Why Buy From an Amish Furniture Outlet?

At our Amish furniture outlet, we’re sometimes asked what makes Amish furniture so special. After all, today’s consumer has access to an international range of furniture styles and designs. Many of those choices cost less than handcrafted Amish furniture. What is it, exactly, that makes Amish craftsmanship unique?

We gave the matter some thought and finally decided on the five main reasons why we feel Amish furniture stands out from other choices. 

Timeless Beauty

Furniture, like clothing, follows trends with certain designs going in and out of style. Not all of these trends survive the test of time. (Think of the furniture from the 1970s and 1980s and how dated it looks today). While there’s nothing wrong with being trendy, adhering to the latest furniture fads often forces people to redecorate when fashions change. Today’s cutting-edge fashion is tomorrow’s chintz.

Walk into an Amish furniture outlet, however, and you’re struck by the timeless beauty of the furniture. Hardwoods and classic lines never go out of fashion, and they will look as good in 50 years as they do today.

Reliable Craftsmanship

Mass-produced furniture is made with quantity, not quality, in mind. Much of today’s retail furniture includes particleboard and thin veneers held together with glue, staples and screws. Because of this, the lifespan of many pieces of furniture is limited.

  

Not so with Amish furniture. Handcrafted from hardwoods using traditional joints and wood-working techniques, pieces from our Amish furniture outlet will last for decades, if not centuries. You can see the pride and skill of the craftsman in each piece’s strength and durability.

Heirloom Pieces

Combine classic beauty with longevity, and you get furniture that families can pass down from generation to generation. While people usually think of jewelry, books, watches and pieces of art as heirlooms, the well-made piece of furniture you buy today could still be in your family when your grand kids are grandparents.

Savings Through an Amish Furniture Outlet

People sometimes object to the prices at an Amish furniture outlet when compared to cheap alternatives. It’s true you’ll pay more for a solid wood, handmade piece of custom furniture than for a mass-produced item made from cheap materials. In the long run, however, Amish furniture can actually save you money.

Think of it this way: You may have to replace cheaper furniture several times over. In contrast, once you buy a piece of Amish furniture you should never need to buy a replacement. In short, buying from an Amish furniture outlet is a sound financial move.

Supporting a Traditional Way of Life

Finally, buying from an Amish furniture outlet helps support a durable, simple way of life. Despite the allure of modern convenience and technology, the Amish continue to thrive. At Snyder's Furniture, we think that’s well worth supporting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Choose the Perfect Bedroom Set

Your bedroom should be a place of relaxation — somewhere you can put aside the stress of daily life and get a restful night’s sleep. Choosing the perfect bedroom suite greatly improves the room’s relaxing qualities. As your Lancaster bedroom furniture specialists, let us guide you through the process of selecting the perfect bedroom suite.

Measure First

Before you even start looking at bedroom sets, take the time to measure your room’s dimensions. Trying to accommodate large furniture in a small room leaves your bedroom looking cramped and “busy.” Besides, it’s heartbreaking to fall in love with king-sized Amish bedroom suites only to discover your bedroom will fit just a queen-sized bed.

Research and Dream

The next step is the fun part. Tour local furniture stores looking for bedroom sets you like. Browse online decorating sites and Pinterest for ideas. If you’re having trouble remembering where you saw those oak canopy beds or Amish bedroom suites, take photos and make your own Pinterest page or just store the pictures in a folder. 

While you’re looking, ask yourself what you want out of a bedroom suite. Do you want something with crisp, clean lines or a suite with a more ornate design? Do you want matching bookshelves and wall mirrors?

As the largest piece of furniture in any bedroom, the bed is, of course, the first thing most people look at when they view bedroom suites. Often changing the style of bed changes the feel of an entire bedroom suite. At Snyder’s Furniture, we offer a range of Amish bedroom suites with sleigh, canopy and four-poster beds. 

Don’t neglect the other pieces of a bedroom set, however. Nightstands, dressers, vanities and armoires all influence the overall look of the suite. You may want to include bookcases in your bedroom set or buy a matching desk to turn a corner of the bedroom into a home office. Ultimately, the right choice is the one that works for you.

Amish Bedroom Suites

Our Lancaster bedroom furniture showroom focuses on Amish bedroom suites. Handcrafted and hand-varnished, hardwood Amish furniture has a warmth and timeless nature that lends itself to bedroom furnishings. Amish bedroom suites are also durable heirloom sets capable of lasting for generations. If you want to maximize your bedroom’s beauty and comfort, we offer Amish bedroom suites for every need.

Signs Your “Amish Made” Furniture Isn’t Authentic

Simply calling a piece of furniture “Amish” doesn’t make it so. Before buying any piece of Amish furniture, Lancaster, PA pros at Snyder Furniture recommend looking the piece over carefully. Genuine Amish furniture has several features that make it stand out from cheap knock-offs.

No Screws, No Nails 

Check a genuine piece of Amish custom furniture for screws, nails, plastic fasteners or staples and all you’ll find is well-crafted wood joints. A true Amish craftsman joins wood with either wooden pegs or mortise and tenon joints. A mortise and tenon joint connects at a 90 degree angle, with a square or rectangular projection (the tenon) fitted into a hole (the mortise) cut to the tenon’s exact specifications. It’s an old woodworker’s joint that has existed for thousands of years.

Cheap knock-offs and mass-produced furniture rarely use mortise and tenon joints. Instead, they rely on glue, staples, nails and screws — none of which you’ll find on true Amish custom furniture.

Wood Selections

The Amish work with a variety of wood types. While oak and cherry are common choices, woodworkers also use cedar, maple, hickory and walnut.

The Amish do not use veneers, particleboard or laminates in any form. Any piece of furniture containing such shortcuts is not of Amish origin. The Amish church rules, called Ordnung, coupled with the community’s commitment to simple living prohibit the use of such mass-produced materials.

In addition, when an Amish woodcrafter creates a piece of furniture, he builds it to last for generations, and the idea of using cheap materials such as particleboard would be an insult to his craftsmanship.

Made in China

Okay, this may sound obvious, but check any custom furniture for ink stamps indicating the product was made in China or other countries. Some unscrupulous dealers try to sell imported, mass-produced furniture as Amish, when in reality the pieces don’t even count as custom furniture.

If you have the opportunity, check similar furniture the dealer offers for sale. Mass-produced furniture will look identical. Handmade Amish custom furniture will have minor differences in appearance due wood grains, hand sanding and varnishing.

Check the Drawers 

Pay special attention to any drawers in your piece of furniture, because most fakes give themselves away in the drawers. Mass-produced furniture drawers are typically made from weak particleboard with stapled back pieces. Additionally, many mass-produced pieces use metal slides to open and close the drawer — something you’ll never find in true Amish custom furniture.

The dovetail joint is a popular choice for genuine Amish drawers, although different craftsmen favor different joints. Dovetail joints look like interlaced trapezoids, and they provide the finished drawer with significant strength.

Finally, many Amish woodcrafters craft each drawer for its specific opening. This means even when two drawers appear the same size, they only fit properly in their correct location. This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule, but it can provide clues about the origins of custom furniture.

A Bookcase Headboard: Getting Creative with your Space

Do you need a bookcase headboard? If you're short on space, looking for something new or simply want to blend art with purpose, the answer is yes.

A bookcase headboard provides a unique place for you to store books, display photos or keep your most-used items. Check out all the ways an Amish bookcase headboard can be used in your home.

The Amish Bookcase Headboard as a Space Saver

If you're a bibliophile, you're always picking up new books. Don't miss out on the huge expanse of bare wall that's right above your head.

Books are more than an escape and a passion. They are also stunning pieces of art in their own right. Your first-editions, signed copies and childhood favorites hold a special place in your heart. Choose the most beautiful or most prized books from your bookshelf and transfer them your new Amish Bookcase headboard.

Custom Bookcase Headboards as a Piece of Art

Visualize the various ways you can assemble your headboard when you're shopping for the finest custom Amish furniture Pennsylvania has to offer. Consider arranging the books in your headboard by color to create a beautiful display that fits into your design scheme. Or, instead of showcasing books, you could use your headboard to showcase your beautiful knick-knacks and add your own personal style to your bedroom.

Whatever you choose to display, remember to leave some open space. This will give you the feeling of a larger room.

Lancaster Bedroom Furniture as a Utilitarian Piece

Most headboards don't really serve a purpose; they just take up wall space. Unless you live in a sprawling mansion, space for most people is limited. Bedside tables don't provide much room in those single drawers, so look (literally) above and beyond.

A bookcase headboard gives you plenty of space for bed-centric items like tissues, smartphones and alarm clocks. Use decorative baskets to keep your belongings neatly hidden from plain view.

Perfect Answer to Kids' Rooms

An Amish bookcase headboard is also a great option for kids' rooms where there's no such thing as too much storage. Stuffed animals, those oversized picture books and even extra blankets can be easily grabbed from this perch.

Kids can also reach items when they're stored on a headboard, which can promote self-sufficiency. It's also the ideal transitional piece for Junior's first "real" bed when parents still need to keep lotions and bedtime stories within easy reach.

A Bookcase Headboard from Snyder's: A Long-lasting Piece

The great thing about bookcase headboards — and Amish Furniture from Pennsylvania in general — is they are classic pieces that will look beautiful for years to come. Plus, our Amish furniture is high-quality, solid wood that can easily be stained, painted or finished to match new bedroom decor.

If you get tired of what's sitting on the shelves, simply switch it up. Unlike some of those other trendy headboards, this is an affordable investment that will never go out of style.

Things to Consider When Buying an Amish TV Console

While most people spend considerable time — and money — selecting a new TV, many don't make the same effort when it comes to the TV console. A new TV, with all the bells and whistles, looks even more impressive when it's housed in a beautiful Amish TV console.

When shopping for a TV console from Snyder's, the leader of Amish furniture stores in Lancaster, PA, consider the following:

Size

How big is your TV? How big is your room? How much room do you have for a TV console?

Ideally, your TV console should be large enough to support your TV and all your entertainment gear but not be so large it overpowers your room. The key is to find a happy medium.

Placement

Placement can play a critical role in the decision of how big your console should be. Before you decide on the size, think about your options for placement.

First, check if any natural light will be hitting the screen and avoid those areas. Also consider rearranging your furniture to create new space for a console. By rearranging some furniture in a group, you might open a wall you didn't think was an option.

A TV doesn't need to be the focal point of the room. If you have a large, open space, you could put the TV console on one wall and position some of the furniture around it in a semi-circle. Then, by placing a couch in the middle of the room, you could break it into sections: one side for TV-watching, the other for socializing.

Storage

Ideally, your TV console should be a space dedicated to entertainment. It should house all your DVDs, your DVD player and game systems in an organized way.

How do you want to store your collection? If you’d like to display your DVD library, consider getting a console with glass doors that keep all your titles in view. If you prefer a more streamlined look, you'll want to opt for solid doors and drawers that keep all your electronics neatly hidden.

Look for a console that not only has enough room for what you have now, but can also easily accommodate your collection as it grows. Keep in mind as technology evolves, the need for space decreases. Many families now house their movies on a computer server, accessing them from their new TV. While you might need physical storage space now, you may not need as much in a couple of years.

Décor

One of the great things about Amish furniture from PA is its classic design; it’s easy to match with your current décor. With our custom-made Amish furniture from Lancaster, you can even choose the stain or finish that integrates seamlessly with the other pieces in your room.

Arranging Custom Furniture Like a Pro

The design experts at our Amish furniture outlet say you don’t need to be an interior designer to arrange your Pennsylvania furniture like a pro. You just need to know a few tricks!

Consider Function & Purpose

First, take a look around the room you’re working on and consider the space. If there are doors, it’s crucial to note if they open in or out. When doors open into a room, you need to plan for this. When the door is closed, be careful not to leave an out-of-place gap. Consider hanging a piece of art on that high-traffic wall to best utilize the blank canvas.

It’s equally important to think about what the room is used for. Hallways are usually travel rooms, while living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms are destinations. When working with a space that isn’t a destination, easy travel is key. Ensure a clear path to a destination room is achieved. Also, if it’s a destination room, consider if the room is going to be used for dining, entertaining or relaxing; this will help you decide how to arrange the furniture.

When arranging a room, think about what kind of atmosphere you prefer. An open floor plan creates more space and can make a room feel bigger. However, you might want to create a space that encourages socialization. You can do this with your custom furniture. Our Pennsylvania furniture design experts suggest placing couches and chairs in a semi-circle — people will be more apt to chat while still allowing movement from one room to the next.

Promote Comfort

When entertaining for friends and family, you’ll want to have extra seats available. If your style runs a little bohemian, consider stacks of comfortable floor pillows against the wall that complement any decor and can easily be grabbed for additional seating.

Identify the focal point of the room — it could be a fireplace, TV or even a beautiful, handcrafted piece of furniture from Lancaster PA — and work around it. Position furniture around the focal point to ensure everyone has a good view of it.

Create Breathing Room

You don’t need to — and shouldn’t — cover every square inch of available space. Your walls are a blank canvas and a fantastic wallpaper or gorgeous paint can go a long way.

Also, don’t push your couches right up against your walls. Whenever possible, leave at least a few inches between wall and couch. It will actually make the space appear larger. If that isn’t possible, move side tables or chairs away from the wall to help open the room a bit.

Pay Close Attention to Lighting

Many people overlook one of the most important elements of a room: the lighting. Carefully place your lamps to maximize the light in the room. This means making sure each corner has equal lighting as good balance is critical. There should be several light sources, and they should be spread around the room.

Play with your Options

A person’s arrangement of their custom furniture is reflective of their personality. Be playful or more streamlined if that’s your style. Don’t be afraid to try new things like arranging furniture in the center of the room instead of solely against the walls. The best part about furniture arrangement is you can completely change the look of a room just by moving the furniture around.