Have you ever been to an Amish furniture store? If you answered yes, you get this. If you answered no, I'm going to make you get this.
There is a difference between real furniture and fake furniture.
And, no fake furniture is not like made up fairy tale furniture. Fake furniture is what you find in ninety-two percent {I made that statistic up} of the stores that most of us shop. It's constructed from fakey wood and has a tendency to fall apart.
Real furniture is what you find in an Amish furniture store. I'm sure that's not the only place you can find it, but the Amish really know what they're doing with a hammer. Their furniture is solid wood. Real wood. Beautiful wood. I'd never experienced an Amish furniture store until a few months ago; it was May to be exact. Mom took me to one when we were in Rochester, MN. The sign on the door said, "No pictures please." It's a good thing for you that I'm extremely persuasive.
I've said before that I have a thing for all things old. And, old furniture is at the top of my list because it is real, substantial, and can last for many years. I have some furniture that my great-grandparents had and it still looks amazing. The interesting part about the Amish furniture is...it is new, but has an old feel. Most of it is made from quarter-sawn oak and that wood will make your heart sing. It's gorgeous. It's on the rare side and I luurrrrrve it.
The main characteristic of quarter-sawn oak is the unique tiger striping effect of the wood grain. When I first wrote that sentence I had tiger stripping. Now that would be interesting huh? But, the wood does not have tiger stripping...rather tiger striping.
This is the first piece I saw when we walked through the doors and I started freaking out. I wish you could feel the heaviness of the wood. Sure, the decorations might be a little kitzy for my taste, but the actual piece is timeless. And, remember...it's entirely handmade. And, there's power in handmade people. There just is.
The pulls are what drew me to this one. Plus, the little glass doors. A twist on the normal dining room hutch. I was a fan. For the record, not a fan of the fake florals.
I seriously walked around the store yelling like a weirdo because of the amazing craftsmanship {it's a good thing Momma Debi is used to my ridiculousness}. If you want a piece from this store, you pick out your exact wood type, stain, hardware, glass type, everything to make it completely how you want it and then they build it for you. That's what I call service with a smile.
The glass on this piece caught my eye. It's bubbly and feels very antique.
Then I saw this bad boy. I think it's a boy anyway. This is not quarter-sawn oak. This is maple {remember, I love to state the obvious}. My house is done in all maple and I knew this would go perfectly.
Because, this is the ceiling in my house.
And, these are my kitchen pocket doors that make me dream of having dinner parties where someone else cooks. I couldn't otherwise have dinner parties because I can't cook.
See why I felt this hutch needed to come home with me? It was just too perfect of a fit for it to not become a roomate. However, the glass bowl thing and runner were not my roomate type.
I actually started to try and figure out how to really get it home with me. Strap it to the vehicle roof? Ship it? Rent a trailer? Marry an Amish man? I was full of ideas. Until I saw this.
Uffda. Apparently handmade not only has power, it doesn't come cheap either. So, this piece didn't come home with me. I walked away. I haven't completely ruled out marrying an Amish man though. It is some mighty fine furniture.
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