Before anyone notices your wall color, they notice where you invite them to sit. Whether it’s intentional or not, every piece of furniture in your home sends a message about your choices.
The question is, what choices do you want to portray to the people you invite into your home? Are you someone who prioritizes comfort, intention, tradition, creativity, practicality, or hospitality? Perhaps, you want to check all these boxes.
When you design with purpose, it’s entirely possible to make sure your furniture represents your choices perfectly.
Designing With Purpose Starts With One Question: How Do You Live?
If you want furniture that’s truly unique, you’ll need to start thinking beyond what “looks nice.” Here are a few questions to ask yourself that will impact your final choice:
- Is your home built for hosting?
- Do you have kids, pets, or anything that would increase daily wear?
- Is your home a calm retreat or an active family hub?
- Do you prioritize formal entertaining or everyday comfort?
The answers to these questions will help you narrow down the furniture type, scale, materials, finishes, and upholstery. We’ll have more on that later, but first – which furniture personality do you feel the most drawn to?
What Your Furniture Choices May Be Saying About You (Core Personality/Style)
The choices you make with interior decor can give your guests a deep first look into your personality. Most homeowners fall into one of these six furniture personalities.
The Gatherer (Dining-Focused Homeowner)
If your home has big dining tables, benches, extra seating, and hutches or serving pieces, you may be a dining-focused homeowner. This type of furniture says: you love hosting, and people are welcome here. As a gatherer-type homeowner, you should prioritize durability, modular seating flexibility, and easy-care finishes when shopping for furniture.
Fabrics that fit this style: Performance linen, cotton blends, leather
The Comfort-First Homemaker
Those who want their guests to feel truly at home and stay a while are comfort-first homemakers. That means you probably have deep seating, soft fabrics, practical layouts, and cozy living room tables at home. To maintain this comfort, you should invest in performance fabrics, warm wood tones, and family-friendly layouts.
Fabrics that fit this style: Chenille, microfiber, plush polyester blends
The Minimalist With Standards
Minimalist homeowners tend to stick to fewer pieces, clean lines, and better materials. You’re focused on buying high-end, long-lasting pieces instead of affordable picks that you need to replace every year. To achieve this vibe in your home, go for solid wood, timeless profiles, and intentional storage (this is important!).
Fabrics that fit this style: Tight-weave linen, wool blends, full-grain leather
The Legacy Builder
Then, some want to build a legacy with their furniture, which means they only invest in pieces that will last generations. If you are this type, your house probably has classic hardwood bedroom sets, heirloom-quality pieces, and coordinated rooms. To find “legacy” furniture, prioritize durability, repairability, and timelessness above all.
Fabrics that fit this style: Leather, wool, heavyweight cotton canvas
The Work-From-Home Professional
If you’re one in five people who work from home, your furniture choices are probably focused on functional storage, an organized workspace, and a dedicated office. Those who are transitioning to work from home should invest in desks, file cabinets, ergonomics, and smart storage.
Fabrics that fit this style: Performance fabric, polyester blends, breathable mesh (for office seating)
The Porch & Outdoor Host
Then, there are those who believe the best room in the house might be outside. As someone who loves hosting people on their porch or backyard, you’re probably interested in gliders, porch chairs, outdoor dining, or even swings. When shopping for these, you must prioritize weather-ready materials, comfort, and gathering layouts.
Fabrics that fit this style: Solution-dyed acrylic (Sunbrella-type), olefin, marine-grade vinyl
Choosing Materials That Reflect Your Values
Based on your answers to our questions and the personality types above, you should hopefully have an easier time picking the right kind of materials for your home. You don’t have to stick to one type of material. Everyone’s tastes vary, but having an idea of how these materials behave and affect a room can be crucial when designing and shopping.
Fabrics
If you have pets or kids, you’ll probably need a couch material that isn’t easily stained or scratched, such as microfiber. Otherwise, your fabric choices have more of a visual effect on your home. Textures, colors, and patterns can quickly change the style of your upholstery. (Reference our fabric examples under the furniture personality types list above.)
Wood
Hardwoods are made to give a home a more natural and reliable feeling. Wood is very customizable to give you the feeling you want in your home by choosing a wood grain and stain color you like most. You could opt for darker warmer tones on cherry wood to have a more traditional feel, or use more natural, light stains to bring a more beach-like or airy feeling. Unlike mass-produced furniture that may last 5–7 years, solid hardwood furniture can last decades or longer so it’s great for families that want lifelong, heirloom pieces.
Metals
Coated metals can add a cool and chic feeling to a home. Depending on the type of metal and its color, the feeling of your home can vary. A home using black or vibrantly colored metals feels modern, industrial, and edgy. A home that features silver or gold plating may feel more luxurious.
Stone/Concrete/Brick
These materials and their veneer counterparts are more commonly seen on outdoor spaces, countertops, or backsplashes. However you choose to use stone, brick, or concrete in your home, you’ll find that it can feel stable and organic. While marble may have a more soft and modern feel, brick has a more warm and rustic charm.
Room-by-Room: How to Make Furniture Choices Feel Intentional
When you shop for furniture room-by-room, you get a result that is much more intentional and functional. Here’s what to keep in mind for each room:
- Dining Room: When designing the dining room, start with the table size first, as you don’t want to crowd the room. Then, you can add individual chairs or a space-saving bench based on the room. You can also add a few storage pieces for some function and style. A family with three or more kids may prefer a trestle dining table with benches to allow flexible seating
- Living Room: The first step here is to choose the anchor piece first, whether that’s a family-friendly couch or an eye-catching coffee table. The goal is to prioritize comfort without interrupting the layout flow. You can also add tables or media storage, but only if they have a purpose.
- Bedroom: The bedroom is a sacred space, so make sure your furniture choices are soothing, storage-focused, and simple. Make sure you coordinate all the pieces without being too matchy-matchy.
- Office: If you’re lucky enough to have a home office, don’t go for generic decor. Build around your work habits, like prioritizing storage for paper-heavy work or creating a nice backdrop if you take daily Zoom calls.
- Outdoor: When decorating your outdoor area, ask yourself: Is this space for quiet mornings or entertaining your guests? Don’t worry, it can be both. Just make sure your furniture choices reflect that.
Amish Mercantile’s Approach: Timeless Furniture for Real Homes
There is so much more to learn about when it comes to designing your home with purpose, but we don’t want to overwhelm you with the details. If you need help making more intentional furniture choices, don’t hesitate to reach out to Amish Mercantile.
We’re a family-owned store near Johnstown, Ohio, and we produce custom, hand-made Amish furniture that is built to last. Not only will our team help you decide on the perfect furniture pieces for your home, but we will also bring that dream to life by custom-building it for you.
Most importantly, this furniture will represent you and your home beautifully and last a lifetime. That means you can pass it down as a legacy piece for generations to come.
Design a Home That Feels Like You
When you design with purpose, furniture becomes more than just decor in your home. It tells your guests about your priorities, routines, and values in the most creative way. If you want your home to represent you correctly, making thoughtful, long-term choices is your best bet.
That includes investing in custom, hand-made furniture that is built to last. Visit our Johnstown showroom to design a custom piece that reflects your lifestyle.