Mission Furniture is characterized by the Stickley Mission Collection and many of the Amish furniture styles, which are not only designed with the clean lines and cheerful functionality that have characterized genuine American furniture for centuries, but also showcase the best of American handmade crafts. It’s not a style for everyone, but it offers the comfort and simplicity that most Americans appreciate.
We’ll review mission style furniture here by considering two manufacturers: Stickley Furniture of Manlius, NY, which originated with the Stickley family with old Flemish roots, and Simply Amish of Illinois, started by an Amish family in the 1970s. One of these firms uses traditional carpentry techniques in the elaboration of its furniture, and although the mission style is not the entire range of products offered by each one of them, it is elaborated according to the methods and simplicity of traditionally used designs.
Stickley Mission Furniture
Stickley uses traditional oak and American cherry woods for his mission-style furniture. The company offers 5 oak finishes and 12 cherry finishes, giving you such a large selection that you’re sure to find a wood finish to match or contrast with your current home décor.
For the dining room, you can choose from a variety of solid dining tables – this style of furniture will not give you fancy carving, just pure American solid craftsmanship without the use of nails or screws, and furniture that will last the test of time. your family line ‘Made in America’ is probably what you want right now, and nothing is more American-made than this type of furniture.
The chairs are of solid construction, with and without arms, and with smooth or upholstered wooden seats. Add sideboards, display cabinets, display buffets and kitchen cabinets, all available in a variety of designs and wood finishes, and you’ll begin to get an idea of just how extensive a selection of mission furniture is available for your dining room or kitchen.
In the living room, you get the same clean lines, all upholstered in leather or fabric, but with wood arms of various designs, solid, slatted, and tiered. Simple but beautiful loveseats, sofas and chairs. Traditional rocking chairs, solid wood TV cabinets, entertainment centers and china and display cases of all kinds.
Stickley offers mission furniture for every room in your home, including beds with spindle and slatted headboards and footboards. It is handmade furniture and very high quality finishes. Your biggest problem with this huge range will be choosing the pieces you want to buy for your home.
Simply Amish Mission Furniture
Illinois-based Simply Amish uses traditional Amish craftsmen and women to make their furniture. They employ people across the state to make the individual pieces, often in their own homes. Each piece is wrapped in blankets for distribution instead of spoiling the environment with cardboard boxes and corrugated or even Styrofoam wrappers.
Only traditional joining techniques are used, and Simply Amish offers a number of traditional Amish furniture styles, several of which are described as ‘mission’. The standard style is very simply upholstered, and many ladder-back and spindle-back chairs and capes are not upholstered. Its largest range is the company’s Prairie Mission furniture range with pieces suitable for any room. These are usually made of solid wood, and in the few pieces that are upholstered, this is generally through the use of cushions.
Simply Amish also offer the Royal Mission range with more design elaboration. Pieces include high-back chairs, built-in home office units, beautiful solid wood armoires and cabinets, and much more. When you add Shaker Furniture Genuine Designs and their Hickory Hollow range of old walnut furniture, you’ll have to agree that Simply Amish offers you the best selection of traditional American, frontier, pioneer and world mission furniture – if it’s traditionally American. , Simply Amish do, even the ‘Classic’ range which showcases some great American carving and woodwork.
Each of the two firms mentioned above produces mission furniture made genuinely in the United States by Americans and not imported. It’s handcrafted and not robotic, and it’s made from American wood. Simply Amish uses wood grown within a 500-mile radius of the main mill.
Mission furniture style may be simple compared to the Regency or French Louis periods, but it’s solid, will be cherished for generations, and looks great in modern homes. This style of furniture, and just about any style of Amish furniture, is worth every penny you spend on it and will serve you well.
