Home Furnishings

Photo courtesy of Legacy Home Furniture

By Beth Anne Brink-Cox House and Home Feature Writer

Isn’t it interesting to walk into a house, or see a stage or television set and instantly recognize the era of its furnishings and decorations? The avocado and orange of the 70s, the dusty blue and pink, geese and baskets of the 80s and so on.

Generally speaking, you either loved one of those particular looks or you hated it and, if you hated it, you wanted to change it.

Quarantining meant most of us were inside our homes more than the norm and that’s led to a lot of redecorating whenever possible. That goes beyond paint and paper and hardware; it means furniture, too. And it’s impossible to live in our Michiana area and not recognize the beauty and value of Amish crafted furniture.

The ancestral skills and fine materials used make these wonderful heirloom-quality pieces worth every penny, and likely you’ll never tire of looking at them and using them. Kiln-dried wood is far superior to particle board and laminates, and even the assembly, with dovetail joints, stretcher-based chairs and other fine details only adds to the finished look and value. Janine Blosser at Brandenberry Amish Furniture in Shipshewana said the trends now follow several distinctly different looks. “The wood pieces are more classic. A lot of the bedroom furniture is seeing soft neutrals, especially gray finishes. And many of the upholstered pieces are also gray,” which is cool and calming.

She went on to say, “But the reclaimed barn wood look, rustic look, that’s really popular too.” It definitely gives a new home a historic, well lived look. When asked what woods are currently popular, Blosser said, “Right now we do a lot of quarter-sawn oak, hickory, hard maple. And we still do some oak pieces.” I asked if they ever sell unfinished pieces of furniture, she said, “Typically, no, but we do offer that if it’s wanted.”

As with so many other businesses, supply shortages have affected Brandenberry with longer lead times. “Lead times can be as far out as January/February. But it’s improving. We are seeing some orders come in during August/September.”

Online stores have hurt some dealers, but Blosser said, “We

do have a website ourselves, so we have a good niche in that. A lot of outof-state people, we can do very well for them. And of course there are many items in stock to purchase off the floor.” High demand has led to some higher prices, because of shortages. But the store has supplied furnishings “for some of the universities,” Blosser explained. “They ordered bedroom furniture, tables and chairs, a wide variety.”

Legacy Furniture, with locations in Goshen and Middlebury, is another manufacturer and supplier of Amish furniture.

Kris Schlabach, co-owner, said, “What’s trendy? People are buying furniture that’s transitional, neutral shades and finishes: gray, brown, lighter and natural wood tones–we’re seeing a lot more of that. We also do traditional furnishings, but transitional is the word we hear a lot.”

As for the preferred woods, Schlabach said, “It’s solid wood: maple, hickory, oak is coming back and while we can do contemporary colors, there’s more darks.....maple and hickory are more natural. Typically we prefer to do our own finishing. We have a person who does all of our finishing. I have sold unfinished pieces but the best things are locally made with a solid high quality finish, which you can’t do so well at home.”

Online and big box stores haven’t hurt this business so much, either. “We have an extensive line of furniture, so we are always in stock to buy. But we do a lot of custom or special orders, too. Lead times are better now rather than during the worst of COVID and upholstered work is nearly back to normal. Locally made wood products still take longer lead times. A year ago it was crazy!” said Schlabach. “There are still hiccups. We have an extensive website, mostly for people to see what we have to offer. It’s still best for customers to come in and touch, see, feel what they’re buying. Most people still want to come in personally. I would say the online trend isn’t going to go away, but if you’re shopping online you’re not buying apples to apples. There’s a quality difference.”

Schlabach said they’ve supplied a few large orders, and “We appreciate every customer whether it’s a single piece or a whole housefull. Big jobs are fun, out of the ordinary, but the small jobs are what keep us going!” n

Photo courtesy of Legacy Home Furniture