Let's dream up an ideal Amish-inspired house

[MrsHutch]

My mom and I visited the Amish in our county today and it got me thinking again about how much I love many aspects of their life. I've always said I'd love to be about 1/2 Amish. ;)

So what things would be in your ideal Amish-inspired home? I'm thinking lots of windows and skylights, really using oil lamps after dark, wood-burning stove, etc. Back to the basics, simple kind of stuff.

Let's dream together. Links are welcome. :)

ETA: In addition to the above listed stuff, I'd love a huge dining room table for my huge family that I hope the Lord gives us. Also, one house we went to today had the BIGGEST clothesline I've ever seen. 8 lines wide and probably about 40 feet long. It was awesome. One end doubled as a swing set. :giggle

[ShangriLewis]

Have you read Better Off?

I think I would just love to have Walls that could be moved for big gatherings. I know I have read somewhere about Amish homes that they did this for church.

[filmgirl2911]

I like your idea of being 1/2 Amish :)

I'm going to sub for now so I can be inspired :hug

[hellomama]

Oh, fun. I just read "The Amish Midwife" a few weeks ago, and was once again inspired to have a simple home. I would like a lot of woodwork. Chairs, tables, cabinetry.
A hearth. Homemade candles. A root cellar. :cup

[librarianjojo]

I love using oil lamps. I also love the beautiful quilts. My mother and I always ooh and ahh over beautiful handmade quilts. I would love to have a home with a beautiful quilt on every bed and on every couch.

[MrsHutch]

I was wondering today if there are practical considerations to using oil lamps all the time, like soot buildup or needing ventilation... :think

[ShangriLewis]

I think they are horribly dangerous if someone gets hurts or knocks it. And, a pain to clean if someone breaks one, which mean every non-Amish person, is not used to them being around.

They have awesome battery powered camp lanterns that put out quite a bit of light.

[Llee]

A house that can catch all the breezes.

I'll keep my electricity day and night though. ;)

[Sundance]

:cup

[Calliope]

I just love the idea of having LESS.

[Mokek Kwe]

:popcorn bbl

[Elora]

I'd love to have more land for farming and a wood burning stove,

but considering I dislike the lifestyle that permits upkeep of either... :shifty hm yeah, farming and chopping wood, "manning" wood burning stoves as my sole source of heat...all that requires way more staying-at-home doing the same thing day-in-day-out :-/ I'm not cut out for that. I'd be horrifically depressed.

My ideal is more 1-room hut with dirt floors in a warm climate :lol Much less upkeep. Much more time for people :heart

[mellifera]

You might enjoy this book (http://www.amazon.com/See-You-Hundred-Years-Discover/dp/0385342683/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341932459&sr=8-1&keywords=see+you+in+100+years). It's a fun read.

[Sundance]

Everyone around here (*not Amish, Acadian, though) has a little door that their clothesline goes in through. That way you can hang clothes in your laundry room in the middle of winter, and open the window and send them outside to dry.
I want one of those (probably not Amish, but hanging clothes 365 is....so it counts, right?).

[ShangriLewis]

I like that. As a kid, my Grandma was in charge of the clothesline. They hooked it to her bedroom window. In the winter, she could just roll it in and not habe to go outside.

I would like to have a rack in my living area or kitchen that pulls down and then goes back up to the ceiling when I am done with it, to let the clothes dry.

And, a wood stove in the winter would be nice.

But, truthfully I would prefer to live like the path to freedom people. I love the city and warm weather. I like living close to people.

[Iveyrock]

We are working on moving into a Mennonite-built house... can that count a little ? :lol

[Sundance]

We are working on moving into a Mennonite-built house... can that count a little ? :lol

Yes! Mennonite is my answer to "half-Amish"

[angel_uk]

Oh, fun. I just read "The Amish Midwife" a few weeks ago, and was once again inspired to have a simple home. I would like a lot of woodwork. Chairs, tables, cabinetry.
A hearth. Homemade candles. A root cellar. :cup

I read that last week and "The Amish Nanny" - really interesting!

I am fascinated by the Amish. I always imagined their houses to be really basic and cramped and dark until I saw some on a television show. Their homes are amazing! So light and spacious!!

I love the idea of having a store room filled with cans and jars and bottles of produce to last through Winter.

I will have to ask my pen pals about their homes!

[Barefoot Bookworm]

Huge pantry/canning storage, room for giant table, lots and lots of windows as well as skylights for light. Sliding doors to the outside. Acres upon acres of land. :melting

[RiverRock]

We are working on moving into a Mennonite-built house... can that count a little ? :lol

I live in a Mennonite-built house. :giggle DH is Mennonite, and has a construction company. He built our house.

[StoryOfGrace]

I just love the idea of having LESS.

:yes I'm right there with ya!

I love the open floor plans, wood and country feel to things, the stove for heat in the winter, ahhhh :melting I grew up with a wood burning stove as our primary source of heat, and I could totally do it again! :tu

[mummy2boys]

I just finished reading a trilogy called "Sisters of the Quilt" which is set within the Amish community. I would love a life similar to theirs in some respects.

We already have the wood burning stove and we have been using candles at night time so I think thats a start :smile. We have 3 vegie gardens and I plan on getting a lot more canned in this next year.

Loving this thread and :popcorn in case anyone has some links that they like :wink

[tree_hugger]

I live in a Mennonite-built house. :giggle DH is Mennonite, and has a construction company. He built our house.

Wow! I would love to see pics if you feel like sharing. :heart

[RiverRock]

Here is the exterior of the house. The red roof coordinates with the flashing on our barns. It isn't my favourite colour combo for a house, but works well with our farm. We had existing barns and a shop before we built. The picture is about 10 years old so the landscaping has since matured.

You will need to scroll down the page a bit to get images of our house. It's the only white house with a red roof on the page.
http://www.westform.com/products.php?s1=residential&s2=prolok_12_16

My only existing interior pictures, atm, are outdated. All but one room has had a serious overhall since then, so I won't link. ;)

[librarianjojo]

My grandfather was a home builder for decades. He always hired from the small Mennonite community in the SC upstate area to frame his houses. He always said they did efficient, quality, honest work and he wouldn't use anyone else.