There is something beautifully alive about the atmosphere in a home that truly reflects its owners. The personality of a home is not just shaped by items, like a beloved painting or a bright serving dish brought back from travel, it is shaped by our experiences. A home tells the story of the people we love and pastimes we cherish.

This makes shopping for a home a fun, and wonderfully personal experience. Looking at a sofa and loveseat, for example, we get a feeling for the fabric and design, but what we're really seeing is something beyond that. We see our kids sprawled out cozily reading as the rain pours down outside. We see our parents sipping coffee after a holiday dinner. We see the hopes we have for how  our lives will unfold.

The staff at Americana Furniture understands and respect this. Their business goes beyond selling furniture; it is the creating of backdrops for people's lives. They get it, and they take it seriously.

Professionally-trained designers stand ready to help clients who strongly identify with a particular style—such as vintage modern, coastal, or country chic—and they're ready to help the people who come to Americana to collaborate, kick ideas around and get inspired. To get the creativity flowing, the in-store Apple Pie Cafe offers free coffee and hot apple pie, along with cold drinks and specialty espressos. Visitors can quietly sit in the cafe to discuss their purchase options privately, or simply take some time out from their design decision-making by watching television or reading a magazine or newspaper.

"This store is for people who are uncertain about what they're looking for, because we can help them design the home of their dreams," says Lori Friedlander, head of the newly introduced in-store Design Center; sales manager at the store and an allied member of the American Society of Interior Designers.

The full-service Design Center encompasses 900 square feet inside Americana Furniture's showroom. Custom design services are free of charge to customers. Designers meet with customers either in the store or in the customer's home to discuss their personal likes and dislikes, lifestyle, budget and measure space for a perfect fit. Designers can also guide their customers through choosing decorative accessories such as lamps, rugs, wall decor and tabletop. And the service doesn't stop there. The designers are available right up until the day of delivery to ensure that the furniture is arranged in a visually appealing way.

"We're trying to make it as easy as possible for all our customers by taking the guesswork out of it once new furnishings arrive," says Friedlander.

Customers are welcome to bring their home's floor plans to the Design Center to address their questions about space, light and flow of traffic. In addition to browsing furniture in the store's generous 23,000-square-foot showroom, visitors can look through catalogues featuring items from more than 40 vendors.

A stroll through the showroom can easily provide a sense of the variety of furniture styles available. Friedlander says parts of the showroom have furniture arranged by style, while other areas feature furniture set up for specific rooms.

One area of the showroom is dedicated exclusively to leather furniture, including sofas and chairs. One room features 15 to 20 sleeper sofas while another room features a variety of youth furniture such as desks and bunk beds.

Other areas of the showroom offer home office furnishings, trendy accent pieces, and dinette sets including an entire section devoted to custom-designed dining rooms where customers can select wood species, finishes, sizes, shapes, tables and chairs all created to their specifications.. Bedroom sets include mattresses made expressly for Americana from the Hartford-based company Gold Bond, which has been in business since 1899. Friedlander says this partnership allows Americana Furniture to sell a high-quality local product at affordable prices.

The staff at Americana prides themselves on making certain that their customers have the time and resources to make good decisions. Customers are welcomed to browse at their own pace, to see which pieces match their personal tastes and budget. Friedlander says the Americana staff strives to offer friendly service and pressure-free shopping.

"Furniture can always be customized to meet a customer's specific preferences," Freidlander notes. "Pieces come in different colors and colored stains, as well as a variety of heights and sizes. This range allows us to sell furniture that can fit in residences as small as an efficiency apartment or as large as a mansion. It's great for someone who's looking for something very specific and can't find it."

In addition to the showroom, Americana Furniture offers another 23,000 square feet of warehouse space featuring more moderately priced furnishings, high quality discontinued furniture as well as pieces with marked-down prices. The space features several racks of furniture including sofas, loveseats, chairs, occasional tables, dinettes, lamps, and decorative accessories, and all at attractive prices.

Americana Furniture also offers its own white-glove delivery service to bring new pieces to customers' homes plus free removal of old furniture. A stain-resistant fabric protection spray can be applied in the warehouse before any piece is shipped.

The store is a third-generation family-owned small business, which got its start when cousins Hilbert and William Hendel began selling goods in the region in 1922. They opened a store in New London in 1928, and established several other furniture businesses over the years. Americana Furniture opened in its present-day location, a former dairy barn, in 1949.

"Customers don't have need to do it alone," says Friedlander. "We're here to help them every step of the way."

Americana Furniture is located at 35 Great Neck Road in Waterford. For more information, call 860-442-8587 or visit americanafurniture.net.