Furniture Guide: Why You Should Buy Amish Furniture
It’s no secret that buying new furniture can be expensive. It’s also common knowledge that many of today’s mass-produced products only last for a handful of years. If you’re like most people, you want some peace of mind knowing that your hard-earned money is going towards a furnishing that will last a lifetime, If this thought rings true for you, then we have a recommendation that you just can't miss: stop spending all your money on the cheap offerings found in many of today’s retailers and instead turn to the unrivaled quality and enduring appeal of Amish made furniture.
What’s So Great About Amish Furniture?
Here’s a quick definition of Amish furniture to get us started:
Amish Furniture - Amish furniture is furniture that is made by Amish Americans. The Amish are renowned for making their furniture with time-honored and time-tested construction techniques, and this type of construction translates to furniture with outstanding quality and longevity.
As you can see, Amish furniture is well known for its superior craftsmanship and attention to detail, so it makes sense that anyone who buys Amish-made furniture is sure to be impressed with both their superior functionality and longevity. But what exactly makes Amish construction techniques superior to others? Here's a breakdown of methods typically used by Amish furniture makers across the country to create their high-quality products:
Simple, Functional Design
One of the biggest reasons to buy Amish-made furniture comes down to the physical design of each individual piece. Amish furnishings are made to be practical and highly-functional, so they usually offer a relatively simple and straightforward design. Think of classic pieces like trestle tables, pedestal tables, thick-cut panel beds, and classic slatted side chairs.
The Amish prefer creating furnishings like these, instead of products that are highly-complex and ornate, because they have been proven to stand up to years of heavy use. It takes a lot of time and effort to make a piece of furniture, so it makes sense that Amish craftsmen would want to make sure that each finished product can hold up as long as possible. And the best part is, many of these simple pieces can also be made to be exceptionally beautiful in the hands of an Amish master!
Solid Wood Craftsmanship
Another reason Amish furniture is so robust is that Amish furniture makers tend to build their products using only high-quality solid hardwoods. Contemporary mass-produced wooden furnishings often have frames made of inexpensive hardwoods for support, but they are almost always covered with veneers of higher-quality wood in an attempt to showcase a more attractive color and grain. Furniture made using solid hardwood holds up better than furniture made from multiple types of wood because there’s no need for any kind of binding agent to hold multiple pieces of wood together, so there are less places where splitting and warping can occur.
Hand-crafted Using Time-Honored Techniques
The final ways in which Amish furniture makers distinguish themselves comes down to how they prepare and assemble their products. Unsurprisingly, Amish furniture is made without the use of machines. This means that each piece of wood that will be used in a piece of furniture is cut, sanded, and finished by hand, giving experienced Amish artisans plenty of time to uncover and alleviate any flaws or inconsistencies. Additionally, when joining these pieces of wood together to create a product, Amish furniture makers avoid using nails or screws and instead use traditional techniques such as rabbets, dovetails, and mortise-and-tenon joints. They do this because nails and screws can split the wood and often make the structure less sound whereas traditional techniques take advantage of wood’s natural strength in ways that result in a sturdier final product.
Now that you know the basics of Amish furniture, you might find yourself wondering where you can buy these finely made creations. Well, we’re happy to say that you can find plenty of finely-made Amish furnishings right here at Furniture Row!
*To learn more about furniture construction techniques, be sure to check out our insightful Furniture Glossary!
Why Buy Amish at Furniture Row?
The Amish furniture at Furniture Row is made by Amish craftsmen right here in the USA, so you can expect the same quality and attention to detail that you would find if you were purchasing directly from an Amish furniture maker. Our Amish-made products are made using solid hardwoods and traditional crafting techniques, so you can count on them being a part of your home for many decades to come. But, it’s not only the quality of our Amish furniture that sets us apart from our competitors. Unlike many other retailers, our Amish lineup encompasses not only dining room furniture, it also includes finely made Amish bedroom furniture - plus we have Amish furniture in both traditional and contemporary styles!
Traditional Amish Furniture
Many people want Amish furniture not only because of its high-quality craftsmanship, but also because it is a perfect complement to their preferred interior aesthetic. As mentioned above, traditional Amish furniture often showcases a rustic or homespun look, so many pieces are a perfect fit within a cottage or farmhouse-inspired interior. If you are looking for well-built furniture with traditional appeal, then you’ll just love our classically-minded Amish collections.
The Caspian 5 Pc. Amish Dining Room Set is designed around a traditional trestle table with an extendable table top and sturdy pedestals, and it’s accompanied by four timeless slat back side chairs (The Caspian is sold out, but the Farmville Amish 5 Pc. Dining Room Set is a similar traditional-style Amish set!).
The Hayworth Amish Panel Bed is made from solid brown maple and combines a classic paneled headboard with a distinctive rounded silhouette, and Cedar Lakes Amish 4 Pc. Bedroom Set showcases charming panel bed with a barn door-style headboard to instill a sense of homespun charm.
Contemporary Amish Furniture
But what about people who prefer a more modern look? Well, don’t worry, because we have something for everyone! To ensure our customers can find furniture that suits their tastes, we’ve put a lot of time and effort into finding Amish furniture that’s truly unique. In fact, many of our Amish pieces push the envelope by combining traditional Amish crafting techniques with contemporary design elements - and the result is simply breathtaking.
The Xander Amish 5 Pc. Dining Room Set and the Farmville Amish 5 Pc. Dining Room Set are both centered around a traditional Amish trestle table, but each set features side chairs with a decidedly modern look to leave a lasting impression. This same combination of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary flare can be found in our Amish bedroom collections as well.
The Victor Amish Panel Bed offers a simple, clean-lined design made of thick-cut planks of solid cherry wood, and the Sydney Amish 4 Pc. Bedroom Set showcases contemporary stylized cut-outs above the headboard of the Sydney Panel Bed and Sydney Mirror. Finally, the Verona Amish 4 Pc. Bedroom Set also delivers premium Amish craftsmanship, but this striking set leans into the contemporary look even more by featuring pieces with clean-lined minimalist silhouettes, mitered corners, and tapered block; and, of course, via the modern planked design found on the bed’s headboard and footboard.
To see our complete collection of our Amish-made furniture, be sure to check out the Amish Made Furniture Collection at Furniture Row. Also, if you found this furniture guide helpful, be sure to check out our Sofa Buying Guide series for everything you need to buy the perfect sofa for your home.
Happy decorating!