Difference Between Amish Furniture and Other Furniture?

At first glance, Amish made furniture will strike you as being beautiful, solid, well crafted and timeless looking. There are many qualities that set apart Amish furniture from other kinds of mass produced furniture:

Quality of Raw Materials used: The Amish generally use hard woods for the furniture that they make. They always use solid wood such as cherry, oak, maple etc.; no use is ever made of particle board and other short cut techniques that you routinely see employed in mass produced furniture. The hard wood that is used for Amish made furniture is the kind that is slow growing. Since the wood is slow growing, it is also very durable and long lasting. It is for this reason that Amish furniture is generally thought of as heirloom furniture that is passed on from one to another generation.

Classic Designs: The styles and designs used for making Amish furniture are timeless classics. They are not the kind that follow the ‘here today – gone tomorrow’ trends.  If a piece of Amish handcrafted furniture looks stylish to you now, it will also look as stylish 10 or even 20 years down the road, simply because it is the sort that never goes out of style. Some of the designs and styles employed by the Amish date back not just decades but even perhaps a century or two!

Contrast this to the mass produced, trendy, modern furniture that you see generally. These will follow styles and trends slavishly, without regard for timelessness of the designs.  Something dramatically modern or stark may look really smart today, but within a few years, that very look may seem dated to your own eyes. With furniture, which is a costly purchase in any circumstances, it is wise to invest in something that will last for a long time rather than something that will quickly need replacing.

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.

Exclusivity: With mass produced furniture, you are alas sure that your piece is one from among many, many others that are exactly alike; even identical. The same cannot be said for Amish furniture however, since this is not assembly line furniture. Each individual piece of furniture is lovingly created so that there are no two pieces of furniture that are identical. In fact it is also possible to have pieces of furniture customized to suit your individual requirements and tastes. There is none of the mass produced variety of furniture when you look at Amish made furniture!

With Amish furniture you get sturdy, good looking, exclusive furniture that literally lasts for generations!