American-Made Solid Wood Furniture: Not Just an East-Coast Thing

Perhaps it is my East-coast bias, but I always associated furniture manufacturing with North Carolina/Southwestern Virginia/Pennsylvania, with a nod to New England for smaller scale production of pieces by cantankerous Yankee craftsmen! Some of the better known furniture makers have fallen on hard times in recent years, and as with other sorts of manufacturing, it is getting harder to find American-made solid wood furniture.

I was happy to discover, however, that there is a vibrant furniture-making tradition in the Pacific Northwest. While searching for American-made Windsor dining chairs, I came upon House2Home Furniture
, an online store that carries solid wood furniture from a number of American manufacturers. The site features a number of Oregon-based furniture makers, including John Boos & Co. (makers of kitchen butcher block furniture), John Greenleaf (a wonderful brand of unfinished solid wood furniture), Pacific Woodcraft, and Westview Products.

House2Home Furniture
also carries my favorite lines of wooden children’s furniture: brightly painted Jellybeans, made in America’s Heartland, and Little Colorado (you guessed it—made in Colorado!).

Other American-made brands at House2Home Furniture
include Catskill Craftsman (kitchen furniture), Old Adirondack (natural cedar furniture from New York State), Richardson Bro.s (Sheboygan, WI), Maco Wood Products, Country Furniture Mfg (home office, hutch and buffet furniture), and Quality Craft (solid pine furniture made in California).



In addition to regional differences in furniture-making styles and techniques, biology plays a role. East-coast furniture usually features hardwoods such as maple, cherry, and oak, whereas West-coast furniture makers often use red alder, birch, and pine. For handcrafted Adirondack chairs, expect natural cedar. (A nice site to learn more about America’s native trees and the qualities of various hardwoods is the American Hardwood Information Center)

I can’t leave the topic of furniture without paying homage to the Windsor chair that started it all. The most beautiful example I found was the individually handcarved chairs of David Spero, on his site Vermont Windsor Chairs. I hope Santa is taking notes!

[Disclosure Note: I have joined the House2Home Affiliate program, so a small percent of purchases made from the links on my site will go to support StillMadeinUSA.com.]

Stephanie, Webmaster
StillMadeinUSA.com