Ep. 3: Insider Tips: Shopping for Amish Furniture

Jake Smucker 04/11/2020
The Amish Furniture Podcast
The Amish Furniture Podcast
Ep. 3: Insider Tips: Shopping for Amish Furniture
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Ever wondered whether you’re asking the right questions? Whether you’re being taken advantage of by a manipulative salesperson? With Amish furniture, you no longer have to stay in the dark because we’re giving you the insider perspective on shopping for Amish furniture. In Episode 3 of The Amish Furniture Podcast, Milca and Beth welcome Shannon to the show. Shannon is a Furniture Specialist at DutchCrafters, where she helps shoppers custom order Amish Furniture every day. Together, they’ll offer 6 insider tips about shopping for Amish furniture. 

Insider Tip 1: Rely on Amish Furniture Experts

Don’t worry. We’ve all been there. We don’t want to sound dumb or ignorant. And, just like Milca says in the podcast, we get afraid to ask questions about the products we’re buying! In this tip, Shannon reassures you that she’s heard it all and everyone’s better off if you ask your questions while shopping. The better you know the products, styles, and wood types, the happier you’ll be with your finished product.

Why Do I Need an Expert?

Buying Amish Furniture isn’t like many purchases you make. From wood types and finishes through the logistics of delivery to your home, there’s a lot to understand and work through. So even if you’re a woodworker yourself, we recommend running your questions by a specialist to fully understand the product and services.

Who are Amish Furniture Expert?

Anywhere you shop for Amish furniture, you’ll find salespeople or owners or maybe even builders who have extensive experience with Amish furniture. At DutchCrafters, for example, a small team of Furniture Specialists is available by to help you with your orders by phone or online chat.

Insider Tip 2: Do Your Research

Dovetailing from the first tip, we encourage you to do your own research. The questions with an Amish furniture order may be quite complicated, but you can often get a decent understanding by doing some research first. A simple Google search might help with your decisions, but DutchCrafters also provides over 400 blog posts and nearly 200 videos to help you find what you’re looking for. 
The first topics to understand are Furniture Styles and Wood Types. Once you better understand your preferred aesthetic for wood types and furniture styles, it’ll help you immensely in finding the right products for your home.

Insider Tip 3: Have Patience

We understand. Waiting isn’t easy. But many DutchCrafters customers tell us after receiving their furniture that it was totally worth the wait. In this tip, Beth encourages shoppers to think of Amish furniture as a “calendar item.” You wait for Christmas. You wait for your tax return. In the same way, you’ll likely have to place your order and mark a date several months in the future for delivery. Then, let the anticipation build as your furniture is constructed and finished just to your specifications while that date crawls closer and closer.
Watch the Build Time video Milca mentioned at 14:45 too! 

Insider Tip 4: Measure for the Furniture’s Fit

You’re ordering furniture for delivery to your home. But how can you trust it’ll be the right fit? Measure! We recommend measuring all doorways, stairs, elevators, and hallways your furniture will have to move through to get to its new home. Then measure the space itself. Will your new piece actually fit under the windowsill as you imagined? Will it fit in the corner without blocking your way in the middle of the night? Measuring and taping off those areas is the best way to ensure your delivery day goes smoothly.

At 20:15, Beth discussed the importance of measuring your home for your furniture and highlighted DutchCrafters’ Furniture Delivery Tips & Tricks video. Watch that too! 

Insider Tip 5: Consider Customizing Your Amish Furniture

Did you measure and realize the furniture won’t quite fit right? Do you have an heirloom piece in the home already whose wood tone you want to match? There are many reasons to customize your furniture. And at DutchCrafters, we specialize in customization. But wherever you choose to shop, you’re likely to be presented with outstanding wood and finish options, hardware selections, and much more.

Insider Tip 6: Order Stain Samples

This is perhaps the easiest tip we offer in the episode, but also the most important! You may see a stain color on screen or in a store that looks just right, but we don’t want you to commit to anything without seeing the sample in your home. So ask for several stain samples, view them in your home in the future furniture’s actual lighting conditions, and you can have confidence in your selection. If you’re considering DutchCrafters, select your stain samples here or by talking with a Furniture Specialist.

Shopping for Amish Furniture: A Review

These Insider Tips include recommendations on ordering stain samples, how to approach customizing, measuring for your furniture’s fit, the importance of patience, the value of doing your own research, and encouragement to rely on the Amish furniture experts for help. But really, there’s a world of possibilities with custom Amish furniture, and you can truly and totally make it your own. Want to read more Insider Tips? Find more on our Insider Tips blog. Or, you can simply get started shopping right here at DutchCrafters or wherever you prefer to shop for Amish Furniture. 

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