Best of 2016
2016 has been a great year for us here at The Amish Home! We’re eternally grateful to our wonderful customers who make the choice to buy quality American furniture and support our small, local business. Before we change our calendars to 2017, we wanted to round out the year by looking at our most popular items. Scroll through the see our Best of 2016, and let us know what your favorites were this year.
Wood and Stain
Gold Star: Brown Maple with Michaels stain
English Shaker Bedroom Furniture, shown in Brown Maple with Michael stain
Brown maple, which falls into our middle price category, has a very interesting grain pattern. It is a tight grain, unlike oak, so it has a very smooth finished surface, much like cherry. However, the grain pattern from board to board will vary wildly. Some boards are quite uniform, while others show some swirls, or zig-zags, or even dark gray streaks. These patterns are nearly invisible on the unfinished wood, only appearing after the application of your selected stain and our builders’ catalyzed finish.
Michaels stain is a translucent medium-red stain that highlights these natural inconsistencies. Depending on the grain pattern, boards will range from a reddish-gray to bright red to dark brown. This works well with several of the most popular styles right now, including mid-century modern and refined farmhouse, both of which are defined by their focus on natural materials.
Lodi Living Room Furniture, shown in Brown Maple with Michaels stain
Honorable Mention: Oak with Asbury stain
Butler Living Room Furniture, shown in Oak with Asbury stain.
Chances are, when you think of wood grain, you’re imagining red oak. The signature open grain pattern is a perennial favorite for its durability and attractiveness. For many years, light-colored oak has dominated, with our five lightest stains on oak accounting for 25-30% of our total sales for most years. However, trends are turning towards darker colors, and our Amish builders are putting more focus on contemporary styles to attract younger buyers while still offering their traditional favorites.
Asbury is a relatively new stain, first introduced in 2012 and then added to the Ohio Certified Stain (OCS) collection in 2013. Asbury was our overall best-selling stain in 2016, also being used on brown maple, rustic cherry, and quartersawn white oak. It is a dark neutral brown, while most other dark stains have some amount of red.
Kitchen & Dining Rooms
Gold Star, Dining Tables: Oasis Dining Table
The Oasis Table is shown with the Empire chair as part of the Newport Shaker Furniture Collection
Previously known simply as the Shaker Leg Table, the Oasis has been one of our top tables for the past ten years. The simple tapered legs, paired with a selection of top shapes, works well in most homes, and really allows your choice of wood and stain to be the featured aspect of the set.
The bad news is that the Oasis table has been discontinued. The good news is that the builder has offered 3 great options to replace it! This change actually gives you more choices that the Oasis table. The most exciting of these three collections is the Casual Comfort table, which for the first time lets us offer a round table on legs. Previously, round tables were only available on single pedestal bases. A second option is the Arlington table, which offers a choice of three legs including the classic Shaker tapered leg, a tapered curved leg, or a square mission leg. The third new choice is the Easton Pike Premium table.
Honorable Mention, Dining Tables: Easton Pike Premium
The Easton Pike Premium table is shown with the 76 Mission chair
The Easton Pike Premium table was introduced in our showroom in mid-October and has already been popular enough to be our second-best selling table this year. The Easton Pike Premium has mostly the same options as the Oasis table, however, the Easton Pike Premium comes standard with a 3 inch leg. The 3 inch leg was a popular upgrade on the Oasis table, which came standard with a 2 3/4 inch leg. In addition to the previously-offered 3 inch Shaker tapered leg, there is also now a 3 inch square mission leg, as well as a 3 inch curved tapered leg, as displayed in our showroom.
Gold Star, Dining Room Cabinets: Americana Collection
The Americana Furniture Collection is shown with the Sylvan table and Savannah chair
The Americana is our most versatile cabinet collection! The china cabinets are available in three sizes – two, three, or four doors, plus three corner sizes – with a selection of mix-and-match bases and tops. The three door size, for example, has five bases and four tops for a total of 20 available configurations. Furthermore, you can choose from five door/drawer styles, three crown molding styles, and four foot styles. All of these options are in addition to the standard wood, stain, and hardware choices that are always available.
Bedrooms
Gold Star: Hyland Park Bedroom Collection
The Hyland Park Bedroom Collection is shown in Brown Maple with Michaels stain
One of our newer collections, Hyland Park offers just the right amount of detail, for a set that is neither ornate nor stark. The builder designed this set with fewer available pieces – only 2 dresser sizes, only 2 nightstand styles – so he could keep it at a great price point. But this affordable set doesn’t skimp on quality – you’ll still find dovetail drawers, full-extension slides, and an unbelievably luxe finish that can only be achieved by hand.
Honorable Mention: Marcella Bedroom Collection
The Marcella Bedroom Collection is shown in Rustic Cherry with Asbury stain
The Marcella Bedroom, just delivered in June, is an absolute showstopper. It’s richly detailed, with prominent moldings that provide hidden storage: the nightstand top slides forward, and the dresser and bureau feature jewelry drawers with a push-open mechanism, hidden just underneath the tops of the pieces. With this collection, the builder also introduced a new underbed storage box, installed in the bed rails to raise it off the floor a few inches, and matched with a high footboard for a truly lavish feel.
Gold Star, Bed: Empire Mission Storage Bed
The Empire Mission Storage Bed is shown in Quartersawn White Oak with Michaels Stain
Storage beds were more popular in 2016 than in any previous year. Our overall best-selling bed this year was the Empire Mission Storage bed, displayed in our showroom at Pittsburgh Mills. Unlike most stores, we can put a variety of storage configurations under any of our bed styles. This configuration, with extra-deep drawers in the footboard and large cubbies in the side, maximizes the amount of storage space available – the builder says it’s the equivalent of over 115 gallons of storage space! There’s other options, too, like all drawers on the sides, or storage boxes raised a few inches off the floor, as shown above in the Marcella bedroom.
Living Rooms
Gold Star, Occasional Tables: Greenfield Collection
The Greenfield Occasional Table Collection
The Greenfield table collection is a lovely transitional group, with gentle curves for a relaxed look. The collection comes from one of our youngest builders, Elmer. We’ve known Elmer for years – his father owns a chair shop that builds some of our most popular styles. Elmer opened his table shop in 2013, and has quickly become one of our most popular builders.
Gold Star, TV Stands: Shaker Economy Series
The Shaker Economy TV Stands are available in 3 sizes, shown in oak
As the names indicates, the Shaker Economy TV Stand is a simply styled piece at a great price point. It offers versatile storage options with a combination of drawers and doors with an adjustable shelf. Because of its gently curved front, it is a popular match with the Greenfield tables.
Office Furniture
Gold Star, Desks: Country Home Roll top
The Country Home Roll Top Desk is shown in Oak
Although we sell lots of desks, our Country Home Roll Top will probably always be or most popular. The name comes from the way the cover, known as the “tambour,” rolls up & down, to hide or expose the work space. The tambour is made of thin strips of wood attached to a flexible backing. Not only is it handy for hiding a messy work surface, but the classic styling looks stately in living rooms, dining rooms, or other spaces outside a formal office. If security is an issue, a lock can be added to the tambour. Roll top desks are hard to find, and most people who choose to make the investment understand the value in our handcrafted, solid wood version.
Thanks to all our customers and friends for helping make 2016 another great year for us! What were your favorites this year – and what trends are you looking forward to in 2017?
