Amish Custom Made Furniture
We specialize in crafting custom made furniture created by Amish crafters here in the Illinois and Indiana Amish Country. Our Amish craftsmen can create or reproduce practically any item that you can describe, design, or invent in wood. Long known for their woodworking skills, the Arthur Amish community has built its reputation on solid wood and top quality.
Who can order Wood Loft Amish custom made furniture? The answer is everyone can. We are developing this furniture website mainly for those of you in the mid-west USA but that doesn’t prevent those from further away from creating the perfect piece of furniture. We have done pieces and have shipped items using furniture movers completely across the country and had satisfactory results. We just ask that if this is what we must do, that we both realize the added time and communication that will be necessary to work out the details of the custom work. We’re more than willing to work with you no matter where you live, so don’t let distance be the holdup. We can send pictures and drawings back and forth by email and send color blocks and wood samples by UPS. It just takes a bit more time and planning. Give us a call or email us about your plan.
Where is Arthur, Il.? We are located in East Central Illinois within an easy, one day round trip
drive, just a couple of hours out of Chicago, St. Louis, and Indianapolis. Check our map page for more information on location.
Northern Illinois Delivery – Most people pick up their items at our store in Arthur. As we said earlier, we are not comfortable with the costs and problems associated with crating and carrier delivery, but we have done it. We do offer blanket wrapped delivery “locally” within 200 miles, and to northern Illinois and the Chicago-land area for those who are not able to pick up their orders. Costs are reasonable and still allow you to save a great deal over “city prices.” Actual costs are based on time and exact location and are job specific. We can discuss this when we talk about your order. We either deliver it in our truck and trailer or contract out with a local furniture delivery service. Either way, we can be sure that way that its done right.
Do you have to drive to Arthur? – In most cases, you will need to visit us at least one time prior to confirming your order to develop final details about your order. Because this is custom work, we want you to have a clear understanding of the nature of our quality, style, color, finish and other options. This, we feel, can be done only in our showroom, where we can look at and touch other pieces made by our craftsmen. We are also confident that if you see the quality of the work we do, at the prices we offer, that you will be more comfortable with your purchase. But with only one visit we can, however, develop pricing, general design, color and other details by phone, fax mail or e-mail, and save a lot of time and travel.
Woods, Styles, Colors and Designs – We work in all species of wood. Oak is a primary wood we use, but also do many items in cherry, walnut, hickory and maple. We use a great deal of “solid” wood, that is, lumber, with a minimum use of veneers in some concealed or non strategic locations (thin backs, drawer bottoms, etc.) where they are actually quite superior to “solid.” In colors (stains) we have a large number of “standard” colors available but are also very comfortable in matching any sample color that you might provide. Designs? Well, that’s where the word custom comes in. While any of the items in the store might tempt you to take it home with you, for no extra cost we can put your dreams and ideas together into a special piece, just for you. Waiting time runs 12 to 16 weeks for most items, but they are well worth the wait, we assure you. (click here for sample wood photos)
The Process – Long Distance Ordering
Step 1 – If you have an interest in a specific item that you have seen elsewhere or have always wanted, try to get or make a drawing or photo of the item or at least its basic dimensions, and specific properties (doors, drawers, shelves etc) and then give us a call and we can discuss our products, our quality, our services and what information we will need to get a price and information together for you. In most cases after this we will ask that you mail, fax or forward to us the necessary basic size, shape, style information and we will work up a price. Often, we work up plans from drawings or pages torn from Sunday supplements, other furniture store ads, or catalogs, but simple pencil line drawings work as well.
Step 2 – We will get back to you with a price and other information about the item(s) you inquired about. If there is interest at this point we would probably need to find out a few more details about the piece you want constructed. The things that fall into this category are exact measurements, different moldings, and other aspects that you must keep in mind so that we can refine the design process and be sure that we have not overlooked anything that would affect our final price quote or the intended quality of you furniture.
Step 3 – Somewhere in all this, and about at this point, is when we need to get together to discuss the subjective aspects of furniture design. Just what exactly, do you mean or we mean by “medium” color, or “slightly eased” edges. What’s the appeal of a “large” dental molding vs. a “small” one? In some cases you can see Arthur Amish made items in your neighborhood, and I’m thinking of the Chicago, Indianapolis, and St. Louis areas in particular, in other people’s showrooms (at correspondingly higher “city” prices.) These items may give you a bit of background on the quality and finish but still, we’d like to see you.
With one visit under our belts, we will present you with a firm price and delivery date, and with your permission, begin your furniture. We do require a 50% non refundable deposit on all custom orders. We will advise you when the furniture is ready for your inspection, pick up or delivery. Pick up or delivery can be decided at the end for your convenience. Many people find that they have a friend with a pickup truck, or can rent a small U-Haul trailer for very little money and with the money saved, spend a day or even overnight in Amish Country.
If you’ve stayed with us this long, and think you might have an interest, you may want to check out new pages that we are building on different categories of our furniture.