Anyone ever bought furniture from an Amish furniture store? My husband and I went looking for furniture and honestly, didn't see a single dining table we liked. But the Amish store basically custom makes your stuff. You pick the wood, stain, leg design, edge design, chairs, etc. And it is all solid wood too making it very heavy. The prices are a bit more but they seem like excellent quality and sturdy pieces that will last a lifetime. This is for our new house and we are willing/wanting to invest in good furniture (nothing like Ikea). We went to The Amish Craftsman on Washington but I see online, there are a few more in Houston - E&G Amish Furniture in Clear Lake and Amish Heritage Furniture not far from me either. Anyone have any experience with these shops or any Amish furniture? Thanks!
we have some baby furniture from the one in clear lake. its good and the people at the store were good to deal with. nothing custom made though.
I have some. I don't really think there is anything of the experience to report. I've gotten some from the Amish Craftsmen on Washington and some from some random sites on-line. It is definitely more expensive, but if it's a look you like, which we definitely do, and you want something high quality, good wood (that's what she said!), etc. then it is the way to go. I guess I would just suggest waiting for a sale...and/or negotiating. I love craftsman style, so our quarter-sawn oak craftsman style bed will basically last me the rest of my life and is awesome. Haven't gotten around to getting a dining room table yet, though. Again, price is an issue with this type of furniture. Moreover, while I really really really respect the Amish craftsman-ship, I've been (very very slowly, mind you) reading about woodworking, slowly accumulating tools and hope to one day just build my own dining room set. With the tools, it will end up costing me more, but should be fun.
My wife and I went to the Amish Craftsman on Washington, and I'm surprised you didn't find anything that you like there. Its true that a lot of the Amish made furniture has styles that haven't changed in eons, but we still thought there was some beautiful furniture there. We went there at the suggestion of a poster from this bbs (there's a thread out there somewhere on his subject). In fact, before my son was born (last July), we went all over Houston looking at furniture. We went to Gallery, Sussan's, Star, Noel, thomasville, and Louis Shanks. I think Fingers is the only big name we didn't go to, and heck.......maybe we did, but I can't remember it. Besides Amish Craftsman, we went to a total of four other Amish furniture stores in the Houston area............E&G in Clear Lake as you mentioned, and three stores up near where I work in Old Town Spring and the Conroe/Woodlands area. It was quite a learning experience. My mom managed customer service for Star furniture out in Park 10 back in the 70's/80's, and I actually spent a summer working there myself. Later on, my parents started going to furniture auctions in the Houston area, and they had a couple of booths at antique world (I think that was the name) in what is now Meyerland Mall, so there was always some furniture knowledge in the household. I don't claim to be any kind of expert on construction; I just know this: dings and scratches in veneer look like crap and are tough to repair. dings and scratches in solid wood don't look as bad, and are much easier to repair. The thing that surprised me the most when we were looking at furniture was that even at the really high end places, there was LOTS of furniture that had portions made of some type of "manufactured" wood covered with some type of veneer. I was even told somewhere (not at one of the Amish stores) that the new "legal definition" of solid wood for furniture included some of this manufactured wood (some type of particle board or MDF type stuff). What I was told was that the furniture lobby petitioned Congress to create this legal definition to make it easier to sell the cheap stuff. This is only what I was told, and I can't attest to the veracity of this statement because a cursury check on google turns up nothing. What I can attest to is that there was a shocking amount of what I would NOT call solid wood furniture being sold as "solid wood." When my wife and I had gotten married, we bought a considerable amount of furniture at an auction, and although it wasn't cheap furniture, it wasn't something that was going to last forever. Furniture is expensive, and damnit---if I'm gonna spend that kind of money, I'd rather spend a bit more and have something that will last a long time. Sure, if you "take care of it," it might last a lifetime, but furniture gets used, and the stuff that is mostly sold today--even the expensive stuff--starts to look pretty well beat up within a decade. I wanted the pieces I bought this go-round to be heirloom pieces that I could leave to my kids. That meant timeless style and truly quality construction. We ended up buying a custom sideboard and hutch and kitchen table with chairs, several book cases, and completely new furniture for my office and for my son's room from E&G Amish Furniture. It was NOT cheap, but there isn't a day that goes by that I don't walk by one of these pieces of furniture and truly appreciate the look and quality. This is furniture that I'm proud of. If you are young and/or move a lot, Amish furniture is probably not for you. It's damn heavy, it isn't cheap, and the style is nowhere near contemporary.........although some of the updated mission style pieces we got are just gorgeous (think Thos. Moser with a little less style and at about a fifth of the price). But if you are at a point in your life where you don't mind marrying yourself to some of your furniture, Amish quality if worth the investment. I really liked the people at the Amish Craftsman.......they were very helpful, and they had a nice selection, but Greg Landwehr at E&G down in Clear Lake was also very helpful, and he and I just kind of clicked. He was also much more forthcoming with volume discounts, and so it was an easy choice for us. I highly recommend going to see him, and if you are interested in some of the upholstered pieces, I personally know he has some extra discounts going right now. The fabrics they use are butt-ugly, but when finished in leather, these couches and chairs are beautiful...........and the Amish KNOW how to make something you sit in...........my office chair is supremely comfortable.
Thanks for the info Pole!! I probably should've clarified my original post....I didn't see any dining furniture I liked at Gallery, Ethan Allen, Thomasville, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Basset, Home Source, West Elm, Macy's or Star but we did like the ones at Amish Craftsman. That's why I was writing, to see if others can attest to the quality and recommend it. And I did do the search function after I started this thread and found the one from 2007. I'm with you 100% on spending a little extra on something we plan on keeping forever and would like to pass on. Also, I know what you mean about the solid wood. I am always opening up drawers and knocking on them listening for different tones. The only other place I've found that uses solid wood is Ethan Allen. I have a bedroom set from them and love it. I guess my main reservation is picking out the right wood and stain that I want because it is so custom, it's not like you can exchange it. So I'd have to make absolutely sure what I want is what I order. Sounds like we should check out the store in Clear Lake too. Thanks again for your input. We are lookin for bar stools, dining table, 6 dining chairs and a hutch.
We had a china hutch and buffet made out of cherry by the Amish, ours came from South Dakota and it is a POS.. I guess it was too elaborate for them to handle because the molding at the top has glue stains, they also had issues with sanding the wood in difficult places and the doors never sealed quite right.. We ended up selling the set to get some of the money back.. IMO the only thing worth the money that the Amish make are the old school grandma style bedspreads..
South Dakota Amish! There's you're problem right there (i know there are south dakota amish, but you need the ohio and pennsylvania furniture makers!)
i think amish craftsman was from ohio and indiana. def wasn't south dakota. i wouldn't trust anything from that place! JK. i should check out high fashion home but we're more traditional/transitional than what i've seen through their windows and online. they look too modern and contemporary for me. i think i can have an accent piece or two in the house from there, but not a whole dining set. i will check them out tho, thx.
What were your options for wood? Stain is personal, but wood choice isn't as much - their advantages and disadvantages can be measured. If you have questions regarding that, I can do my best to help. Also, if you are more into traditional styles you should check out Louis Shanks. They also have very traditional and they also are the only company that carries Stickley in Houston. Stickley is good stuff and has a line of nothing but mission/arts and crafts.
Whatever you gotta tell yourself.. See if they'll toss in a free "fireplace" when you go to buy.. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0xQtEmISMhQ&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0xQtEmISMhQ&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
thanks i'll have to check that place out too. funny thing is, i'm not a fan of the missionary style furniture, esp in the chairs _too many lines) but i'm seen some good variations of the style that will do. some of the lines within Stickley are my style so thanks for the notice!
I mentioned mission because there is a bit of a relation with typical Amish style. Arts and crafts is another (superior, in my mind) aspect of that crafts/construction-as-decorative style. But, yes, Stickley runs the gamut from Queen Anne and Chippendale to "contemporary". All is well built but more importantly often based on very specific period designs. Henredon is another quality manufacturer that LS carries and is more traditional in style.
I live in Amish country, and I'll just say this... More people around here pay the Amish to do housework and make furniture for them, than go to a furniture store for those same things. A coworker of mine just payed two Amish men to tear her front porch off, and build her a new one. They came over to her house in their horse and buggy (tied the horse up to a neighbor's tree...that caused some yard damage), and the only thing they asked of her is to bring them to the store to get more nails, and how to contact her at work. The porch was completely done in 2 and a half days. Yes, the Amish are like Mexicans of the North. (No racist)
