I think you’ll notice quite a contrast between this photo and last week’s Swiss Amish home photos. This was taken in a Michigan Amish home by Karen Johnson-Weiner:
Comparing these photos you can really see the diverse material standards of different Amish groups.
I’ve zoomed in on a couple parts to make things more visible:
Notice anything familiar?
Also if you missed it, inside a New York Amish home.
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Amish Kitchen
Where do I sign up to get a kitchen like this? LOL I see a lot of tupperware, nice kitchen knife set in the block, gas stove with hood, (or propane). Looks like a kitchen aid mixer on one counter. Love the stools by the island and the blue willow plate hanging on the side of the cabinet by the sink. 🙂 I wish my cabinets and counters were as nice!!
We think of skylights as something modern but I have seen them in some stores in Arthur as a way to add more light in.
Looks like someone had a birthday by the looks of the bag on the table. And a lady’s cap is laying on the table next to it.
Really cool pictures!! Thanks Erik!!
Blessings, Alice
Nice very alive kitchen like many of ours, not so top of the line but nice and friendly.
I understand they use electricity (frige hood food mixer)?
Electric appliances?
Dana, actually no these wouldn’t be electric despite what it may seem–the fridge is quite common and can be fitted to run on gas or some are simply manufactured to run on gas, food mixers and other devices can run on pneumatic (air) power–though not all Amish would permit those types of appliances.
Amish skylights
Alice it’s a pretty nice kitchen isn’t it? The skylights are pretty common in Amish homes and make a lot of sense. As you mention you see them in stores as well.
Appliances
Lehmans.com sells propane run refrigerators and several other appliances. Of course they cater to the Amish and so offer many “ordnung friendly” items.
Erik, that kitchen is much nicer than what I have in this old rental house. Hoping when we find a new place it has a decent kitchen in it, LOL.
Blessings, Alice
It looks like a lived in kitchen. It is really nice. I would love a big kitchen.
Robin
What a great picture because I think it’s not what many would think of when they think of an Amish kitchen, that’s for sure. I should be so plain! 🙂 Is it cheaper to run everything off propane and stuff, than electricity? If it is, and we can still use all those “conveniences” why don’t more people do that?
Most everyone will say that it looks fairly modern, and from the pictures it does without doing some digging. Whoever lives in that home sure uses their kitchen, but it looks like they were getting ready for some sort of party so that can explain the mess.Ive also seen from pictures the inside of some very good looking Amish homes,that have looked better than an english house. Richard
Interesting photo! Do you know in what Michigan Amish settlement the photo was taken?
The hood above the stove is what stood out to me the most. I knew that other appliances could be made to run on power resources other than electricity (such as the fridge, and mixer) but the hood still surprised me. The kitchen is definitely more full than the other photos I’ve seen. The other pics seem much more sparse in the way of belongings. I’m really enjoying all the different photo’s. Thanks for posting them!
Amish Homes
This looks very modern compared to the Old Order Amish homes I have been inside of here in Michigan. The home shown looks like a modular, as mine is 🙂
I found such a huge difference in kitchen “stuff” in homes, one home near Stanwood was just standing pie safes with wood stove, and lots of table space and few cooking utensils, dry sink, then inside one near Fremont they had built in cupboards and a regular kitchen set up with extensive counter space to handle church meals. It all varies on which group you belong to as the leadership determines the ways and means of the group.
Personally, less clutter in one’s kitchen means less to clean up and dust after 🙂
hyprocrisy
I believe that to dress plain but have a such fancy house is hyprocrisy.While there is nothing wrong with a nice home, an overly expensive home is vanity and shameful when there are others who do not have a home at all.
Lucy, it is in the USA, where building materials are cheaper and homes tend to be bigger than in the UK and Ireland. Modular homea, if this is such, come with standard kitchen counters and cabinets, as well, and are often a cheaper alternative to “stick-built.” This is comparable to the kitchen in my last rectory, which was not luxurious by American standards. I now live in an older house (100+ years) and while this is a bit fancier than mine, I have a nice refrigerator, built-in cabinets, and an elecric stove as well as my new Amish-made woodburning stove. What I noticed is the Ohio-style kapp, which is what I wear.
Wow I would love a kitchen like that as well. Love the look. Sure doesn’t look like san SAmish kitchen though. =-D
I think this is a “Mennonite” kitchen rather than old order Amish. It is nothing like Amish homes I’ve entered in PA…
Peanut Butter
Nice Kitchen. I see Jif peanut butter, my favorite as well.
It's an Old Order Amish kitchen
Hi Marilyn, no this is actually an Old Order Amish kitchen, though I can understand why it might seem like one from a more progressive group. Some just allow a good bit more technology and along with that you see more modern-looking kitchens. I’ve been in similar kitchens in different settlements.
I checked with Karen on the location and this is from the community near Colon, MI, in St. Joseph’s County. It is not far from Sturgis. Karen says that this group fellowships with the large Elkhart/Lagrange community just over the border in Indiana (she actually writes a good bit more about these 2 communities in Train Up a Child, great book if you are interested in Old Order schools).
One reason I like this photo is that it highlights the varying ways Amish are Amish.
Though if you compared it to some of the more conservative communities in PA–say New Wilmington or some Big Valley churches–I can imagine the contrast would be stark.
Clutter, cheaper on propane?
Beth R, on whether it is cheaper on propane and gas vs. electric, it is a good question that has come up before on the blog. If I can find a good answer I will let you know.
Another reason I like this photo is that it seems to capture a moment in real life–clutter and all! No doubt it was spic and span in short order (or at least faster than things get cleaned up at Casa Erik, I am sure) 🙂
Amish material hypocrisy?
Lucy you raise an interesting issue…with greater material prosperity among Amish these types of interiors are more and more common.
Some plainer Amish may think that it is hypocritical to dress plain and have a relatively nice home interior like this one. I definitely do think it looks on the fancy side compared to many Amish homes.
I also know a number of Amish who are quite wealthy. For most people, we would still consider them to live a pretty “plain” life. But evidence of that wealth creeps into their lives regardless of intentions, whether it is in the form of a nicer kitchen, finer furniture, newer and more decked-out buggies, or more extravagant vacations.
Some of those same Amish are certainly concerned about where material prosperity might lead them.
But I think it’s like a rising tide. It’s hard to stay tethered at one point unless you really make an effort. When everyone around you is enjoying greater material wealth, it’s that much harder to hold back.
Clearly, a Swartzentruber Amishman is going to look at this and say “fancy” (of course, he’s also going to consider a Slow Moving Vehicle triangle “fancy”…)
But is it hypocrisy? I am not sure…It’s still certainly plainer than many English kitchens.
I wondered if this was a church that communes with the Indiana Amish by how “fancy” it was 🙂 The houses here would be most like the New York Amish picture but still a little more modern than those. The MI Amish churches that commune with the IN ones will be a lot more modern too.
I’m not sure I’d call it hypocrisy just because they have nice kitchen counters etc. Like someone said things in the US are different than other countries. The fact that there isn’t a TV in that kitchen makes it a lot more “old fashioned” than most modern homes 🙂 I think we need to be careful to *not* judge these people based on their kitchens. Who knows what they were getting ready for and why it looks the way it does.
To me there’s nothing wrong with living in a clean and what some would consider “a nice home”. So when it pertains to most of the Amish , i don’t really think its about showing off really. Like they say you can not take it with you, so why not enjoy the fruits of all your hard work in this life. I think there area few people who maybe would like to see other folks live in a tent, those are the ones i just feel sorry for. That’s my 2 cents anyway. Richard from Lebanon’s Amish community
Michigan Amish Kitchen
very nice home, but, does tend to look fancy for an Amish home I noticed the mixer or whatever it is and the range hood. Looked like more things on the wall and fridge than what I would have expected. I live in Michigan near the Mio amish. I have a cousin that lives in Colon, Michigan… I’ll have to ask her about some of the Amish there..
Now this wonders me...
No one seemed to notice or mention the pot lights in the ceiling between the skylights or the knobs on the stove vent. I’ve seen in other settlements ie Penyan, NY and Lancaster Co. where a plain family bought an English home and just cut the power lines coming into the home leaving all the or most of the electrical components intact. A friend’s home in Strasburg, PA had their gas lamp suspended from the same swag chain the held an electric kitchen lamp at some point in time. OR, is there a possibility this is an electric New Order home? Just throwing it out there….. Blessings bud and keep up the good work.
Terry
EVERY house was “new” and “fancy” at one time. I don’t doubt one bit that a lot of what some see as “fancy” in this photo will STILL be there (and no longer looking so “fancy”) in another 30+ years. If I should be so lucky to live that long, I hope Erik posts a “revised” version of this photo, then, for comparison.
Alice Mary
I think it’s lovely! I really like the oil lamps affixed to the cabinets over the sink. That gives me some ideas!
Yes, refrigerators come in propane. We’ve had one for years at our cabin in the north woods of Wisconsin. As to propane cost, I think that depends on where you live. We have natural gas coming to our house in WA and it is quite a bit cheaper than electric.
The thing that jumped out to me the most was the stand mixer tucked in next to the fridge. I am most interested to know how it works to use pneumatic power to run something like this. Sounds fascinating and resourceful!
Great post:-)
I’m with Richard on this. I like how the term “fancy” vs. “plain” is tossed around. That’s why I love reading all the comments because of all the various viewpoints. Like others have said, what is fancy to some, is not fancy to another – even those living a plain lifestyle in beautiful colored dresses are dressing much “fancier” than I am in my khakis, but that’s my viewpoint. The issue of pride is a whole other ballgame that I feel comes from the mind. Those with the “fanciest” kitchen may be the most humble, God-loving, giving people in their group. It kind of goes back to the verse about man seeing the outward appearance…
A very nice comment BethR, i couldn’t have said it better myself. Richard from Penn
Pneumatic power
I, like Christina, am very interested in learning more about how pneumatic power is used to power any appliance/machinery, especially a Kitchen Aid mixer (like mine)! Alternative energy is a big topic these days, and I know the Amish use a lot of it in various forms.
Thanks!
I never in a million years would have believed this was an Amish kitchen! It’s alot ” fancier ” even than the one I saw in Ohio.
However, I’m glad to see it because, like the rest of us, they too deserve to have a few conveniences and creature comforts to help make their day to day life a little more easier and enjoyable. I imagine the wife/mother of this household is alot more ” happy ” about preparing meals, baking, doing dishes, etc. than, say, one of those poor Amish women who have a bleak, austere kitchen where there’s no indoor plumbing/hot water and she still has to slave over an old fashioned wood stove!
I don’t think it is necessarily fancy…it’s just a newer kitchen. I see plenty of oil lamps in the photo, food and dishes. I think there is sometimes a misconception with the Amish that they live like it’s the 19th century.
I’m glad websites like this one are out there to show there is almost as much diversity in the Amish community as there is in the English community!
Amish oil lamps
Lindsay, Christina, and everyone who noticed the oil lamps, that sort of struck me as well as they tend to be a more conservative form of lighting. Lancaster friends have them but they are up in the bedroom and not the primary form which would be the gas. I’m not used to seeing them mounted up by the sink like that in more progressive homes, so that got my attention. Assuming they’re not primarily decorative. The one on the counter looks like it gets used.
And Terry interesting observations on the lighting and stove hood. I checked and it is actually not electric New Order but Old Order. Between the skylights it looks like they have fitted hooks to hang a lamp of some sort; if this were an English home you would think that is where recessed lighting would go (I had to look up “pot lights”–looks like a different name for what I was thinking you meant!).
Refrigerators are also available that run on kerosene.
An Amish Kitchen
I am a johnny come lately to this website but I love it. I drive for the Amish and I have stayed in an Amish home in Colon MI community and sometimes when they need electricity they hook up the electric item to a charger that is compatible to AC/DC and use the item that way. The particular home I was in had a printer and when the wife needed to use it she hooked it up to this charger. Also other Anish else where have lamps that look like our table lamps but are hooked up to a type of car battery of sorts. These do require special light bulbs, that again look like ones we get at any store but they require a special type of light bulb.
Hi, Patty!
First of all, I just got a weird message about the Amish America website not connecting (I was trying to post something I wrote), so I’ll try again!
Patty, how interesting that you drive for the Amish! Would you mind telling me how you went about getting that “job”? I mean, so the Amish “look” for drivers, say, in their papers (like the Budget or others), or is it more word of mouth? I hope you don’t mind my asking! I’m sure you have interesting Amish-related stories to tell, and I, for one, would sure like to hear them!
Welcome,Patty! I’m looking forward to seeing more of your posts on this blog.
Alice Mary (not to be confused with Alice Aber—I’m the “newbie” here)
An Amish Kitchen
Hi Alice Mary! Yes it is by word of mouth that I got this job. I knew someone who drove for the Amish, it was the first I had heard of this and thought it sounded like a perfect job. It is. I asked my friend how I go about doing it and she said to go to one of the local Amish stores and give the store owner my name and number. The next day he called and wanted to go on errands. I do both local and long distance and have so many wonderful stories I would like to write a book! I already have a name!– “The Patty Wagon Chronicles.
Thanks for asking!
Patty
I LOVE the title! It reminds me of growing up in Chicago (paddy wagons…? Not everyone knows what they are…)
If you do write a book, I’ll definitely read it!
I’ll be anxiously awaiting your posts, too.
Alice Mary
@Amish Kitchen........!!
wow…!!!its very attractive kitchen,,each and every thing..candle or lamp stand on top of the Refrigerator,,a plant near window..electronic items…great work..!!!!
Amish Kitchen
The clutter would make me insane!
blargh?