Amish furniture is not only aesthetically and visually appealing, it is also sturdy and crafted to last a lifetime. The Amish take great pride in each piece of furniture they hand craft and they consider their pieces an art form as much as functional furniture.

• Dining Room: tables, chairs, dining room sets, curio cabinets, buffets, hutches and wine racks.

In today’s scaled-back furniture industry, there often appears a lack of attention to detail and overall quality that borders on the lackadaisical. Let’s face it. We live in an ever-changing, frantically non-static culture that thrives on the temporal use of material goods; including furniture. This is a shame; and is partial motivation for what drives the Amish craftsman to produce pieces of furniture that ooze pride and integrity of construction. When you purchase a piece of hand-made Amish Furniture, you are buying a product made to last many generations.

Amish made furniture is sometimes displayed at expos held in states such as Ohio and Indiana which is where the retailers or middlemen may come into contact with the Amish craftsmen and form a business relationship. These middlemen thereafter facilitate the buying from the Amish and the selling to the mainstream consumer. This is the reason that people living in far flung states where there are no Amish communities can now take the advantage of purchasing Amish furniture online; sometimes even Amish wholesale furniture. Because of the middleman or retailer, Amish made furniture has become accessible to a far wider consumer base, since people can order online and have individual pieces shipped to their doorstep!

Nature Friendly: The Amish religious beliefs forbid use of mechanization and so there is no use of heavy machinery involved in producing this furniture. Consequently there is less drain on resources. Also since this is furniture made the old fashioned way, the manufacturing process precludes use of toxic substances or harmful chemicals that that may be hazardous to health. Plus the Amish way of life is close to the earth and to nature, it is a minimally wasteful which is another reason to support them and their trade.

The Amish prefer to use a horse and cart to transport their furniture, and this is the closest you will get to green, environmentally friendly furniture in the USA. However, it is not only the Amish that offer the mission style of furniture.

Methods of Hand Crafting: It is well known that the Amish live simple lives that do not depend on modern aids or technological tools. There is therefore very little automation used for the making of Amish furniture. It is still made the old fashioned way; some of it is made using old fashioned tools in an unhurried and no-shortcuts method. The joinery used in Amish furniture is especially important, which give it distinctive good looks as well as tremendous durability. Finishing of individual pieces is usually done by hand.

Custom Amish furniture covers a vast array of furniture for your entire house. The categories of furniture they produce include:

• Choose your stain carefully since they are often hard to match if you purchase pieces from different makers. It is best to purchase pieces that will go together from the same maker. Most sellers will provide you with stain samples if you ask for them.

“So, you are saying it’s not authentic Amish furniture?” my friend asked me. I wasn’t sure. I suppose it would depend on the seller. If it is a small, independent seller they may trade with actual Amish craftsman on a regular basis for their wares – but certainly not warehouses full of “vast selections at great prices!”