Amish dining room furniture encompasses many styles, including Shaker, Mission and various sub styles of country. Typically, each Amish community focuses on a specific type of furniture or a craft such as quilts or baskets. Every piece of furniture produced by the Amish is unique, even when it is made within the same community, because, while some modern woodworking techniques are allowed in some communities, it is mostly made by hand. Since “Amish” is not necessarily a definitive or particular style, when creating an Amish dining room, there are some key principles that need to be incorporated to accomplish this type of interior design.
Design Principle #1
Use heritage colors, paints that have been created with natural pigments. Hues and tints are generally less “intense” than other types of commercially produced paints, but that doesn’t mean “bland” or “colorless.” Most manufacturers, like Sherwin-Williams, make paint colors that resemble heritage colors. The typical Amish color palette reflects the fields they work, the crops they grow including the earth and sky.
Design Principle #2
If purchasing furniture from an Amish community is not an option, select furniture that is made of wood such as oak, walnut or cherry. Dining room furniture such as a sideboard, dining table or china cabinet, should have simple lines, wood finishes that have been distressed or have a low to medium shine and be oversized, solid or “boxy” in appearance.
The Home Styles Ponderosa Solid Wood Dining Table, while it does have arrow feet and decorative detail, they are features common to traditional woodworking methods. Its rich pine finish gives the table a rustic yet refined handcrafted appearance.
The Stanley Furniture American Perspective Beeswax Cherry Windsor Side Chair also has arrow feet and turned legs. But again, this dining chair, with its Windsor back, shouts attention to detail.
While Amish furniture profiles are simpler, they can be dramatic. Backs of dining chairs are taller; tables are longer, emphasizing the “slab” appearance of the tabletop; china cabinets and sideboards are “chunkier.” The Tradewins Cherry Expressions Buffet with Hutch is impressive in stature, but decorative detail, such as the crown molding and the gently arched apron, is uncomplicated.
Design Principle #3
The emphasis of Amish interior design is on the combined impact of form and function. Put simply, it means that all of the furniture pieces in the dining room should be functional and practical, but they should look beautiful as well. For example, the Home Styles Ponderosa Solid Wood Dining Table includes a leaf, which allows the table to expand (from round to oval shaped), making it very practical when entertaining or hosting a family holiday feast.
Accessorize the same way. Select window treatments that are not “fussy” and made of natural materials like cotton for curtains and wood for blinds. Pick an area rug like the Calvin Klein Home by Nourison Loom Select Midnight Thread Area Rug Collection in Multicolor that has a natural, organic woven look. Don’t forget candlesticks and lamps made of materials like wrought iron or stone.
Come back next week when I will be starting a new series on traditional style with a twist.
