Having nice furniture is a great way to make a house feel like a home. From the early days of milk crates and card tables, being able to set up more permanent pieces makes a place feel settled and cozy. Amish furniture in particular is prized for its quality and aesthetic appeal. Having Amish accessories and decor helps a place look warm and welcoming. That said, it can be tricky to properly layout the furniture in a room so it both looks nice and is comfortable to use. Knowing the right place to set up your Amish tables and other pieces can prove trickier than some people might think.

Amish furniture consists of a wide range of styles and woods, so finding matching pieces to existing furniture or complete sets on their own is pretty easy. This makes coordinating sets and designing easier. It also helps that most Amish furniture is pretty simple in its elegance, using an understated design motif. That said, Amish furniture is made entirely of hardwood, so matching with plastic, glass, or milk crates will be difficult.

Knowing the different types of styles can help planning a layout easier, and it should be planned before purchasing. The simple, elegant style mentioned earlier is considered traditional Amish style. Shaker style is noted for straight lines and lots of spindles, which can make matching with other pieces difficult. Craftsman style is the heavy, sturdy stuff, like a really solid table or linen chest. Matching with these can be easy because there’s not a lot to their design except their bulk.

Old World is the fancy stuff. These pieces tend to be heavily ornate, making matching with other pieces tricky. An entire set, though, looks very nice, though it might be considered a bit much by some. For a more rugged look, Southwest style brings to mind the sort of rustic appearance you might expect from a frontier cabin.

The key to coordinated layout and decoration is making sure that pieces, if they do not match, at least complement each other. Southwest and craftsman style can work well together thanks to their simpler and sturdier appearance. Of course, while matching based on design is important, it’s also a good idea to plan based on color as well. A brightly colored sofa surrounded by dark woods will stand out, but that might be the point. For color personal preference is more a factor than anything else.

Coordinating furniture color with wooden pieces can be tricky since they have natural coloration and not much else, at least with some pieces. Upholstered pieces, like lounge chairs and sofas, can make this easier. Generally, though, pairing lighter colored wooden pieces with lighter colored upholstery, and darker upholstery with darker woods is a good idea. Again, personal preference

As for the physical layout, Amish furniture is pretty sturdy, being made from hardwood as noted earlier. Placing space between pieces for foot traffic is always a good idea. Sofas and the like are often placed against a wall, but this isn’t a hard rule and has more to do with preference and the available space in the room in question. Coffee tables are generally placed on one end of a sofa, though larger tables are often placed in front of the sofa for snacks, books, and the like.

Speaking of the sofa, when planning the layout of a room’s furniture, deciding which piece is the focal point can make a big difference. Having pieces focused around the sofa, for example, help make for a cozy design that facilities conversation. In a dining area, the table people eat at should be the main focus, obviously. The same is true for beds and bedrooms. Family rooms and the like offer a bit more creativity when it comes to furniture layout, though dining rooms can be involved if the room is large enough for a side table or whatnot.

Generally, though, the centerpiece of a family room will be the sofa, or possibly the television if that’s where all the furniture is pointed towards. In that case, the TV stand, if there is one, can make for a modest piece of central furniture. Center here doesn’t mean location, rather the focal point of the room, such as the earlier examples with bedrooms and dining rooms.

Amish furniture is sturdy and well made, which makes it reliable. Properly preparing the layout of a room featuring Amish furniture depends largely on the color and style of the pieces involved. Setting up a set to look nice is going to be easier than coordinating pieces from multiple sets, but it can be done. An eye for color and knowing the focal piece of a room goes a long way. Ultimately, it’s best to have a plan when it comes to planning a room’s layout. This will ensure purchases for reliable Amish furniture don’t require a lot of adjustments to ensure a nice looking room design.