Amish furniture

Amish furniture is furniture manufactured by the Amish, primarily of Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio. It is generally known as being made of 100% wood and usually without particle board or laminate. The styles most often used by the Amish woodworkers are generally more traditional in nature.

Amish furniture first gained attention in the 1920s, when early American folk art was "discovered", and dealers and historians placed great value upon the beauty and quality of the pieces. Many different styles of Amish furniture emerged. The Jonestown School began in the late 18th century in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. The Jonestown School is most widely known for painted blanket chests decorated with flowers on three panels. Examples of these chests are on display at both the Smithsonian Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Another distinctive style of Amish furniture is the Soap Hollow School, developed in Soap Hallow, Pennsylvania. These pieces are often brightly painted in red, gold, and black. Henry Lapp was a furniture maker based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and it is his designs that most closely resemble the furniture we think of today as Amish-made. He was one of the first to abandon the painted, Germanic-style influence in his furniture and opted for an undecorated, plain style, following more the styles of Welsh furniture making of the time. The order book he offered to his customers contained watercolor paintings of his pieces and is now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The record price for American folk-painted furniture was sold at Sotheby's in 1986. It was a tall case clock made in 1801 by Johannes Spitler that sold for $203,500.

Because Amish beliefs prevent the use of electricity, many woodworking tools in Amish shops are powered by hydraulic and pneumatic power that is run on diesel compressors. Most communities permit some technology, and allowances can be made in the case of woodworking, as the craft often supports multiple families within the community.

Great attention is paid to the details of the wood in the furniture-making process. Each piece of wood is hand-selected to match the specific furniture in mind. Attention is paid to the grain of the wood, both in gluing pieces together and in achieving the desired look of the finished piece. Amish furniture is also valued for its sustainability and is considered a green product. The Amish woodworkers pride themselves in their work and view their products as both pieces of art and furnishings to be used and lived in for generations.

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