Archive for the 'Amish Furniture Glossary' Category

Wood Types

Red Oak - Red Oak comes from Oak trees belonging to the binomial name, Quercus Rubra. The genus Quercus, species Alba are native to Eastern North America and the official state tree of New Jersey. Red Oak, by many, is considered to be the most beautiful having an alluring amber (yellowish brown) color with a reddish tint and an open straight grain texture. Red Oak is, by far, the most popular wood type chosen by the Amish Furniture consumer. In terms of durability, red oak has a Janka Hardness measurement of 1290 lb (pounds-force), making it moderately durable. The Janka Hardness test measures the force required to embed a 0.444 inch (11.28 millimeters) steel ball to half its diameter in Red Oak Wood.

1/4 Sawn White Oak - White Oak comes from oak trees belonging to the binomial name, Quercus Alba. The genus Quercus, species Alba are native to Eastern North America and the official state tree of Illinois, Connecticut and Maryland. All of our Amish Furniture that is built with white oak is quarter sawn. When wood is quarter sawn, the logs are first cut into quarters. Each quarter is then processed by cutting a single piece of lumber off of one face, then cutting the next piece of lumber from the opposite face, and cutting from alternating faces until the quarter is entirely cut. Quarter sawn wood produces a straighter grain with less variation, longer lengths, medullary rays and is 50% more durable than plain sawn wood. White Oak is light tannish brown in color and a finer straight grain texture than red oak. Lastly, it has a measure of 1360 lbf (pounds-force), making it moderately durable, but more durable than red oak.

Hard Maple - Hard Maple comes from maple trees belonging to the binomial name, Acer Saccharum. The genus Acer, species saccharum are native to Eastern North America and the official state tree of Wisconsin, Vermont, New York and West Virginia. Hard Maple Amish Furniture is blondish creamy white with a slight tannish color. It generally has a fine straight textured grain, but sometimes the grain can display a bird’s eye or burl grain resulting in small circular patterns. According to the Janka Hardness test, Hard Maple ranks very high, scoring 1450 lbf (pounds-force) making it extremely durable.

Soft Maple - Soft Maple comes from maple trees belonging to the binomial name Acer Rubrum. The genus Acer, species rubrum are native to Eastern North America and the official state tree of Rhode Island. The color of soft maple Amish Furniture is somewhat different, although slight, from hard maple. Soft maple is still blondish creamy white with a slight tannish color, but soft maple has more of a tan to it than hard maple. The grain and texture of soft maple is the same as hard maple, but soft maple is much lighter in weight than hard maple. In terms of durability, Hard maple has a Janka Hardness of 950 lbf (pounds-force), making it just as durable as Cherry, but significantly less durable than hard maple.

Cherry - Cherry comes from cherry trees belonging to the binomial name Prunus Serotina. The genus Prunus, species Serotina is native to North America. The color of cherry Amish Furniture is rich red to reddish brown and will darken with age and exposure to light. The wood has a thin consistent, straight grain with a soft texture and may naturally contain brown pith particles and small gum pockets. On the Janka Hardness scale, cherry ranks 950 lbf (pounds force), making it just as durable as soft maple. The grain and color are significantly different between cherry and soft maple.

amdirect on 30 Jan 2007 | Amish Furniture Glossary | Comments (0)

Table Options

Beveled Edge - An angular trim made on a piece of hardwood making the edges on the hardwood rounded down and no longer sharp. The angle of the trim runs from the top of the solid hardwood to the bottom of the solid hardwood adjacently.
Eased Edge - An angular cut made of a piece of hardwood somewhat similar to the cut made on a beveled edge, but the angle of the cut made on an eased edge is not as prominent or profound as the angle of the cut made on a beveled edge.
Mission Edge - An angular cut made on a piece of hardwood that is a 90 degree angle.
Round over Edge - A cut made on a piece of hardwood forming smooth, uniformly rounded edges.
Ogee Edge - a cut made on a piece of hardwood forming an S-shaped edge.
Thumbnail Edge - a cut made on a piece of harwood an edge that is similar to a small foot.
Rope-molding - Convex molding decorated with a series of curved incisions resembling a rope.
Drop Leaf - A type of table having a hinged leaves that hang vertically when not in use, allowing for saved space. The leaves are supported by brackets, when raised, which enlarges the usuable surface of the tabletop.
Gate Leg - very similar to the drop leaf table, but in addition to having leaves that are supported by brackets when raised, the drop leaves are also supported by hinged legs/gates that swing out from from the vertical face of the end of the table.
Lift Top - A function which allows the top of a piece of Amish Furniture, such as a coffee table, to be raised. Lift-tops provide a way to store miscellaneous itmes such as coasters, DVDs, CD, remote controls and many other items. Lift-tops also allow the surface to come closer to your whether your eating, working, doing bills, etc.
Tongue and groove - A method of joining two pieces of hardwood where on piece of the hardwood has a obtruding tongue that fits perfectly into the other piece of hardwoods groove.
Dowel - A pin used to align and secure two pieces of hardwood.
English Dovetail - An Extremely strong joint used to join two pieces of hardwood at a 90 degree angle by the use of interlocking pins and tails. Our drawer boxes on dressers, nightstands, drawer chests, armoires, vanities, etc. feature English Dovetail construction.

amdirect on 30 Jan 2007 | Amish Furniture Glossary | Comments (0)

Furniture Styles

Mission Style - A simplistic style emphasizing thin rectangular lines with flat square surfaces and edges along with plain hardware. The design style was introduced to America in the early 20th Century by followers of the Arts and Crafts Movement, who emphasized simple, utilitarian design along with the reduction of excessive decoration and ethical craftsmanship.
Shaker Style - Shaker Style furniture is a distinctive style of furniture designed and developed in the late 18th century/early 19th Century by American religious communities known as the Shakers. Shakers built furniture based on the idea of simplicity and functionalism producing furniture that was simple and unornamented, with clean, elegant lines. Our Shaker style furniture is simple in design with flat, plain surfaces and small square lines.
Traditional/Heritage Style - Everything else in between
Queen Anne Style - A style of furniture that arose in Great Britain during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-14) and therefore was named after her. Queen Anne style of furniture is decorative and ornamental with subtle simplicity. The legs are cabriole, sometimes referred to as Paw Foot or Ball-and-Claw Foot, which means they are double curved and tapered with a flared outward foot.

amdirect on 30 Jan 2007 | Amish Furniture Glossary | Comments (0)

Lighting Options

Touch Lamps - A light or set of lights that have the capability to switch on and off when touched. Some of our Amish furniture such as Entertainment Centers, Hutches, Buffets, Curios, Bookcases, Clocks, TV Stands and Gun Cabinets are available with touch lights that have three levels of brightness.

Tube light - A gas-discharged light enclosed in a glass cylinder. Light is generated by sending an electric current through argon or neon gas, resulting in an ionized gas that produces short-wave ultraviolet light.

amdirect on 30 Jan 2007 | Amish Furniture Glossary | Comments (0)

Base Options

Stationary - Not capable of rotating or remains fixed in one position. We have a variety of Amish dining room/kitchen chairs and barstools which are stationary.
Swivel - A fastening device designed to allow rotation of attached objects. We have a wide selection of Amish barstools and dining room/kitchen chairs built to swivel.
Apron - a structural part of furniture that acts as a horizontal support and can sometimes be carved in a decorative shape. For example, in tables, the apron, sometimes called a table skirt, is the piece connected to the table top and table legs, just under the top of the table. Or with chairs/barstools, the apron is the piece connected to the top of the chair/barstool and chair/barstool legs, just under the top of the chair/barstool.

amdirect on 30 Jan 2007 | Amish Furniture Glossary | Comments (0)

Glass Options

Bevel Glass - commonly created by taking clear glass and sloping the edges around the entire periphery, resulting in a spectrum of colors under sunlight and beautiful decor.

Mullions - the vertical or horizontal pieces separating the panes of glass on case furniture.

amdirect on 30 Jan 2007 | Amish Furniture Glossary | Comments (0)