Gibson Furniture Portraits

Remember that old TV show Bonanza? It had the Cartwright’s working hard on their mega ranch, the Ponderosa, and saving the day from week to week from greedy, no good, evildoers. You remember: the fancy pants big brother Adam, the feisty and impetuous Little Joe (his Pinto horse was the best one), the honorable Dad, Ben (Mr. Cartwright to you and I), and of course, the gentle giant Hoss with his big ten gallon hat. Doin’ deals and workin’ the doggies. Eatin’ large and relaxin’ big.

Well, lets think about their enviable life for a minute and the role that leather furniture played. When the day’s work was done, where did they relax? That’s right, on a big leather chair and couch. When Ben needed to celebrate his latest victory over evil, what did he do and where did he go? That’s right, he retired to his big comfy leather chair and lit up a big ol’ stogie. I’m sure that he didn’t even realize the subconscious impact he was having on millions of viewers and the way they came to think about leather furniture. He was a subtle man.

Now fast forward about twenty years. I didn’t realize the influence that Ben had on me personally until one day we went to a furniture store looking for some new living room furniture. As we tried out every sofa, couch, love seat, recliner, and sectional in the store, it quickly became clear to me that I wanted leather furniture. I had to have it. The fabric stuff just wasn’t doing it for me. When I sat on the leather I experienced an allure that triggered all that positive goodness from watching Mr. Cartwright luxuriate in his favorite chair.

At first I thought the leather appealed to me because of the sense of quality it gave me, or the subtle yet satisfying sound that leather furniture makes, or the feel of it on my skin, or even the smell. Then I realized it was none of those things. I realized that I liked leather furniture more than fabric furniture because I associated the good life (Ben and his Ponderosa livin’) with it. That was it! If I was going to feel successful and truly wealthy I would have to have leather.

So I had to find out a little about leather. Here’s the skinny. Leather is expensive, but if you buy the right kind you will have it for many many years. If you buy cheap, don’t expect it to last near as long. The highest quality leather furniture is made from top grain leather, which is the outer layer of the hide. The bottom part of the hide is referred to as split leather. This is not as durable and feels stiffer and tends to crack more easily, but is less expensive. There are all sorts of artificial or fake leather products that may be just as satisfying to you. For me, I just want to be like Ben I guess. It’s leather furniture or nothing. I don’t smoke stogies, but I sure like curling up on my big comfy leather chair after a day of dealing with bad guys.

Children’s furniture is furniture that is specifically designed to be used by children. There are two things that set children’s furniture apart from parent’s furniture. The obvious is size as children’s furniture is smaller. Secondly, the theme and color of children’s furniture is much different than parent’s furniture. It is often available in cute colors such as pastels. As a result, children’s furniture looks great in playrooms, nurseries, and child bedrooms.

Children’s Furniture Styles

There are many different styles of children’s furniture. The three main styles are as follows:

Traditional Children’s Furniture – Light oak stained finish to classic white, tradional children’s furniture, as the name suggests, is traditional with little fanfare. It is made to look great in any child’s room.

Theme Children’s Furniture – From Fireman to sports star, depending on your child’s interests, there is undoubtedly a set of theme children’s furniture to accompany it. With rocking chairs to child desks, theme children’s furniture is extremely popular.

Handpainted Children’s Furniture – Handpainted children’s furniture might conjure up the thoughts of a local craft fair but many sets are now done by artists that produce unique pieces that are fun. You do not have to sacrifice durability and quality for uniqueness. Handpainted children’s furniture is really more than a piece of children’s furniture as it truly is a piece of art.

Types of Children’s Furniture

Though many different accent pieces are available such as clothes stands and rocking horses are available, these children’s furniture pieces are the centerpieces and staples of a child’s room.

Children’s Beds

There is a period of time when a child is no longer an infant and requires a crib yet is not old enough for an adult bed. A toddler cot is a great middle step to before being old enough for an adult bed. Toddler cots are built close to the ground so you don’t have to worry about your child falling out. They are also available in themes that look great in a toddler’s bedroom where as an adult bed would look out of place.

Child Desks

Child’s Desks are an important piece of furniture for their development. They are use to sitting behind a desk at school and there is an excellent chance that as adults your child will sit behind a desk for extended periods of time. Having a desk to work on the computer, read a book, or complete homework is important as it reinforces good study skills; certainly an asset as they continue their education process.

Seating Options

From child table and chair sets to simple rocking chairs, having a chair in the playroom is a great children’s furniture piece which invites your child to have quite time and read a book, play with playdoh or draw with crayons. Adult table and chair sets are too difficult for your child to reach and get comfortable. Whereas children’s size table and chair sets are great alternatives. As other children’s furniture, child table and chair sets come in great themes from ballerinas to all star sports that are fun and inviting.

Storage Solutions

Storage solutions for kid’s rooms is a necessity. How many times have you insisted that your child clean their room only to go in their an hour later only to see it in the same disarray it was earlier. Sometimes, this is a result of simply not having enough storage options for your child to put the plethora of toys away. Toy boxes are a great solution to this age old problem as they are child size to reach the lid and come in great themes that look great in any child’s room.

Bookshelves

Children love books and they have a lot of them! Parents, grandparents and friends love giving books to children as it promotes learning and imagination. But keeping the books in a cardboard box tucked away in the closet results in the “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome that doesn’t lend itself well to getting full use of all those books. A child bookshelf is a great way to keep those books front and center and encourage your child to pick one out at a moment’s notice whenever they feel the urge. Children’s bookshelves are a great addition to any child’s bedroom or playroom.

Children’s Furniture Requirements

One of the main considerations in purchasing children’s furniture, is to ensure that it is tough and durable. Children are rough on everything, especially in their developmental years, before they learn the benefit (and necessity) of taking care of their belongings. As a result, children’s furniture should be built to withstand the constant interaction of children. Many reputable manufacturers field test their product for this very reason. Also, safety is a consideration when purchasing children’s furniture. Look for rounded corners as an example. Lastly, children’s furniture should be fun! It should capture their imagination and call out to them in a way that envokes their positive emotions. This is a very popular trend today as more and more manufacturers of children’s furniture are producing new products that keep this in mind.

In conclusion, when choosing children’s furniture there is a lot to think about. Understanding what you are looking for in terms of style, size and theme is the best place to start.

There is now a rich and varied collection of Amish furniture available for all purposes. And it isn’t just regular furniture for the bedroom or the dining room or the living room, but also children’s furniture that is made by the Amish. There are Amish baby high chairs, Amish baby cribs, nursery furniture, desk furniture for children, wooden toy boxes and various other items that are handcrafted by the Amish, and can be excellent choices for little children to use.

Amish baby cribs or convertible beds are an excellent choice for those that want the kind of furniture that is really high quality; those that want the best for their child. This is the furniture that lasts, so there is none of the cracking or breaking or chipping that you may see from the cheaper variety of furniture when it is subjected to the kind of rough use that will inevitably result from children using it.

A solid well made Amish baby crib with slats is a versatile and flexible choice. This can be used as soon as a baby has outgrown a bassinet and then the child will be able to use it until he or she is several years old. Not only will this be able to be used by all the children in the family, it will can be passed on from your children to your grandchildren if you so wish! These cribs and baby beds come in many different styles such as Mission, Shaker, Sleigh style etc.

Amish gliders come in child sizes as well as full grown adult sizes. They could be a lovely addition to a play room for a little child, a sturdy, well made, high quality glider that the child will spend many happy hours playing on.

It is a great idea to get one of the Amish rocking chairs when you are planning to have a baby or have just had one. A glider is a great way for either parent to relax with, and also a wonderful and soothing way to get your little baby to sleep. Rocking back and forth is soothing not only for the parent but also for the baby who will find it so soothing as to be rocked to a peaceful sleep by the motion.

Amish baby high chairs make sure that your little one gets used to sitting down for meals at the dining table along with everyone (if you so wish) from an early age. When you have a solid wood high chair with a built in tray of the mission style or similar as popularized by the Amish, you need not fear that the chair will suffer any chipping or cracking the way a cheap plastic one would; neither would it be potentially dangerous the way a folding one made from metal would be. Constructed in a way that the baby cannot wriggle out and hurt itself, the Amish baby high chair is something that will last your child for several years and which you as a parent will enjoy seeing your baby make good use of.