctional and multi-purpose in nursery basics (including convertible furniture and furniture that can be used later in other places around the house). Designer David Netto advises, "Look for things you'll never have to throw away."

▪ Be footprint aware. Wise use of space is so important - with an organized nursery - you'll be able to do what's most important: pay attention to your baby.

▪ Keep it moving. Make sure the furniture and support accessories in the nursery are easy to move so you can reconfigure with ease as your child's needs change like casters, convertible furniture, and removable picture hangers and hooks.

▪ Make touches to the room that are kid-friendly. An environment that encourages! Scale furniture and accents to the height of a child's point-of-view (and reach) - like easy to open drawers or cubbies.

An awareness of the invisible aspects of the nursery during planning is vital.  Opt for zero VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints and keep emissions in mind (something as benign as a changing pad might give off invisible unhealthy fumes).

▪ Avoid theme decor. Don't exhaust yourself with the details of a theme - you have too much to worry about right now.  You know what you love, but you don't know yet what your child will love. And, you have more latitude in decor with that neutral background (see Keep it serene and simple above!).

▪ Inspire imagination. No reason a nursery can't be sort of a giant "busy box." Use accents and accessories to spark creativity and play ~ stars on the ceiling, textures around the room, a lighted globe, patterns and designs on the area rug.

▪ Be budget savvy. Invest in a couple major pieces that will adapt to your child's growth and then go budget light on the rest of the nursery - because things will change, often and quickly.

Inspiration is all around. 

You can keep it simple ~ create art via your laptop, printing off over-sized letters and numbers in different fonts and matting and framing them, or frame favorite children's book covers or greeting cards or wrapping paper.

Think about washable and durable. 

▪ Make it a room that you love. A nursery is for you and your baby.  Think about how you use the room, too. "Buy what you love," Melissa Pfeiffer of Modernseed suggests. "The nursery should reflect your lifestyle and your home. So make a statement and have fun."

Comfort...

You will be spending time in the nursery depending on your baby's needs, sometimes overnight, consider your comfort, including a daybed, sofa, sofa bed, or recliner. Or go the traditional seating route with a rocker or glider or comfy stationary chair.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. features the iGlyde chair - with two back height options.  The chair is stylish and oh, so comfortable.  Hidden storage in the arms is a great place to stash within-reach baby needs.

For more info....

HGTV Nursery Decorating Ideas.

HGTV's Ideas for a Modern Nursery.

From our blog, Decorating from a Kid's POV.

Nursery advice from Rosie Pope.

Resource: Project Nursery.

Amish Originals April 2012 eNews: Safe Keeping.

Amish Originals Furniture Co.: Crib Safety

The safest place a baby should be when they aren't in your arms is their nursery.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. hand-made-to-order cribs and finishes are tested and certified by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. They meet and exceed all federal standards.

Crib springs are included, but a mattress will need to be purchased separately.

Remember when you purchase a crib mattress (Amish Originals Furniture Co. sells Amish-made crib mattresses) that the size be specific: at least 27-1/4" by 51-5/8" and a thickness not exceeding 6 inches.

Read more:

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Crib Guidelines.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission New Crib Standards. (PDF)

American Baby Classics Finish Safety Details.

Crib Know-how from the eNews Archives.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. Cribs and Children's Furniture.

Amish Originals Furniture Co.: New.

Art.

Rustic and lndustrial.

New Prints and Patterns.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. Chair Pads:

Machine Wash

Select Chair Pads are Weather Resistant

Made in the U.S.A

Natural Latex Rubber Filler

Stop by to visit, browse, and shop!

Amish Originals Furniture Co.: Got it Covered

Amish Originals Furniture Co. customers work with our staff to custom design their furniture purchase.

When you decide on soft-seated furniture from Amish Originals, you'll not only be making decisions on wood species and finish, but upholstery as well.

Amish Originals fabric options include leather and wovens, with color, pattern, and texture options.

Looking at current trends in upholstery, designer Christopher Lowell sees fabric choices focusing more on texture and less on prints.  Lowell notices that consumers are looking at a smaller footprint and seating with lower backs and seats allowing comfort and flexibility for conversation.

Designer Stacey Garcia sees an increasing interest in lighter and mid-tone woods in natural walnut, raw, cherry, and white oak finishes.

Popular fabrics have a more organic feel like bamboo, jute, cotton, silk, and even eucalyptus and cork, in grays, neutrals, and men's suiting looks.

Amy Rutherford of Red Barn Mercantile in Alexandria, Virginia, in a recent story in the Washington Post, advises looking for good, durable upholstery and consider going with plain, neutral fabrics as a backdrop for color and change.

Amy says, "It’s good to think of how you can use [something] now and how you can use it later. You want the piece to grow with you, so it needs to be timeless and multipurpose.”

To learn more:

The Washington Post: The Best Investment Furniture.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. Upholstered Online.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. Upholstered Rockers and Gliders Online.

Amish Originals Furniture Co.: Living Room Design Tips

The main rule of thumb for decorating any room in your home is that, from comfort to function to style, the room has to work for you.

Here are some helpful tips on arranging furniture from HGTV:

1. Get out the tape measure.

Get dimensions of the room and room access, entrance, and egress.

2. Mix furniture of various sizes.

Height, Width, Depth

Incorporate a variety of furniture with different characteristics.

3. Use scaled pieces to create balance.

Arranging to scale gives the room a feeling of serenity and a feeling reflecting physical quality, height, depth, and width throughout the room.  If furniture is out of scale, you will feel it.

4. Form a healthy relationship.

The relationship of items to one another to form a pleasing whole - that's balance.

Assymetrical relationships can be reflected with a slight imbalance like different heights and sizes for items next to each other, adding visual motion and excitement. 

Symmetrical relationships are bilateral and help create a restful atmosphere.

5. Use an artist's perspective.

Look at your space like a painter looks at a work of art.  Visual tricks can create the appearance of depth in a space.

Try triangulation - say, two tables at either end of the sofa with a painting above the sofa.

6. Create depth in artwork.

The appearance of dimension can come from artwork: foreground, midground, background, vanishing point. For example, stand at the threshold of your room and place a chair at an angle.  The foreground is closest to you, a cocktail table can be the middle ground, a sofa against the wall is the background, and a window or artwork above the sofa can act as the vanishing point.

7. Think gestalt, where the organized whole is perceived as the sum of its parts.

Totality and form.

Large rectangular spaces can be slipt into zones for function.

Humans tend to feel more comfortable and less formal in square furniture arrangements versus rectangular.

To read more:

HGTV Living Room Design Guide.

HGTV Candice Olsen's Living Space Design Tips.

Amish Originals Furniture Co: Comfortable Seating

The current edition of Amish Originals Furniture Co.'s eNews is about upholstery.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. features a selection of upholstered furniture inspired by the finished-wood-frame Arts and Crafts era Shaker and Mission and French-Empire Sleigh styles: sofas, love seats, chairs, recliners, ottomans, rockers, and gliders.

Depending on the era of the architecture, modern home-environments can range from houses built with cathedral ceilings and great rooms to lofts to standard apartments to cozy bungalows.  So, what do you consider when you invest in the big ticket furniture pieces that help make your house a home no matter the size of the room?

Looking at the universal basics of interior design, if you are going to focus on anything, make it an awareness of scale and proportion.

Scale is essentially the size of something as it refers to everything else, and proportion is the harmony in scale.

In her blog, Positively Beauty, designer Christine Colli defines proportion as "the relationship of one part to another, or to the whole, or between one object and another, in magnitude, quantity, or degree." The size of the object is influenced by the relative sizes of the other objects in the environment and by the environment.

Spacious rooms with high ceilings seem to suggest the need for oversized sofas or sectionals and accompanying seating and tables, which is an option, but not the only option.

As long as a room suits your purposes, and looks and feels balanced, standard furniture sizes can work in any room.  For example, consider an overstuffed chair with an ottoman and keep the sofa simple.  Accents and furnishings, like large-scale time pieces, art, lighting, drapery panels, tapestries, bookcases, ottomans, area rugs, and color can bring visual height and balance to a room with ample space.

In her article, The Search is on for the Perfect Sofa, designer Linda Yu offers suggestions for fitting a sofa not only to the room, but to you.

▪ Your feet should touch the ground when you are sitting on a sofa.  Your knees should bend at 90 degrees from your thighs.

▪ When you sit back, there should be no strain on your back, but you can ease out of your seat; you don't want the back cushion to push you too far back.

▪ If you have longer legs, higher, deeper seating will be a better fit.  If you are shorter and curl your feet up, choose a sofa with a lower seat height so when you want to put your feet on the floor, they'll reach.

Got a mixure of tall and short people in the house? Add a back cushion for shorter statures or purchase a sofa with mulitple loose cushions.

(The one thing you don't want to do with deep seating is have to send a search party out because friends and family have gotten lost in an oversized sofa, so keep that in mind.)

▪ Arm height should be relative to seat height.  Your elbow should rest comfortably on the arm without your having to bend at the waist to reach down or angle your arm high to reach up to the armrest.

Would you feel comfortable reading a book with your arm in that position? It's either going to feel right or not - you'll know.

▪ Know the distance from the floor to the crook of your knees to your back to determine seat depth.

▪ If you have a piece of furniture that is already comfortable (it fits well), measure that.

▪ The fill of the seat and back is important, make sure you like both the feel and the look.

Most importantly, when all is said in done, your upholstered furniture has to be something you love and no matter the size or style, has to fit not only in the room, but into your life and lifestyle.

Stop by Amish Originals Furniture Co. to visit, browse, sit, and shop.

To learn more:

Designer Christine Collie on Proportion.

Designer Linda Yu on The Search is on for the Perfect Sofa.

Designer Laura Barnett on Choosing the Perfect Chair.

Your Decorating Hotline explains Proportion and Scale.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. Upholstered Online.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. Upholstered Rockers and Gliders Online.

Amish Originals Furniture Co.: Signs of Spring

How do people in Westerville know it's Spring? 

Of course!

The Adirondack chairs appear in front of Amish Originals Furniture Co.!

During spring, summer, and fall, and from dawn to dark, Amish Originals Adirondack chairs become a regular part of Uptown Westerville life - folks sit down to enjoy a cup of coffee and the morning paper, watch the traffic and chat for a while, take a break while walking the dog, and enjoy an ice cream cone from Graeter's on a nice night.

An icon for summer comfort and relaxation, the Adirondack chair is a uniquely American design, developed in the early 1900s by Thomas Lee.  Just a regular guy, Mr. Lee took the DIY route, creating indoor/outdoor comfortable seating for his friends and family at his summer cottage near Lake Champlain in the Adirondack Mountains in northeastern New York. 

Lee built several versions of his "plank chair" and field-tested them on his friends and family. The slanted seat & back and wide armrests had purpose - so the chair rested comfortably on uneven rocky and woodsy terrain (so even on a slanted surface, a person felt upright and comfortable) and wide arms are a perfect place to set cool drinks and good books

Our modern version of the Adirondack chair still features the signature angles and wide arms and comfort, now available in treated-pine and natural tones & a summer bright color spectrum in recycled-poly lumber.

Great for backyards, man caves, porches, lakeshores, and beaches, Amish Originals outdoor furniture options include chairs, coffee tables, accent tables, gliders, swings, footrests, and rockers.

With simple maintenance, classic outdoor furniture from Amish Originals Furniture Co. will continue to offer comfort and style season after season.

We like the tradition behind Mr. Lee's plank chair - so we encourage you to stop by both Amish Originals Furniture Co. locations at 8 and 38 N. State Street in Uptown Westerville and sit a spell!

Visit our Amish Originals Outdoor online, just click here.

Extending the life of your outdoor furniture is a snap - click here to read more.

Amish Originals Furniture Co.: Adirondack Color Wheel

Amish Originals Furniture Co. recycled-poly lumber adirondack chairs fold for storage & come in a variety of color options:

▪ Weatherwood (pictured above, with matching accent table)
▪ Green
▪ Red (pictured above)
▪ White
▪ Brown/Weatherwood
▪ Cedar (pictured above)

▪ Brown  

▪ Black

Black Legs and Armrests with color Seats and Backs:

▪ Orange
▪ Tropical Blue
▪ Aruba Blue
▪ Bright Red
▪ Yellow
▪ Lime Green
▪ Pastel Yellow
▪ Pastel Green
▪ Pastel Pink
▪ Dark Red
▪ Cedar
▪ Weatherwood
▪ Red/White/Navy
▪ Bright Red/Dove Grey
▪ Navy Blue/Yellow

Click here to visit Amish Originals Outdoor online.

Be True to Your School! School Spirit Adirondacks:

St. Paul School - Go Rams!

Westerville Central High School - Go Warhawks!

Westerville North High School - Go Warriors!

Westerville South High School - Go Wildcats!


Note: School Spirit chairs are special order chairs and can take two to four weeks for delivery.

Amish Originals Furniture Co.: Backyard Plans

It's officially Spring!  Ahhh, warm sunshine, pleasant breezes, flowering trees, emerging bulbs, bird songs, bird's nests, and big, blotchy patches of shaggy green grass in the yard - get out the graph paper or a handy legal pad - it's time to focus on changes and updates to outdoor spaces.

With each passing season, outdoor living is becoming an extension of our indoor life.

Before shovel goes into dirt, give your yard some thought - think about taking your yard project step-by-step and layer-by-layer to save time and money and to make even yardwork an enjoyable experience.

You'll enjoy your updated outdoor spaces even more with great stories to go with the compliments.

Make a Plan.

Simple. Layered.

Use an inverted pyramid approach - from general to specifc. Make sketches (no it doesn't have to be da Vinci level sketching!). Use photo images. Write a narrative. Make a list. Designate space. Create a swatch board - consider flooring, textiles, patterns, textures, materials, colors, and styles. Research what grasses and plants will work best. Diagram your yard from a bird's eye view. Use the web, go to local parks and arboratums, visit your local library, get ideas from magazines, or download landscaping software.  Have fun - keep a running blog of your projects and progress. Talk to a local landscaper or garden center, some offer free planning or plans for a nominal fee.

Create a budget.

Take a Walk Around the Yard and Ask Questions.

How do you currently use the yard throughout the year? How do you want to use your outdoor space? Do you want a big space or outdoor rooms? What do you like about your yard; what aggravates you to no-end? Do you hear birds or street noise? What do you want to hear? What do you feel beneath your feet? How does the sun shine on the yard throughout the day? How is the space lit at night; how do you want to light the space? What critters and wildlife friends visit your yard regularly? How often is your dog out in the yard? What do you already have in your yard, like healthy, mature trees, fixtures, and features; anything need to change or go? Is there a play or activities space in the yard? Do you want some alone space, like a corner to read or meditate or star gaze? What kind of social space do you want? How do you move within the space, like pathways, traffic flow? How does everyone transition from indoors to out? Is there or do you want water features? What is the topography of the yard? How is the drainage? How much effort do you want to put into maintenance?  What do you want to do this season and in the future? 

Do Have the Right Tools for the Job?

Is this a DIY project or do you plan to use professionals?  What do you need in tools and hardware to start and finish the job?  What do you need to maintain your outdoor space - a phone number for a good service or all the right tools for some DIY? How much "eco" are you incorporating into your outdoor environment?

What's the View?

What does your yard look like from the inside?  What's framed in your windows? Do the indoor and outdoor spaces blend in & out and out & in with each other? What would you like to see when you look outside across the seasons?

Legal Avenues?

Are there local regulations, ordinances, and permit requirements? What are your HOA rules and guidelines? Do you need to contact OUPS or your local utility services to show you what lies beneath?

Do You Want an Outdoor Kitchen?

Where is the kitchen/dining area going?  Where is the access to power, gas, and water?  Do you want to extend your indoor kitchen? Do you want herbs or veggies growing nearby? Do you want easy clean-up? Are you considering outdoor appliances, like fridges, ovens, grills, a sink with a disposal, or burners?  What kind of counterspace and work surfaces do you want? Do you want a bar?  Where is the trash going?

Do You Want a Fireplace or Firepit?

Wood fueled or gas?  For cooking or gathering? Built-in or Portable?

Take a Look at Lighting Options.

Motion sensitive lighting. Electric. Solar. Battery-powered. Spotlights. Security lighting. Lanterns. Tiki torches. Candles. 

Ambient lighting or a piece of the sun? In other words, how bright do you want your outdoor lighting? Do you want to be able to control the outdoor lighting from within?

Heating and Cooling Options.

Consider ceiling fans, standing fans, misters, and patio heaters.

Architecture.

Do you want a pergola, playhouse for the kids, gazebo, storage, arbors, trellises, walls, screens, or fencing?

Water Features.

Infinity pools, spas, recreational pools, water slides, grottos, ponds, waterfalls, creek beds, bubble pots, fountains, koi, water lilies, water playgrounds, or misters - with each passing season, water feature options become more affordable and interesting.

Trees, Plants, Ground Cover.

Consider a 'green' palette of perrenials, shrubs, and trees and add color, texture, and variety with container gardening through pots and hanging baskets. 

Think about your yard through each season.

Furniture.

Modern outdoor furniture and textiles really can bring the coziness of the living room outdoors.  With water resistant textiles, you can add sofas, ottomans, occasional tables, chaises, and daybeds to a space or go a more traditional route with furniture that embraces the weather but still looks great, like treated-pine, teak, resin, cast aluminum, all-weather wicker, or poly-lumber.

While traditional picnic tables are the ultimate classic, if you want to go in another directions, there are lots of options for outdoor dining today. And, sticking with the classics works great with modern weather-resistant textiles including rugs, pillows, and drapery panels.

Fine-tune the Plan.

Zoom in mentally and acutally on the details.  Back up and use a "wide lens" - color palette? How do the aspects of your outdoor environment complement each other? how does it make you feel?

Execute Your Plan in Logical Steps.

Do it right.  Take your time. Work in layers. Think about what's next and how everything interacts. Be flexible enough to rewrite your story along the way. Embrace and thoroughly enjoy the process and the fabulous end result.

To learn more:

Amish Originals Outdoor Furniture Online.

Great Advice from Houseplans and More.

Planning Your Outdoor Space by Gretchen Roberts from HGTV.

Yard Crashers on DIY.

Amish Originals' Take on Outdoor Living Trends.

Amish Originals Furniture Co.: Sky's the Limit

We came across some interesting results from a survey conducted by the American Society of Landscaping Architects ranking the most popular design enhancements for outdoor living spaces.

The password is... Retreat.

The most popular enhancement for creating an inviting outdoor atmosphere is lighting; from ambience to safety, from electricity to solar-powered.

Portable or built-in, firepits and fireplaces are a great place to gather 'round to share stories and talk, make s'mores, or just cozy up and relax. 

We like places to sit, places to relax, places to read, places to eat, places to talk, and places to play - comfortable seating and dining space; bistro sets, dining tables and chairs, benches, cushioned chairs, and occasional tables all get a workout in an active outdoor space.

One word - Grills.  Fit into any budget, built-in or free-standing, charcoal briquettes to cooking with gas - there is just something about cooking outside.

Create built-in surfaces for seating or setting - installed seating like walls, ledges, benches, and steps add style and function to an outside atmosphere.

Weatherized outdoor furniture brings living room comfort outdoors with durable materials, like Amish Originals recycled poly-lumber or treated-pine furniture, resin wicker, lightweight cast aluminum, and weather-resistant fabrics.

Creating a true space for outdoor cooking and entertainment with kitchen conveniences like counter-space, storage, a sink, and outdoor fridge just makes outdoor living all the sweeter.

Adding a sound system, wifi, and a weather-proof TV to the mix, takes indoor entertaining outside.

Outdoor heaters are affordable and portable ways to stay outside almost year-round or late, late at night.

▪ Consider water installations, like table top or floor fountains, bubble pots, ponds for koi and water lilies, waterfalls, runnels, and grottos.  The relaxing sound of gently falling water releases stress and provides white noise in a noisy environment.

▪ It is simple to create an outdoor room with placement of "walls" using furniture, trellises, pavillions, pergolas, plants, and textiles.

▪ If you are adding a kitchen, look into cabinets made from marine-grade polymers to handle the weather.

▪ If you'd like to include an environmentally friendly backyard, there are simple things you can do like incorporating native plants in your landscape and utilizing stormwater for water features.

We know that environmental psychologists find that our direct interaction with nature, even for a few minutes a day, improves our ability to relax, think analytically, heal, and replenish. So, get out!

To read more:

American Society of Landscape Architects Outdoor Living Survey.

Top 10 Outdoor Living Trends from Pool and Spa Outdoor magazine.

From our eNews Archives: May 2010, Take It Outside.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. Outdoors.

Amish Originals Furniture Co.: Practical Character

Our latest eNews takes a look at benches.

Four legs and a surface that connects them - simple, common benches can be useful, functional art.

More than seating in common areas, benches provide creative space with purpose anywhere in our homes.

Benches are often a temporary-use piece of furniture, offering space for what is about to happen.  Benches are places where we just stop by - to tie a shoe on-the-run, to talk to a friend, to drop a bookbag after school, and to put your feet up at the end of the day.

Visually, a bench adds instant character, texture, and style to hallways, entryways, bedrooms, dining rooms, workspaces, kid's rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, indoor and outdoor living spaces, and porches.

Modern benches vary in size, with or without backs and arms, and can be built-in, castered, or stand-alone.  Cushioned or hard surfaced, formal or casual, benches can be made from pretty much any material including woven grass, metals, leather, hardwoods, mixed-media, and synthetic materials in styles that range from minimalist to windsor to repurposed church pews to weathered iron.

▪ Stack benches of graduated lengths, and even different styles, to create shelving or a usable, decorative focal point.

▪ Boost seating options, especially when company comes.

▪ Add a bench to the mix with traditional seating around the dining table.

▪ Use a bench as a window seat and around seating in a breakfast nook.

▪ Organize kid stuff and clutter using benches with built-in cubbies, shelving, and hidden storage.

▪ Utilize baskets, wood boxes, and canvas boxes for under-bench storage.

▪ Use benches for display, for flat panel televisions, or as coffee tables.

▪ Thinking about adding a bench to the foot of the bed?  Here's a handy rule of thumb from Real Simple magazine: A bench at the foot of the bed works best 1 to 3 inches lower than a fully-made bed, filling the space at least two-thirds of the width of the bed.

▪ An Amish Originals Furniture Co. favorite, the Prairie Mission bench is available in two, three, four, or five foot lengths in Oak, Cherry, or Brown Maple.

To learn more....

Kevin Sharkey's Inspiration: Benches on Martha Stewart Home Design.

Real Simple magazine's Benches for Every Budget.

Elle Decor Best Benches.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. online: Benches.

Amish Originals Furniture Co.: Resourceful Rearranging

We came across a helpful video on the Stylelist Home site with some great tips from interior designer Angela Ingo for changing up your home environment by rearranging what you have at home.

Take a walk around your house with an eye on design and just look around, including rooms, basements, closets, and storage areas.
 
▪ Lighting. Add at least one lamp to the room or try placing lighting around the room to form a triangle. Angela remind us that turning-on a light or two brings obvious purpose to the space and makes the room more comfortable and inviting.

▪ Nature. Blending the outdoors and indoors brings interest into a room so try to incorporate simple natural elements in a room - interesting sticks from your own back yard, a bowl of apples, or a single sunflower.

▪ Fabric. Stop by the linen closet or look through a blanket chest - maybe you have pillows or a throw from an old comforter set that can bring color and texture into a room.

▪ Looking for inspiration? Add continuity to a room - pick out a single item in the room - like a painting, window treatment, or area rug, and pull three inspiration colors from that item to inspire touches to use throughout the room.

▪ Arrange accent pieces in odd numbers  - a single item, like a lamp, three like items (color, texture, theme), or items with similar nature and purpose.

Angela says simple layering of simple items can create a focal point for the eyes to rest on as soon as you walk into the room, giving that room an inviting feeling of comfort.

For additional info:

Click here to take a look at the Angela's interview.

Click here to visit Stylelist online or Angela's home design blog.

Need more ideas? Stop by Amish Originals Furniture Co. for inspiration and ideas or to browse, visit, and shop.

Amish Originals Furniture Co.: New.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. features a collection of select, affordable home accents, accessories, and art inspired by natural and urban environments.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. features a collection of select, affordable home accents, accessories, and art inspired by natural and urban environments.

One of the simplest, affordable ways to change the look of a room is to switch out the accessories and accents.

So, whether you are shopping for furniture or looking for simple ways to spice up a room, stop by Amish Originals 8 and 38 N. State Street locations to browse, visit, and shop.

By the way, Amish Originals home accents make great gifts.

Click here to read our post about feng shui and decorating inspired by nature.

Click here to read about industrial-style decor.

Just a note: While there are accessories and accents Amish Originals features regularly, some art, accent, and decor pieces are available often within a season or in limited quantity.  If you are interested in an item you no longer see in-store, ask us, we may no longer carry it, but we'll do our best to help.  

Amish Originals Furniture Co.: Shelf Space

This month's Amish Originals Furniture Co. eNews is called Shelf Life, spotlighting our selection of hardwood bookcases and shelving.

Going vertical via bookcases and shelving are a smart, creative way to best utilize space.

A 24–inch wide, 60-inch tall Amish Originals Furniture Co. Open Front Bookcase changes a bathroom into a spa by holding towels and bath accessories, adds drama to a corner or niche in the master bedroom, accommodates easy access to cookbooks and wine in the kitchen, and provides age-appropriate bedroom storage that adapts to the needs of growing children.

We found some great ideas on HGTVs website that we’d like to share:

Display Your Passion

Interior Designer, Debbie Wiener advises, “Kids’ framed artwork, books, decorated plates, baseball cards, or boomerang collections. Your home should look like you.”

Group Like with Like

Group items by theme, color, shape, tones, texture, or material.

Showoff Collections

If you love it, display it prominently.

Go Big and Bold

Large art books.

Oversized pottery.

Put smaller items in bigger containers.

Forget Symmetry and Be Odd

There is balance in odd numbers. Arrange items in threes, fives, or sevens.

Change the height of shelves.

Vary Accessory Height.

Bring depth and dimension.

Keep the eye moving.

Combine short, medium, and tall.

Stack books vertically.

Use pedestals, cake plates, and risers.

Add Sparkle and Shine.

Glass, crystal, silver.

Mirrors beneath and behind.

Include rough texture for contrast.

Create Layers on Shelves

Add depth.

Use large, tall items as anchors.

Fits nicely into a Traditional or Eclectic space.

Keep it Spare and Simple

Fits nicely with Modern and Contemporary spaces.

Minimalist and uncluttered.

Simple, careful.

Vary Book Displays

Stack horizontally and display vertically.

Group by subject, size, or meaning to you.

Got favorite books that are a bit tattered and worn? Display them proudly on an easel or keep in baskets or boxes.

Mix Art with Books

Shelving makes a great home art gallery.

Place framed art among books.

Hang art from shelves. (With new no-nails hangers, like the Command hangers, hanging favorite items anywhere has become much simpler.)

Lean art on books.

Include art in groupings and vignettes.

Display Art in Creative Ways.

It doesn’t have to be exact or perfect, it just has to please you.

Mix frames (even empty frames) in all shapes and styles.  Antique and vintage frames work nicely with new.

Look Up and Look Down

Think about the tops of bookshelves and cabinets for storage and display. (Support carefully placed items with museum putty.)

Highlight tall ceilings.

Visually anchor the shelves or cabinets at the base with items like oversized pottery.

Let There Be Light.

Illuminate.

With wireless lighting like LEDs, solar, flameless candles, and battery powered lights, accent lighting is simplified.

Use picture lights, track lighting, puck lights, and up-light cannisters.

Backlight your favorite books or arrangements.

To learn more, visit these additional links:

Amish Originals Bookcases online.

Amish Originals Furniture Co. eNews January 2012: Shelf Life.

HGTV's Tips for Creating Space with Shelving.

HGTV's Decorating Tips for Shelves and Bookcases.

Real Simple's Bookshelf Ideas.

Looking for more ideas? Stop by your local library to check out home decor periodicals and books.

Amish Originals Furniture Co.: The Road to eBooks

Access to the printed word has developed along with human innovation and the human condition. From century to century, with advancement in technology, materials, and method, the simple act of having a book has become commonplace. 

In 2011 alone, manufacturers shipped 30 million ebook readers. And yet, electronic readers and tablets are just one facet of the rising popularity of reading - books sales, especially paperback books, are strong.  Growing numbers of book clubs and reading groups meet in-person and online. Youth and young adult readership is on the rise.  And, flash that free plastic card - library membership and circulation is at an all time high.

While forms of printed communication go back thousands of years, here are some recent history milestones along the way:

▪ From the 7th to 13th century (hundreds of years!): Religious manuscript books were produced by hand; creating the books was considered an act of worship.

▪ From the 13th to 15th century: Books reflected a human desire to try to express something about the observable world, and while still hand-made manuscript, inspired by the returns from the Crusades and the rise of European universities, books also reflected secular content.

▪ During the 15th and 16th centuries: In 1450, the Gutenberg movable type printing press hits the scene - essentially changing the world - and prayer books were printed for distribution.

▪ In the 16th and 17th centuries: Press-printed books reflected looks at culture and history.

▪ 1658: The first mass-published children's book, called Orbis Pictus (Latin for 'Pictured World').

▪ 1748: Depending on who you talk to, this year marks either the earliest or one of the earliest public libraries in America in Newport, Rhode Island.

▪ 1794: The first actual pencil, as we know it, was invented in France.

▪ 1842: The first literary tour - Charles Dickens read his own books.

▪ 1851: Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin sells 1 million copies, second only to the Bible.

▪ 1874: Christopher Latham Sholes gets a patent for a typewriter. Why the QWERTY keys? To space the type-arms of commonly used letters so they don't jam.

▪ 1884: Lewis Waterman invents the fountain pen.

▪ 1900: By 1900, 99% of all paper is now produced by machine and the telegraph connects most of the "civilized" world.

▪ 1904: The first offset press started out as a printing mistake.

▪ 1905: It looked like a horse-drawn hearse, but it was actually the first bookmobile in Hagerstown, Maryland.

▪ 1933: The IBM Electromatic appears (the first electric typewriter).

▪ 1935: This one's big - the first mass-produced paperback book - a romance novel, in London, England.

▪ 1938: Lazlo Biro of Hungary invents the first ballpoint pen. And, Chester Carlton develops the first electrostatic copy machine - xerography, meaning 'dry writing.' How? With India ink, sulfur, a cotton cloth, waxed paper, a glass slide, a zinc plate, and a bright lamp.

▪ 1952: Dylan Thomas read his poetry for the first audiobook.

▪ 1976: The first word processor is developed by Michael Shrayer (Shrayer's Electric Pencil).

▪ 1982: The Compass 1100 is the first "clamshell" style laptop computer. And, the Commodore 64, the first "inexpensive" home computer, appears.

▪ 1983: Two words: Microsoft Word.

▪ 1990: Thomas Berners-Lee, the first web page, and the world wide web.

▪ 1991: Adobe presents the PDF file (Portable Document Format).

▪ 1993: The first, and longest running blog (forests.org) from Dr. Glen Berry.

▪ 2000: There are 3,200,000 new book titles in-print in America and eBooks begin to emerge.

▪ 2004: The Library of Congress, with more than 130 million actual items, including 29 million books and printed materials, has 530 miles of bookshelves.

▪ 2005: Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling sells more than 300 million copies.

▪ 2006: U.S. book sales total 3.1 billion books.

▪ 2007: Amazon Kindle is introduced.

▪ 2009: U.S. book sales total $23.9 billion.

▪ 2011: eBooks outsell physical books on Amazon. 30 million eBook readers shipped.

No matter the form, we will always need a way to put our reading material in its rightful place.

Click here to visits Amish Originals Furniture Co. Bookshelves online.

Want to read more? Click on these links:

From Cave Paintings to the Internet.

Oral Path: A Bit of History of Books and Writing

Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: What's the Next Chapter for Bookshelves?

Bookmark Radio: 2012 Book Industry Trends