'Buy it once': What's different about Amish furniture and where to find it in Tennessee

The difference between Amish furniture and any other furniture is like the difference between grandma's apple pie and pie made in a factory, said Guy Irwin, owner of Amish Excellence Furniture Maker.

It's easy to see which is better.

But what is Amish furniture? What really makes it different? And where can people buy it in Middle Tennessee?

Custom and solid

Amish furniture is characterized by the use of locally sourced solid hardwood assembled by members of Amish or Mennonite communities who have long traditions of masterful craftsmanship. It's known for its durability, solidity and longevity, especially compared to the mass-produced furniture found in big box stores.

"They’ll say, ‘oh yeah, it’s solid wood,’ and what they’re meaning by that is it’s a composite. It’s all wood, but it’s sawdust and glue, that kind of thing," said Daniel Martin, an owner at Martin Furniture. "With us, you’ve got lumber that’s milled from the tree and glued together in slabs — and that’s how our furniture is made."

Amish furniture is typically made custom, too. That means the buyer can specify the style, the dimensions, the stain color and even the species of wood used in each piece.

"People love that they have a choice," said Gary O'Reilly, owner of O'Reilly's Amish Furniture. "I tell them, 'it’s your money, you can get what you want' – change the wood color, the finish, I mean there’s 407 pieces of hardware for dressers and bookcases and desks and TV cabinets. You can change anything."

Since Amish furniture is high quality and handmade to order, it comes at a price. But because of its quality, it's an investment.

"We call it generation furniture. The kids will fight for it in 40 years, 30 years," O'Reilly said.

The higher prices also reflect the customizability of Amish furniture, something that's not possible with high end furniture brands that ask similar prices, O'Reilly said.

"If you look at brand names — Bernhardt and that — their stuff’s priced the same as ours, and ours, you can pick whatever color you want. A Bernhardt dresser, you can’t change a piece of hardware, well less the finish, the wood. We can even order sizes because they make it to order," O'Reilly said.

Pieces can take anywhere from four weeks to three months from the time you order until the time they're in your house.

"It’s all hand done. It’s not done by machines. It’s not done by Robbie the Robot," Irwin said.

Every step of the way, Martin said, somebody is hands-on with the materials that will become a customer's piece of furniture.

"They’re buying local, sustainable hardwood from the Appalachian area and they’re having that milled and they order the lumber when they get an order so they’re not stacking up piles of wood or making a bulk warehouse full of furniture. They’re not even making the piece until we place the order," he said.

Most Amish furniture is made in small workshops in Amish communities in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana where most of the country's Amish population resides.

"I would say we do have two or three local Tennessee suppliers," Martin said. "There’s one shop we work with here in Tennessee and it’s not Amish or Mennonite, but in Cannon County there’s a long history of chair making, and so we work with a shop that’s been there forever — I mean, three or four generations — making rocking chairs. We have their product here."

It's about people

O'Reilly has owned his Tennessee shop since 2020, but before that, he owned an Amish furniture store in Illinois for more than 40 years. Throughout his career selling furniture, he's formed relationships with some of his suppliers.

"The Amish people are absolute darlings. I mean, it’s just nice people to deal with," he said.

He said they have a different approach to their work than others who make furniture.

"They’re truly honorable," O'Reilly said. "What was happening in America, a lot of the factories didn’t have pride, and they put pride into what they do."

Out of the pride they have for their work comes the care and attention to detail that creates excellent pieces of furniture, according to O'Reilly.

"They do a step further than everyone else," O'Reilly said. "You go to shake an Amish table, it’s like trying to shake a brick house. Their regular 4-legged dining room table, if it’s over 66 inches, they put a fifth leg in the center. Why? Well, just in case."

O'Reilly had other examples of the quality difference.

"Their drawers compared to imported furniture is just night and day," he said. "An Amish bedroom drawer is what’s called full extension – you pull the drawer 'till it stops, the back of the drawer is even with the front of the dresser, so there’s no searching for stuff you can’t see, it’s all right in front of you."

His comparison to imported furniture highlighted another thing that sets Amish furniture apart.

"Obviously everything’s made in America," he said. "Everything 100% across the board is American made, everything I sell. That’s probably the thing I’m proudest about."

There are a lot of places to shop for Amish furniture in Middle Tennessee. Here is just a handful of them:

Amish Excellence Furniture Maker, 1109 Davenport Blvd., Ste. 100, Franklin, TN 37069

Bryant's Country Store, 2471 Hwy. 41 S., Greenbrier, TN 37073

Countrywood Accents, 916 Scottsville Rd., Lafayette, TN 37083

Martin Furniture, 1000 NW Broad St., Murfreesboro, TN 37129

O'Reilly's Amish Furniture, 8223 Highway 100 Nashville, TN 37221

The Amish House, 7278 Nolensville Road, Nolensville, TN 37135

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Amish furniture is different and where to find it around Nashville