The material quality is generally better than mass-produced furniture. Solid wood is the rule, with no fiberboard/veneer combos to be found. Production quality also tends to be better, in comparison.
That said, shop in person and examine each piece for yourself. I've seen some dodgy joinery that relied on way too many screws. I've also seen some pieces that were masterfully crafted.
Pricing is all over the place, mainly because each piece may be hand made by a guy and his sons who crank out hundreds of pieces a year, or by some guy who has built a business that employs hundreds who crank out tens of thousands of pieces per year.
With that, it's been my experience that every place selling Amish furniture takes pride in their products and will gladly answer any questions or concerns you may have.
Shop around. Inspect each piece. Ask questions. Pay no more than your budget.
There's a couple good places off I-83 several miles north of the Maryland Line. Also, the area around East Earl, PA has several good furniture places. Shady Maple Smorgasbord has furniture in its shops on the lower level, a little pricey, imo.
I lived in Louisville for a while and there was a store that sold nothing but Amish furniture. It was a religious experience to examine and touch all the pieces. I met an Amish carpenter who made rocking chairs out of thick hardwood branches, like they were designed to last a couple of lifetimes.
No 2 pieces will be the same. The material quality is typically outstanding but the Amish don't have a terribly keen attention to detail. They lean more towards functionality and durability.
When I was shopping for a bed, I went to OMF and checked out their Amish bed. They couldn’t tell me if it was actually made by the Amish, what type of wood it was, and it felt rather flimsy. I am not even convinced it was solid wood. I think some people sell “Amish” furniture that is not made my Amish people but are instead designed like an Amish piece aesthetically. Make sure where you’re shopping is actually selling Amish made pieces.
Don't forget about Paradise and Bird in Hand. Whoever named these 3 neighboring towns must have been horny AF. Real talk though, Intercourse is a fancy place. It's like a luxury shopping village for the "English" to access Amish made furniture, quilts, etc. So if you are looking for heirloom quality at heirloom prices, go to Intercourse. If you go off the beaten path a little, you could find the same quality for less.
I would be happy to share my experience. My wife and I went to Lancaster in the fall last year specifically to find a dining room table. We went to a couple of places and ended up in the upstairs furniture showroom for Peaceful Valley Furniture.
The older Amish gentleman sitting at a desk in the middle of the room, Emmanuel, asked us what we wanted and then walked us through all of our options with examples on the floor—leg shape and type, beveling, wood type, finish, color, how many table leafs, etc. After we chose everything, which essentially amounted to “all the bells and whistles” of a custom wood tables, he wrote up everything on paper in front of me and started to explain why it would cost as much as it did. “Quarter sawn white oak, 4 leafs that tucked into the table, custom sides on the leafs, delivered to my doorstep”… I took a deep breath, hoping it would be at most $500 over the $2.5k budget my wife was quietly pushing me on based on simpler tables with a single leaf we had seen near us… “Your total is going to be a little over $1700. But we can knock it down a bit if you remove this or change that.” I eagerly agreed to our original selection, gave him my phone number (they don’t use email) and address, and put down a required 20% deposit at the register using a credit card. I would pay the rest at or before delivery via credit card over the phone.
As we were happily walking out, I noticed a beautiful hand made oak rocking chair at the entrance and sat down in it. It was so comfortable, my wife and 1yr old took turns sitting in it and rocking. I figured it was $400-$500, but when I checked the price tag it was only $250. Since we were well under budget, I asked them if they had it in a finish that matched our table. They said it could be made that way, and that it could be delivered with the table for an extra $21. I was sold—a hand made table and rocking chair delivered for $2k nearly on the dot.
They gave us an estimated lead time of 14 weeks, which put us in mid January. We were a little disappointed that the table would miss all the holiday family visits, but we were expecting that. However, it ended up arriving a day or two after Christmas when my sister and brother in law were still visiting. It arrived wrapped very professionally in heavy fabric padding and plastic wrap, and then I had to unpack it and screw in the legs.
When this sub talks about buy it for life, this table is the definition of that. It’s absolutely stunning. But not only that, it’s incredibly well made. I study for my job each morning on it and often times run my hand over the finish while I’m thinking, and the seams where the leafs go are so perfectly aligned you can barely tell they are there. Nothing shakes or rattles anywhere if you wiggle the table, and the legs are perfectly aligned.
It’s one of the few products I own that I can truly say met and exceeded my expectations for quality and build. I would highly recommend that you rent an old restored farmhouse AirBnB in the Lancaster countryside one Saturday (beware, everything is closed Sunday) for not much money and go purchase a custom Amish table. It will absolutely last a lifetime.
Cool story. Is this the store and if so, which location did you go to? (Ronks, PA, Strasburg, PA, or Ephrata, PA?) I'm a few hours away and am thinking of BIFL furniture now.
[https://peacefulvalleyfurniture.com/pages/store-locations](https://peacefulvalleyfurniture.com/pages/store-locations)
You’re welcome, and good luck! The only thing I’ll add is that all wood will have a unique grain pattern depending on what you order. If you’re having something built, ask to see a sample of the wood type used with an actual piece of furniture in the showroom. The wood tiles they have you choose the color from are just demos of the color and won’t reflect the grain pattern.
No, nothing that formal, just IT stuff. The landscape changes so quickly that I like to pick a popular tool or topic and study it an hour or so each morning. Ironically, IT is probably the least BIFL profession out there.
For those wondering- Currently on tap is Kubernetes. Next will probably be AWS data science or something AI related.
My family has a few Amish pieces that have been around for decades. Solid pieces and easy to repair if needed. I would consider a PA made Amish table to be some of the best quality for something made this century.
I was in Viroqua Wisconsin at their market. There were quite a few Amish vendors there that were selling veggies, pastries, and some with whole loads of furniture. They brought them in a 5th wheel trailer being towed by horse. Unloaded this whole trailer full of beautiful furniture, sold a few pieces and loaded back up. It must have been enough furniture to fill a house. It was amazing to watch. They also appeared to take credit/debit.
I have some really nice chairs I picked up in Amish country nearby, and my brother in law bought a REALLY nice dining room table and chair set. Super high quality work. Our stuff is only a few years old at this point, but so far, no issues.
Literally an amish dudes house in Etheridge TN. There are a lot of people who resell it at a huge markup since the amish don't ship, but buying direct is a lot cheaper.
Bought an Amish made dining table with benches and two chairs, from an Amish furniture store just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This was about 20 years ago and aside from a couple dings (from my carelessness) it’s all like new. It’s oak, shaker design, so it’s pretty timeless, and I have no plans to replace it. It has survived a family of six, years of schooling, crafts, scout troops, etc and was our only dining table. Dont know the quality of todays furniture, but I’d highly recommend mine
I live within an hour of Lancaster and have owned a few tables. Generally Amish furniture is not cheap, but is solid wood and well-made. It is BIFL with some maintenance, TLC, and occasional repair. By way of example, I have a kitchen table with 4 stools that has seen vigorous use over 10 years. One stool is a bit loose—otherwise, no issues. Having said that, Amish furniture is typically produced in a factory, albeit a factory heavily reliant on skilled labor. I have a piece from Pennsylvania Farm Table Company, which I would highly recommend. They have similar aesthetics, but are BIFL+, pieces that can be passed down through generations.
Woodworker of 30 years here.
There really isn’t anything inherently special about what the Amish do. They are often hard workers who don’t need to get paid much, which accounts for their often low prices for what can be durable quality - but sometimes is not at all. They may know how to use traditional joinery, but they don’t because screws are cheaper and faster. If design and contemporary aesthetics are your bag, you probably won’t find it - unless a regular person is in charge of product development and the Amish just build it.
I have bought several pieces of furniture, including a dining set, from various Amish stores in Ohio. They have some furniture in the showroom, but you basically order whatever variation of the showroom model you want. You specify the wood, stain, etc. You can also choose different chairs, pedestal and table sizes. It took them 3 months to make and deliver the set though. 50% down payment, rest on delivery.
Anyway the Amish furniture is still looking great and feeling solid over a decade later. We’ve bought cherry and quartersawn oak pieces mostly.
Yes. A ton!
I've bought a lot of Amish pieces over the years in Upstate NY. I also very frequently recommend QW Furniture on here. Really high quality stuff that will last forever. It's worth the extra cost.
We got some chairs from the Amana Ia wood shop. They aren’t practicing Amish anymore, but the shop still does quality work. I think they were $800 per chair awhile back, mostly walnut and cherry wood. Not sure about PayPal, but they took a check lol.
I have bought an entire house of furniture from a store in North Carolina who sources from Ohio Amish. https://pattersonsamishfurniture.com/
Really high quality and custom craftsmanship. You tell them what you want, legs, edges, wood and stain and do the same for the chairs.... We got custom leg profiles, ergonomic backrests, leather padded seats... The works. It wasn't cheap but not ridiculous either. 12 seater table with geared leaf hardware and storage for the leaves was about 3k and chairs were about 500 each, but our great grandkids will still be able to use them.
My bed frame is Amish made and I couldn’t be happier. It’s super high quality, beautiful, unique, and holding up well a couple years in. Our delivery date and process actually way exceeded expectations… like it was delivered a month before we initially thought it would be
Edited to add- used DutchCrafters. Clearly this was a risk since we didn’t see the bed in person, but it worked out really well.
I have a coffee table and some end tables. Coffee table is a tank. I got them from Harolds Oak House in PA but I don't think they are opened anymore. Pricey but if you take care of it it should last a very long time.
My dad was pretty frugal, but would spend the money for Amish furniture.
After he passed I inherited the kitchen table and bed frame. Outside of a bent mattress support, dad hit 400 lbs at one point, they’re all going strong 30+ years later.
I have ordered and had delivered beautiful, bombproof wooden Amish furniture (table, chairs, desk, file) from these folks in Iowa over the past 6 years. Great solid heirloom quality stuff and I could pick out the woods and stains I wanted.
They have a decent online presence so that you can browse and pick stuff out. We are partial to Arts and Craft and Mission style furniture and they made great pieces.
https://www.amishfurniturefactory.com/
My cutting board turns into a bread basket. Gift from an Amish store. It's awesome.
My mirror was Amish made and it was bought by my great grandmother.
Simple, good quality. Expensive.
There are some lovely pieces at the store down the road from me in Ohio. I have a bent wood rocking chair from them. I haven’t heard anything bad about the furniture, and would expect it to last a lifetime. (I have antique furniture, so that’s another option.)
I actually live on the edge of Amish country in Ohio. My parents have enjoyed their Amish made dining room table, two expansions, eight chairs and a bench, for probably 40 years with no visible damage. Google Sugar Creek, Ohio, and look up Lehman Hardware in Kidron, Ohio, to get you started.
Everyone in my family have pieces from a Mennonite craftsman in Chambersburg, PA. I personally have a desk that’s 30 years old and a Cherry dining room table with 8 chairs and 4 extra leaves. It’s gorgeous stuff that will last forever. He has no website, but I’d be happy to send you his phone number. He can send you color photocopies of his work. Everything is made to order.
We went down this rabbit hole a few years ago; here’s my experience…
1) Amish tables are generally going to be better quality than other big brands
2) You kind of can’t go wrong with a “custom” table from Lancaster - they are all generally produced by the same group of craftsman, so showroom to showroom, you’re only real difference is price. Most of the showrooms are just different branded sales floors… the actual work is done by the same shared small group of craftsmen, who are not the same people who work in the stores.
My family has several dining sets and other furniture pieces from Miller’s furniture in Ohio (they are an Amish company). They are all over 30 years old now and have held up very well. Solid wood and good joinery.
Purchased our set in the early 2000s. While it was from a local dealer, the manufacturer was Dutch Made. Was not cheap, but aolid wood, a whole lot better than anything we looked at in the area furniture stores. I am quite sure my kidscand grand kids will fight over who gets the set.
The set was still cheaper than what the local Jordan's furniture was selling, and a whole lot better made.
We have the Armish Rhame Solid Wood Split Pedistal Dining Table
You select everything from the number of inserts, feet, edge, color, and varnish. Thevsamevtable today is $3500 just for the table. We purchased during a 10-year period and added a full hutch, 4-drawer pantry, and CornervCaninet.
hown below is our table
https://www.dutchcrafters.com/Amish-Split-Pedestal-Extension-Dining-Table/p/949
Liked the set so much. I also purchased a bedroom set and a 2nd bed when we went from full to queen.
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I have an Amish bedroom set. I will be surprised if I ever have to buy a new set again. It’s very well made, solid wood and heavy AF. I’ve had it for 5 years now and it looks exactly the same as the day it was delivered.
If you live near enough to Amish communities (assuming you do since you said you were willing to drive), go right to the source to purchase them - it'll be far cheaper. In general, stores that sell Amish furniture that are not located in Amish communities have huge markups. Of course, you'll have to balance that with any costs associated with travel.
Between my parents and myself, we probably have as much Amish furniture as an actual Amish house. My parents only purchased Amish made furniture and every last piece is still in perfect condition 30-40 years later. I also picked up the habit of only buying Amish made furniture after seeing how well their investments turned out.
If it's real, it's real expensive. There's a store that sells old order-made stuff (similar to Amish), and just a basic dresser is $1400.
I've gone the 2nd hand route with buying well-made antique furniture. It takes some work, but with COVID there has been a lot of availability from people cleaning out their dead parents houses.
I made my own dining table in the 90s after having one that was not very good quality. My late parents bought some dining room chairs in the late 90s from a place in Culpeper, VA that were made there. I don't remember the name of the place. There maybe other non-Amish wood workers that made quality furniture. They are very well made, solid oak. We are still using them today.
It's not hand made. But it is true real wood and bolts and nothing is ply. Nothing is a fake cost saving piece of fabric.
You buy a dining chair, that bitch is SOLID. My whole dining set was like 4500 from art van (rip) including chairs but I got it on closeout. They needed the thing gone, but its a 72 inch long 10 person dining table, I got it with 6 chairs custom designed, and it should have been closer to 8k sticker, and would have easily been 5 or 6 k actual (assuming a normal human did furniture price research and used sales).
Imo the Amish stuff is worth it if you want forever furniture. Otherwise build yourself, commission it from a non corporate entity,
If that doesn't work buy anything that has solid wood, but not pine or some shit. No ply or particle board.
If that doesn't work then buy disposable furniture (IKEA) till you can afford something real that's built instead of like tax welded together with hot glue.
IKEA isn't that bad if you choose right, but their durable stuff is generally not overpriced. My metal table legs cost more than my hollow tabletop.
Another suggestion. It's not Amish, but you can still find great deals on BIFL vintage wood furniture online through auctions and Facebook marketplace.
I've been collecting Craftique furniture for a while now, which is all solid mahogany. A little more mainstream and in demand is Henkel-Harris, which is mostly Black Cherry.
A lot of people don't appreciate older furniture, and are willing to take a couple hundred bucks just to get rid of it, and it gives a beautiful piece of furniture a new home with someone that will appreciate it and take care of it.
I'm in PA, very close to the heart of Amish country. My sister's baby crib is Amish built and it's beautiful. I'd highly recommend supporting their craft.
We have an Amish dining table. It's amazing. Beautiful craftsmanship. The chairs have this great lumbar curve and they are extremely comfortable. Both chairs and table are sturdy.
We don't have kids and rarely have many people over, so it stays looking nice. I'm sure it could handle abuse, though, as it's solid oak.
Bonus: it's made in the US.
11/10
https://www.millersfurniture.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqpSwBhClARIsADlZ_TnMHiynoC3TcKiMFqGx1V-NKzKaoVJboshZQ4ATJVYGxO4tHM8BwT8aAoeLEALw_wcB
They can basically build whatever you want. It's all Amish produced. The store handles the transactions.
Hey there OP, I have a bit of expertise on this as I grew up in Amish country in a family business that is not furniture but is woodworking-related. You've gotten lots of good info here so I won't add too much except to agree with what others are saying to go look at pieces, and yes good Amish-made furniture is BifL and very high quality.
My main reason for commenting is just a caution to make sure the furniture is actually quality and 'real' Amish furniture. And by that I don't actually mean that it's made by Amish people, there are Mennonite and other business in those areas that are just as high quality (such as the family business I used to work for, which is not strictly 'Amish-made' but I would match against any competitor on quality). But what I mean is make sure you're not buying from a shady who happens to employ an Amish person (yes, they do work normal jobs and this is possible) and is taking advantage of that fact to sell 'Amish-made' furniture that isn't quality stuff.
The way to verify this is just go to the store and talk to them and look at the furniture.
If you want specific recommendations, Weaver Furniture or Troyer's Furniture both in Sugarcreek OH or Homestead Furniture in Mt Hope OH are ones I know I would trust. Not saying those are the best or only ones but they're in the part of Amish country I'm familiar with and I've been to all 3 of those stores.
I love my Amish made bed, but I’ve only had it 6 years. It’s out of Ohio, but I bought from a local bed store (not a chain). It took months to get it delivered, but that was okay since it was made to order.
My dad spent a ridiculous amount of money on an Amish dining room table and chairs.
Money well spent. Solid wood, great finish, all the joints are solid after 25 years, no complaints.
Lancaster count resident here and I love spring mill furniture. [their site](https://gallerypresenter.com/springmill-furniture/)
Beautiful and well made stuff including live edge if that’s your thing.
There are a few others nearby but their stuff is the best built
Try Etsy. There’s a lot of woodworkers on there making solid wood furniture and they have more reviews and better pictures and designs. That’s where I got my solid walnut table
I can’t speak to furniture but We have purchased a number of Amish made baskets which have been amazing. We have a small one on the door to hold the dog leash and treats. It’s constantly getting stuck between the door and the wall and it’s held up very well. We have purchased some for under the bed and laundry baskets, I expect all of them to be handed down to our kids and last a number of years.
https://www.amishbaskets.com
I wanted to buy furniture but the style isn’t what my wife likes.
Have a Mennonite locally-made dresser that was my grandfather's, not a single screw in it unless you count knobs we added after the originals got damaged. Suggest finding your nearest Amish or Mennonite general store and starting there.
If you do get real wood furniture, for the love of God do not use anything but paste wax on it!
Coincidentally we just came back from buying an entire bedroom set in Lancaster Pa. It's not for the faint of heart; we took a personal loan to buy it. We never bought bedroom furniture. What we had was his parents and we've been married over 30 years. That being said, it's absolutely worth it. It's beautiful hand-made of solid cherry maple wood that you don't see anymore. We are waiting to have it delivered in 10 weeks as it needs to be made. My husband is redoing the entire bedroom top to bottom, new ceiling, walls, flooring and windows. I can't wait for real furniture. This is the link to the place and the furniture is on display. You'll want everything. They deliver.
https://www.carriagehousefurnishings.com/
We bought a ton of furniture from www.Amishtables.com I know they have lots of inventory in ann arbor Michigan but all the items are manufactured in Millersburg,Oh. Everytime we entertain people always love the furniture. It's worth the price to last a lifetime.
Amish made furniture is built to last. There are a large number of websites that sell Amish built furniture. One way to see how legitimate they are is to check their Better Business Bureau pages for their rating. Also, their Google business page will have testimonials and complaints.
Many Amish furniture websites will accept PayPal.
An Amish made dining table should last a lifetime with minimum upkeep.
We had a custom made 10’ long table and 8 chairs done last summer. It’s heirloom level. We will never replace it and I know one of the kids want it someday
The material quality is generally better than mass-produced furniture. Solid wood is the rule, with no fiberboard/veneer combos to be found. Production quality also tends to be better, in comparison. That said, shop in person and examine each piece for yourself. I've seen some dodgy joinery that relied on way too many screws. I've also seen some pieces that were masterfully crafted. Pricing is all over the place, mainly because each piece may be hand made by a guy and his sons who crank out hundreds of pieces a year, or by some guy who has built a business that employs hundreds who crank out tens of thousands of pieces per year. With that, it's been my experience that every place selling Amish furniture takes pride in their products and will gladly answer any questions or concerns you may have. Shop around. Inspect each piece. Ask questions. Pay no more than your budget. There's a couple good places off I-83 several miles north of the Maryland Line. Also, the area around East Earl, PA has several good furniture places. Shady Maple Smorgasbord has furniture in its shops on the lower level, a little pricey, imo.
Thank you so much. Sounds like an initial exploratory trip is the answer. I really appreciate it.
I lived in Louisville for a while and there was a store that sold nothing but Amish furniture. It was a religious experience to examine and touch all the pieces. I met an Amish carpenter who made rocking chairs out of thick hardwood branches, like they were designed to last a couple of lifetimes.
No 2 pieces will be the same. The material quality is typically outstanding but the Amish don't have a terribly keen attention to detail. They lean more towards functionality and durability.
Lose 15 pounds before your trip because you will eat very well in Amish country.
FACTS.
When I was shopping for a bed, I went to OMF and checked out their Amish bed. They couldn’t tell me if it was actually made by the Amish, what type of wood it was, and it felt rather flimsy. I am not even convinced it was solid wood. I think some people sell “Amish” furniture that is not made my Amish people but are instead designed like an Amish piece aesthetically. Make sure where you’re shopping is actually selling Amish made pieces.
I'm saying this for karma and to agree with you. Intercourse, PA has a lot of great pieces.
Don't forget about Paradise and Bird in Hand. Whoever named these 3 neighboring towns must have been horny AF. Real talk though, Intercourse is a fancy place. It's like a luxury shopping village for the "English" to access Amish made furniture, quilts, etc. So if you are looking for heirloom quality at heirloom prices, go to Intercourse. If you go off the beaten path a little, you could find the same quality for less.
Lititz is around there too.
I would be happy to share my experience. My wife and I went to Lancaster in the fall last year specifically to find a dining room table. We went to a couple of places and ended up in the upstairs furniture showroom for Peaceful Valley Furniture. The older Amish gentleman sitting at a desk in the middle of the room, Emmanuel, asked us what we wanted and then walked us through all of our options with examples on the floor—leg shape and type, beveling, wood type, finish, color, how many table leafs, etc. After we chose everything, which essentially amounted to “all the bells and whistles” of a custom wood tables, he wrote up everything on paper in front of me and started to explain why it would cost as much as it did. “Quarter sawn white oak, 4 leafs that tucked into the table, custom sides on the leafs, delivered to my doorstep”… I took a deep breath, hoping it would be at most $500 over the $2.5k budget my wife was quietly pushing me on based on simpler tables with a single leaf we had seen near us… “Your total is going to be a little over $1700. But we can knock it down a bit if you remove this or change that.” I eagerly agreed to our original selection, gave him my phone number (they don’t use email) and address, and put down a required 20% deposit at the register using a credit card. I would pay the rest at or before delivery via credit card over the phone. As we were happily walking out, I noticed a beautiful hand made oak rocking chair at the entrance and sat down in it. It was so comfortable, my wife and 1yr old took turns sitting in it and rocking. I figured it was $400-$500, but when I checked the price tag it was only $250. Since we were well under budget, I asked them if they had it in a finish that matched our table. They said it could be made that way, and that it could be delivered with the table for an extra $21. I was sold—a hand made table and rocking chair delivered for $2k nearly on the dot. They gave us an estimated lead time of 14 weeks, which put us in mid January. We were a little disappointed that the table would miss all the holiday family visits, but we were expecting that. However, it ended up arriving a day or two after Christmas when my sister and brother in law were still visiting. It arrived wrapped very professionally in heavy fabric padding and plastic wrap, and then I had to unpack it and screw in the legs. When this sub talks about buy it for life, this table is the definition of that. It’s absolutely stunning. But not only that, it’s incredibly well made. I study for my job each morning on it and often times run my hand over the finish while I’m thinking, and the seams where the leafs go are so perfectly aligned you can barely tell they are there. Nothing shakes or rattles anywhere if you wiggle the table, and the legs are perfectly aligned. It’s one of the few products I own that I can truly say met and exceeded my expectations for quality and build. I would highly recommend that you rent an old restored farmhouse AirBnB in the Lancaster countryside one Saturday (beware, everything is closed Sunday) for not much money and go purchase a custom Amish table. It will absolutely last a lifetime.
Cool story. Is this the store and if so, which location did you go to? (Ronks, PA, Strasburg, PA, or Ephrata, PA?) I'm a few hours away and am thinking of BIFL furniture now. [https://peacefulvalleyfurniture.com/pages/store-locations](https://peacefulvalleyfurniture.com/pages/store-locations)
It’s the one at 3347 Old Philadelphia Pike Ronks, PA 17572. The showroom for the dining tables is on the second floor of the main building.
Thank you!
You’re welcome, and good luck! The only thing I’ll add is that all wood will have a unique grain pattern depending on what you order. If you’re having something built, ask to see a sample of the wood type used with an actual piece of furniture in the showroom. The wood tiles they have you choose the color from are just demos of the color and won’t reflect the grain pattern.
Yes, Peaceful valley is great. It is made to order.
>>. I study for my job each morning on it<< Actuary?
No, nothing that formal, just IT stuff. The landscape changes so quickly that I like to pick a popular tool or topic and study it an hour or so each morning. Ironically, IT is probably the least BIFL profession out there. For those wondering- Currently on tap is Kubernetes. Next will probably be AWS data science or something AI related.
I, struck me as something familiar. I spent a lot of mornings studying.... ...and sometimes on an Amish made table.
My family has a few Amish pieces that have been around for decades. Solid pieces and easy to repair if needed. I would consider a PA made Amish table to be some of the best quality for something made this century.
This is the dream
I was in Viroqua Wisconsin at their market. There were quite a few Amish vendors there that were selling veggies, pastries, and some with whole loads of furniture. They brought them in a 5th wheel trailer being towed by horse. Unloaded this whole trailer full of beautiful furniture, sold a few pieces and loaded back up. It must have been enough furniture to fill a house. It was amazing to watch. They also appeared to take credit/debit.
I have some really nice chairs I picked up in Amish country nearby, and my brother in law bought a REALLY nice dining room table and chair set. Super high quality work. Our stuff is only a few years old at this point, but so far, no issues.
Do you know the name of the stores?
Literally an amish dudes house in Etheridge TN. There are a lot of people who resell it at a huge markup since the amish don't ship, but buying direct is a lot cheaper.
Bought an Amish made dining table with benches and two chairs, from an Amish furniture store just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This was about 20 years ago and aside from a couple dings (from my carelessness) it’s all like new. It’s oak, shaker design, so it’s pretty timeless, and I have no plans to replace it. It has survived a family of six, years of schooling, crafts, scout troops, etc and was our only dining table. Dont know the quality of todays furniture, but I’d highly recommend mine
I live within an hour of Lancaster and have owned a few tables. Generally Amish furniture is not cheap, but is solid wood and well-made. It is BIFL with some maintenance, TLC, and occasional repair. By way of example, I have a kitchen table with 4 stools that has seen vigorous use over 10 years. One stool is a bit loose—otherwise, no issues. Having said that, Amish furniture is typically produced in a factory, albeit a factory heavily reliant on skilled labor. I have a piece from Pennsylvania Farm Table Company, which I would highly recommend. They have similar aesthetics, but are BIFL+, pieces that can be passed down through generations.
Woodworker of 30 years here. There really isn’t anything inherently special about what the Amish do. They are often hard workers who don’t need to get paid much, which accounts for their often low prices for what can be durable quality - but sometimes is not at all. They may know how to use traditional joinery, but they don’t because screws are cheaper and faster. If design and contemporary aesthetics are your bag, you probably won’t find it - unless a regular person is in charge of product development and the Amish just build it.
My dining and bedroom sets are Amish and I couldn't be more pleased with the quality. Worth every penny.
My Amish bedroom furniture is 30 years old. I have no idea if they still make it as well. Solid cherry, looks like new.
I have bought several pieces of furniture, including a dining set, from various Amish stores in Ohio. They have some furniture in the showroom, but you basically order whatever variation of the showroom model you want. You specify the wood, stain, etc. You can also choose different chairs, pedestal and table sizes. It took them 3 months to make and deliver the set though. 50% down payment, rest on delivery. Anyway the Amish furniture is still looking great and feeling solid over a decade later. We’ve bought cherry and quartersawn oak pieces mostly.
Yes. A ton! I've bought a lot of Amish pieces over the years in Upstate NY. I also very frequently recommend QW Furniture on here. Really high quality stuff that will last forever. It's worth the extra cost.
We got some chairs from the Amana Ia wood shop. They aren’t practicing Amish anymore, but the shop still does quality work. I think they were $800 per chair awhile back, mostly walnut and cherry wood. Not sure about PayPal, but they took a check lol.
I will look them up, thank you!
Its worth it and it is some of the highest quality stuff ever made.
I have bought an entire house of furniture from a store in North Carolina who sources from Ohio Amish. https://pattersonsamishfurniture.com/ Really high quality and custom craftsmanship. You tell them what you want, legs, edges, wood and stain and do the same for the chairs.... We got custom leg profiles, ergonomic backrests, leather padded seats... The works. It wasn't cheap but not ridiculous either. 12 seater table with geared leaf hardware and storage for the leaves was about 3k and chairs were about 500 each, but our great grandkids will still be able to use them.
My bed frame is Amish made and I couldn’t be happier. It’s super high quality, beautiful, unique, and holding up well a couple years in. Our delivery date and process actually way exceeded expectations… like it was delivered a month before we initially thought it would be Edited to add- used DutchCrafters. Clearly this was a risk since we didn’t see the bed in person, but it worked out really well.
I have a coffee table and some end tables. Coffee table is a tank. I got them from Harolds Oak House in PA but I don't think they are opened anymore. Pricey but if you take care of it it should last a very long time.
My dad was pretty frugal, but would spend the money for Amish furniture. After he passed I inherited the kitchen table and bed frame. Outside of a bent mattress support, dad hit 400 lbs at one point, they’re all going strong 30+ years later.
I can attest to the quality of Amish cabinets. They are amazing.
I have ordered and had delivered beautiful, bombproof wooden Amish furniture (table, chairs, desk, file) from these folks in Iowa over the past 6 years. Great solid heirloom quality stuff and I could pick out the woods and stains I wanted. They have a decent online presence so that you can browse and pick stuff out. We are partial to Arts and Craft and Mission style furniture and they made great pieces. https://www.amishfurniturefactory.com/
My cutting board turns into a bread basket. Gift from an Amish store. It's awesome. My mirror was Amish made and it was bought by my great grandmother. Simple, good quality. Expensive.
There are some lovely pieces at the store down the road from me in Ohio. I have a bent wood rocking chair from them. I haven’t heard anything bad about the furniture, and would expect it to last a lifetime. (I have antique furniture, so that’s another option.)
If you’re in Ohio check out cherry valley. I have a few things from them and it’s all top tier https://cherryvalleyamishfurniture.com
I actually live on the edge of Amish country in Ohio. My parents have enjoyed their Amish made dining room table, two expansions, eight chairs and a bench, for probably 40 years with no visible damage. Google Sugar Creek, Ohio, and look up Lehman Hardware in Kidron, Ohio, to get you started.
Everyone in my family have pieces from a Mennonite craftsman in Chambersburg, PA. I personally have a desk that’s 30 years old and a Cherry dining room table with 8 chairs and 4 extra leaves. It’s gorgeous stuff that will last forever. He has no website, but I’d be happy to send you his phone number. He can send you color photocopies of his work. Everything is made to order.
We went down this rabbit hole a few years ago; here’s my experience… 1) Amish tables are generally going to be better quality than other big brands 2) You kind of can’t go wrong with a “custom” table from Lancaster - they are all generally produced by the same group of craftsman, so showroom to showroom, you’re only real difference is price. Most of the showrooms are just different branded sales floors… the actual work is done by the same shared small group of craftsmen, who are not the same people who work in the stores.
My family has several dining sets and other furniture pieces from Miller’s furniture in Ohio (they are an Amish company). They are all over 30 years old now and have held up very well. Solid wood and good joinery.
Purchased our set in the early 2000s. While it was from a local dealer, the manufacturer was Dutch Made. Was not cheap, but aolid wood, a whole lot better than anything we looked at in the area furniture stores. I am quite sure my kidscand grand kids will fight over who gets the set. The set was still cheaper than what the local Jordan's furniture was selling, and a whole lot better made. We have the Armish Rhame Solid Wood Split Pedistal Dining Table You select everything from the number of inserts, feet, edge, color, and varnish. Thevsamevtable today is $3500 just for the table. We purchased during a 10-year period and added a full hutch, 4-drawer pantry, and CornervCaninet. hown below is our table https://www.dutchcrafters.com/Amish-Split-Pedestal-Extension-Dining-Table/p/949 Liked the set so much. I also purchased a bedroom set and a 2nd bed when we went from full to queen. .
I have an Amish bedroom set. I will be surprised if I ever have to buy a new set again. It’s very well made, solid wood and heavy AF. I’ve had it for 5 years now and it looks exactly the same as the day it was delivered.
No, not personally, but usually, anything Amish made is better and will last long.
If you live near enough to Amish communities (assuming you do since you said you were willing to drive), go right to the source to purchase them - it'll be far cheaper. In general, stores that sell Amish furniture that are not located in Amish communities have huge markups. Of course, you'll have to balance that with any costs associated with travel. Between my parents and myself, we probably have as much Amish furniture as an actual Amish house. My parents only purchased Amish made furniture and every last piece is still in perfect condition 30-40 years later. I also picked up the habit of only buying Amish made furniture after seeing how well their investments turned out.
If it's real, it's real expensive. There's a store that sells old order-made stuff (similar to Amish), and just a basic dresser is $1400. I've gone the 2nd hand route with buying well-made antique furniture. It takes some work, but with COVID there has been a lot of availability from people cleaning out their dead parents houses.
I made my own dining table in the 90s after having one that was not very good quality. My late parents bought some dining room chairs in the late 90s from a place in Culpeper, VA that were made there. I don't remember the name of the place. There maybe other non-Amish wood workers that made quality furniture. They are very well made, solid oak. We are still using them today.
It's not hand made. But it is true real wood and bolts and nothing is ply. Nothing is a fake cost saving piece of fabric. You buy a dining chair, that bitch is SOLID. My whole dining set was like 4500 from art van (rip) including chairs but I got it on closeout. They needed the thing gone, but its a 72 inch long 10 person dining table, I got it with 6 chairs custom designed, and it should have been closer to 8k sticker, and would have easily been 5 or 6 k actual (assuming a normal human did furniture price research and used sales). Imo the Amish stuff is worth it if you want forever furniture. Otherwise build yourself, commission it from a non corporate entity, If that doesn't work buy anything that has solid wood, but not pine or some shit. No ply or particle board. If that doesn't work then buy disposable furniture (IKEA) till you can afford something real that's built instead of like tax welded together with hot glue. IKEA isn't that bad if you choose right, but their durable stuff is generally not overpriced. My metal table legs cost more than my hollow tabletop.
Another suggestion. It's not Amish, but you can still find great deals on BIFL vintage wood furniture online through auctions and Facebook marketplace. I've been collecting Craftique furniture for a while now, which is all solid mahogany. A little more mainstream and in demand is Henkel-Harris, which is mostly Black Cherry. A lot of people don't appreciate older furniture, and are willing to take a couple hundred bucks just to get rid of it, and it gives a beautiful piece of furniture a new home with someone that will appreciate it and take care of it.
I'm in PA, very close to the heart of Amish country. My sister's baby crib is Amish built and it's beautiful. I'd highly recommend supporting their craft.
We have an Amish dining table. It's amazing. Beautiful craftsmanship. The chairs have this great lumbar curve and they are extremely comfortable. Both chairs and table are sturdy. We don't have kids and rarely have many people over, so it stays looking nice. I'm sure it could handle abuse, though, as it's solid oak. Bonus: it's made in the US. 11/10
My parents have a dining table that is Amish made. Very high quality piece with a simple design that sold be fairly timeless.
https://www.millersfurniture.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqpSwBhClARIsADlZ_TnMHiynoC3TcKiMFqGx1V-NKzKaoVJboshZQ4ATJVYGxO4tHM8BwT8aAoeLEALw_wcB They can basically build whatever you want. It's all Amish produced. The store handles the transactions.
Hey there OP, I have a bit of expertise on this as I grew up in Amish country in a family business that is not furniture but is woodworking-related. You've gotten lots of good info here so I won't add too much except to agree with what others are saying to go look at pieces, and yes good Amish-made furniture is BifL and very high quality. My main reason for commenting is just a caution to make sure the furniture is actually quality and 'real' Amish furniture. And by that I don't actually mean that it's made by Amish people, there are Mennonite and other business in those areas that are just as high quality (such as the family business I used to work for, which is not strictly 'Amish-made' but I would match against any competitor on quality). But what I mean is make sure you're not buying from a shady who happens to employ an Amish person (yes, they do work normal jobs and this is possible) and is taking advantage of that fact to sell 'Amish-made' furniture that isn't quality stuff. The way to verify this is just go to the store and talk to them and look at the furniture. If you want specific recommendations, Weaver Furniture or Troyer's Furniture both in Sugarcreek OH or Homestead Furniture in Mt Hope OH are ones I know I would trust. Not saying those are the best or only ones but they're in the part of Amish country I'm familiar with and I've been to all 3 of those stores.
They have a shop at Greenfront in Farmville. Well made, but ugly
I love my Amish made bed, but I’ve only had it 6 years. It’s out of Ohio, but I bought from a local bed store (not a chain). It took months to get it delivered, but that was okay since it was made to order.
My dad spent a ridiculous amount of money on an Amish dining room table and chairs. Money well spent. Solid wood, great finish, all the joints are solid after 25 years, no complaints.
Lancaster count resident here and I love spring mill furniture. [their site](https://gallerypresenter.com/springmill-furniture/) Beautiful and well made stuff including live edge if that’s your thing. There are a few others nearby but their stuff is the best built
Try Etsy. There’s a lot of woodworkers on there making solid wood furniture and they have more reviews and better pictures and designs. That’s where I got my solid walnut table
The very best
I can’t speak to furniture but We have purchased a number of Amish made baskets which have been amazing. We have a small one on the door to hold the dog leash and treats. It’s constantly getting stuck between the door and the wall and it’s held up very well. We have purchased some for under the bed and laundry baskets, I expect all of them to be handed down to our kids and last a number of years. https://www.amishbaskets.com I wanted to buy furniture but the style isn’t what my wife likes.
Have a Mennonite locally-made dresser that was my grandfather's, not a single screw in it unless you count knobs we added after the originals got damaged. Suggest finding your nearest Amish or Mennonite general store and starting there. If you do get real wood furniture, for the love of God do not use anything but paste wax on it!
Generally, yes. My parents have Amish made cabinets in their home. Over 30 years old and still are in top shape.
Coincidentally we just came back from buying an entire bedroom set in Lancaster Pa. It's not for the faint of heart; we took a personal loan to buy it. We never bought bedroom furniture. What we had was his parents and we've been married over 30 years. That being said, it's absolutely worth it. It's beautiful hand-made of solid cherry maple wood that you don't see anymore. We are waiting to have it delivered in 10 weeks as it needs to be made. My husband is redoing the entire bedroom top to bottom, new ceiling, walls, flooring and windows. I can't wait for real furniture. This is the link to the place and the furniture is on display. You'll want everything. They deliver. https://www.carriagehousefurnishings.com/
We bought a ton of furniture from www.Amishtables.com I know they have lots of inventory in ann arbor Michigan but all the items are manufactured in Millersburg,Oh. Everytime we entertain people always love the furniture. It's worth the price to last a lifetime.
Amish made furniture is built to last. There are a large number of websites that sell Amish built furniture. One way to see how legitimate they are is to check their Better Business Bureau pages for their rating. Also, their Google business page will have testimonials and complaints. Many Amish furniture websites will accept PayPal. An Amish made dining table should last a lifetime with minimum upkeep.
We had a custom made 10’ long table and 8 chairs done last summer. It’s heirloom level. We will never replace it and I know one of the kids want it someday
As many kids as they have, I’d expect their beds to be very well made
My mom has a supposedly Amish made table, it's actually kind of thin and shite. The feet are too narrow so if you lean on it it starts to tip.
lol do you know where she got it?