Amish mission furniture follows the strong traditions of mission styles of furniture that have been around since the latter part of the 19th century. Mission Style is a design that highlights the simple horizontal and vertical lines and flat panels of the most elegant and timeless furniture styles. This design style tries to accentuate the grain of the actual wood that is used; which may be oak or other hard wood that is preferred for the making of this kind of furniture.

In Victorian times, there was more emphasis on overly ornate and elaborate furniture varieties. The mission style of furniture has developed as and by way of an answer to people who were looking for relief after the excesses of Victorian times. At the time there was also an influx of mass-produced furniture from the Industrial Revolution, and people were looking for something more individualistic and distinctive. The furniture maker, Gustav Stickley was known to be the progenitor of the Arts and Crafts style furniture of the period. This kind of furniture was typified by plain and solid oak furniture that was handcrafted, with great attention to strength and sturdiness rather than any elaborate ornamentation and unnecessary frills.

Simple, sturdy and practical are the bywords when you talk of Amish mission furniture, whether it be Amish dining room furniture, or Amish office furniture or indeed any furniture for any part of the house or the outdoors. Since the tradition of mission furniture is an age old one, the ways in which this furniture is crafted and created are also age old.

For one the material used is none of the convenient but soulless plywood or particle board that is so often used in modern furniture. Here solid wood, and only solid wood is used! The wood chosen is of the slow growing variety, which makes for strong, long wearing and high quality furniture that will last, quite literally, a lifetime.

Another point of import when you talk about Amish mission furniture are the techniques that are used to make this furniture: the beliefs of the Amish themselves preclude modern mechanized and automated methods of furniture making. This furniture is made in about the same way that it was made more than hundred years ago! This is handcrafted furniture made using tools of a bygone era, and techniques also of a bygone era. And all this in a mechanized age where we trust machines to do all that we don’t want to do by hand!

It may be a contradiction in terms, but this furniture, whether it is Amish office furniture you speak about or the highly prized Amish dining room furniture, is both functional and a work of art as well. Because it is unique, exclusive and individually handcrafted rather than mass produced, each piece is a work of art. Because it is such good quality and so sturdily built, it both practical and functional; it is a sensible investment that will stand you in good stead for literally a lifetime!