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Amish Furniture

post #1 of 18
5/11/08 at 10:01am
Thread Starter 
So I was in a local high-end furniture shop and I noticed that a lot of the furniture they are selling is made by the Amish. The idea is that the Amish use old world methods of manufacturing and do most of the work on the furniture by hand, but don't charge a million dollars for it. That got me thinking, couldn't I just drive into the Pennsylvania Amish country and buy pieces of furniture directly from the Amish at a lower price than what they are selling for in these high end stores? Anyone have any experience with this? Anyone have any experience was Amish furniture in general?
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post #2 of 18
5/11/08 at 1:15pm
My grandfather went the driving to Pennsylvania route, I believe. The most memorable piece he had was a giant four-poster bed with a removable slant and built in drawers. I don't know much about his business interactions, but the bed is very well made, very simple, and very heavy. These seem to be the three most common qualities in Amish furniture.
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post #3 of 18
5/11/08 at 1:31pm
I don't see why you couldn't drive a UHaul down to Penn. I'm curious to see any pics of amish furniture fit in with a modern decore. It seems bulky and overly simplistic to me.
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post #4 of 18
5/11/08 at 1:38pm
I have driven around lancaster county and visited furnature places. I like the stuff. The prices seemed really good - what I got was a wagon for kids for a friends kid.
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post #5 of 18
5/11/08 at 1:55pm
Yes, you can drive around and see places. Up by our lakehouse in Northeast Indiana, there's a pretty large Amish area, and we've seen all sorts of furniture and other goods for sale. There's a fresh fruit stand that we always stop by and they also sell furniture which, to me, has always looked very nice and very high quality.
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post #6 of 18
5/11/08 at 4:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwilkinson View Post
Yes, you can drive around and see places. Up by our lakehouse in Northeast Indiana, there's a pretty large Amish area, and we've seen all sorts of furniture and other goods for sale. There's a fresh fruit stand that we always stop by and they also sell furniture which, to me, has always looked very nice and very high quality.

That's my neck of the woods. Generally speaking, they build very nice, simplistic furniture. That isn't to say they can't build more exotic pieces, but simplicity is their way of life.

Off topic, but some of the megamarts on the east side of town (where more Amish tend to be concentrated) have hitching posts for buggies.
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post #7 of 18
5/11/08 at 8:17pm
We bought a dining table, chairs, and a sideboard in maple from the Amish. Also, we had custom end tables made for either side of a sofa. They do excellent work. Our decor is sort of modern, and the simplicity of their designs go well. The prices were better than the crap available at name-brand furniture stores.

If you want to see where we shopped, there's a web site: www.simplyamish.com
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post #8 of 18
5/12/08 at 12:50am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by tiecollector View Post
I don't see why you couldn't drive a UHaul down to Penn. I'm curious to see any pics of amish furniture fit in with a modern decore. It seems bulky and overly simplistic to me.

See, that's what I like about it. I have a traditional colonial type of houe and I'm trying to get decor that matches the style of the house. I would think that something like a big heavy bookshelf and big heavy coffee table would work well with my kind of rustic colonial decor. Heck, I might even go for a new dining room table. I also like the idea that the stuff seems to be a much better quality than the crap you get at the local big box furniture store.
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post #9 of 18
5/12/08 at 1:02am
I'd be afraid to have to deal with the Amish face to face.
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post #10 of 18
5/12/08 at 1:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoCal2NYC View Post
I'd be afraid to have to deal with the Amish face to face.

Why?
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post #11 of 18
5/12/08 at 9:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoCal2NYC View Post
I'd be afraid to have to deal with the Amish face to face.

Wear your Thom Browne. They will appreciate the apparent thriftiness of wearing your big brother's hand-me-downs.
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post #12 of 18
5/12/08 at 10:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad View Post
Why?

Haven't you ever seen King Pin??
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post #13 of 18
5/12/08 at 5:45pm
Dealing directly with the Amish can be a real trip. You mention driving to a colony. That is probably the route to the best prices, but not as easy as one might imagine. The Amish are, in addition to the qualities noted in posts above, shrewd business people. Don't automatically assume you are getting the best deal that you can. Don't be afraid to do some dickering. My mother traded in hand-made quilts and developed over the years close relationships with many of the women in an Amish community outside her hometown. They came to treat Mother as a friend and she got fabulous prices on some gorgeous needlework. You'll get your best price by locating an individual workman and dealing directly with him. It might take you more than one trip to the colony to do so. And don't be alarmed by the sight of little sheds out near the roads; that's where the Amish have their phones and fax machines installed. Seriously. My mother was interested in a very specifically-pattered quilt once, and when she was dealing with one of her Amish friends, Mother told the woman she would go home and mail a drawing of the pattern to her. The Amish woman laughed and said, "Just fax it to me."
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post #14 of 18
5/12/08 at 10:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnapril View Post
If you want to see where we shopped, there's a web site: www.simplyamish.com

Heh, an Amish website. Who'da thunk it?

I like the utilitarian, understated elegance of Amish craftsmanship. Quintessentially American.
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post #15 of 18
6/7/08 at 12:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by RyJ Maduro View Post
Heh, an Amish website. Who'da thunk it?

I like the utilitarian, understated elegance of Amish craftsmanship. Quintessentially American.

Actually, the Amish do have websites that are maintained by non-Amish. On the websites, they always face away from the camera because they do not believe in recreating the likeness of anyone.

This is quite funny: Amishfurniture.com sells furniture to furnish your plasma tv:

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