From Cluttered to Classic: Creating a Home Office With Amish Built Furniture

TL;DR - From Cluttered to Classic: Creating a Home Office With Amish Built Furniture

When choosing your office furniture, start by figuring out the look you’re going for and the practical problems you’re trying to solve.
Amish-built furniture uses solid hardwood construction and traditional joinery methods to create pieces that are majestic yet practical.
Key furniture pieces for your office include a desk, an office chair, bookshelves, and optional file cabinets and armchairs.
Shop for these key pieces by finding reference photos, taking measurements, looking at furniture options in person, and talking to experts.

Rich wood. Tall bookshelves. A desk that makes a statement. Whether you regularly work from home or simply want a space all to yourself to pay bills, write emails, or research your favorite niche topics, a home office is a must.

But the reality of most home offices is much different than the office you picture in your head. A too-small desk with peeling veneer sits piled high with papers. Unopened mail, books, and unfinished projects lie stacked in corners, while the particleboard bookshelves bow in the middle. The walls sit blank and uninspired, adorned with nothing more than a stained whiteboard.

What makes the difference between the inspiring, stately office of your imagination and the disorganized mess of reality?

Most of the time, it comes down to the furniture quality.

Here at Covered Bridge Furniture, we understand that solid wood, quality design, and expert craftsmanship make all the difference when it comes to office furniture that inspires vs office furniture that adds stress to your life. That’s why we sell office furniture made by Amish craftsmen who are committed to making pieces that will stand the test of time.

Keep reading to discover how Amish-built office furniture can transform your home office from a hum-drum mess into a thoughtful, inspiring space.

Deciding What You Want From a Home Office

A home office should be a thoughtful mix of practicality and aesthetics. The most important thing is for your office to be a space where you have storage for every stray paper, where your desk is big enough to fit all your screens, and where you can always find what you’re looking for.

But beyond practicality, it matters how your office looks and feels. Tall bookshelves, a large, stately desk, a sturdy, comfortable chair, and a general lack of clutter will give you a feeling of ease and clear your brain so you can be more productive.

What look are you going for?

Look up home office inspiration on a website like Pinterest or Instagram. Are you more drawn to open, airy spaces filled with light? Rooms with muted light and dark, heavy furniture? Something modern, with a standing desk and sleek whiteboards?

Once you have a few inspirational pictures, start noting details. What does the furniture look like in the rooms you’re drawn to? Are there other things you notice in your inspo pics, such as plants, bookshelves, lighting, wall colors, or art styles?

Keep in mind that just because you find a great inspirational picture doesn’t mean you’ll be able to replicate it exactly. For example, if your room had low ceilings, you’ll never replicate the look of soaring bookshelves. Try to find some inspirational pictures that match the style and lighting of your room.

What practical problems are you trying to solve?

Beyond the look, you want your home office to solve some practical problems. For example:

Are you struggling to separate “work” life from “home” life?
Do you struggle with scattered papers on every surface and a general “messy” feel?
Does it feel impossible to make the most of your small space?
Do you find yourself sitting too much? Would you benefit from a standing desk option?
Does your current chair give you back pain?

When you have an idea of what you want your home office to look like, as well as a good list of the problems that need solving, you’ll be ready to pick out furniture.

While there are many office furniture options available, nothing beats the beauty, longevity, and stately look of well-built pieces made of premium hardwood. When you cut corners and buy cheap, mass-produced furniture, it may look nice for a year or two, but once the veneer starts peeling and your particleboard bookshelves start bowing under the weight of books, you’ll find yourself far away from the office of your dreams.

And for the best options around, we recommend Amish-built office furniture.

Why?

Let’s get into it!

What Makes Amish Furniture Special?

Amish furniture stands apart because it’s built with a completely different philosophy than most modern, mass-produced furniture. Instead of prioritizing speed, cost-cutting, and trends, Amish craftsmen focus on durability, function, and timeless design.

Solid hardwood construction

Amish office furniture is built from solid hardwoods like oak, cherry, maple, hickory, and walnut—not particleboard, MDF, or veneer over plywood. Solid wood has weight, strength, and longevity. It won’t bow under the strain of full bookshelves, peel at the edges, or warp after a few years of use. With proper care, it can last for generations.

Traditional joinery methods

Rather than being stamped out by machines on an assembly line, Amish furniture is carefully built by skilled craftsmen who use time-tested joinery techniques. Dovetail joints, mortise-and-tenon construction, and reinforced corners create furniture that is structurally sound from the inside out—not just attractive on the surface.

Customization

Since Amish furniture pieces are one-of-a-kind, you can customize them to suit your taste. Choose your wood type, stain, and style, and an expert will craft you exactly what you want.

Now that you know the advantages of Amish-built furniture, let’s talk about the key furniture pieces you should consider for your office.

Key Office Pieces to Invest In

As you plan your office furniture, there are four key furniture pieces you’ll need to select.

1. The Desk

The desk is the heart of the office. It’s where you’ll do most of your work, and it will shape your entire work experience.

Start with practicality. Choose a desk that’s the right size for your space, that has enough storage space, and that has room for all your screens, and that can accommodate your office chair. Get a standing desk if you’re worried about sitting too much.

Then, think about aesthetics. Choose a style, wood type, and stain that suits your preference. If you want to evoke an old-fashioned study feel, consider buying a desk with a finished back that you can face toward the center of the room instead of against a wall.

2. The Office Chair

It’s difficult to find an office chair that’s both comfortable and beautiful. Amish-built office chairs have wooden frames and high-quality upholstery, designed to offer comfort throughout your workday while retaining a stately look.

3. The Bookcases

You may not initially think of bookshelves as an office essential—after all, most modern office work doesn’t require very much flipping through physical books. But bookcases serve several vital functions in a home office:

Providing vertical storage space, so books, notebooks, binders, and reference materials have a place to live besides the floor or the cluttered desktop.
But don’t limit yourself! Bookshelves can also provide a spot for your printer, your router, and a basket of spare cords.
Bookcases, even when filled with books that you don’t use at work, give your office the look and feel of a stately study.

Ultimately, bookshelves are the key to elevating a home office from a scattered mess to a well-designed space.

4. The File Cabinet

As everything in the modern world becomes increasingly digitized, file cabinets are not as popular in home offices as they used to be. At the same time, if your current office setup feels cluttered and messy, it’s most likely a problem of too many loose papers.

Because of this, the final key to getting your office cleaned up and professional-looking is to purchase a filing cabinet for stray papers and mail.

Of course, nothing ruins the aesthetic like a giant metal hunk of a filing cabinet. That’s why, at Covered Bridge Furniture, we sell some of the most beautiful filing cabinets you’ve ever seen, with smooth, spacious drawers made from solid hardwood.

Or, if that’s not your style, you can also find a large supply of desks with file drawers.

5. Bonus: A Reading Chair

Although not technically a piece of “office furniture,” you may find that your dream setup includes a good reading chair, and potentially an end table or coffee table to go with it.

How to Choose the Amish-Made Office Furniture That’s Right for You

Hopefully, by now, you have a vision of what an office full of Amish-made furniture might look like. But you have so many options, styles, and wood types to choose from. How will you ever figure out what pieces to get?

Here’s a handy step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Have reference photos and an idea of what you want.

You can find reference photos on Google, Pinterest, Instagram, or even from a magazine if you want to go old-school (you are buying Amish-made furniture after all!)

Step 2: Measure the room carefully.

The last thing you want is to invest in pieces that don’t fit your space. Be sure to measure:

The room height
The length of each wall
The exact placement of each window (including the sills and frames)
The exact placement of each outlet (the last thing you want is to block them with heavy furniture!)
The exact placement of air vents

Step 3: Look at furniture in person

Photos online can only tell you so much. For the best experience finding what you want, show up to a furniture store in person. Look at the grain up close. Examine the joints. Run your hand over the finish.

Step 4: Talk to an expert

Finally, talk to a knowledgeable expert who can talk you through:

Price comparison of different types of wood
Maintenance requirements or other factors you may not have thought about
How to achieve the look of your inspiration pictures
Various stain and customization options

Remember: Amish craftsmen typically offer customization options if you don’t find exactly what you want on the showroom floor!

Where to Find High-Quality Amish-Built Office Furniture

Here at Covered Bridge Furniture, we want to match you with high-quality office furniture that will last for generations. To ensure the best quality and experience, we recommend stopping at an Amish furniture store in person to talk to an experienced salesperson about your options, see the quality of the craftsmanship for yourself, and envision the piece in your home.

And we’d love to see you at our furniture store in Mankato, MN!

Remember—even if you’re just driving through, you can see your options, custom-order your piece, and we’ll ship it to you.

Of course, although we recommend coming in person, we understand that you may live far from Amish country. That’s why we also offer Amish Furniture online. To get started on the process, reach out to us and let us know what you’re looking for!

We look forward to having a meaningful conversation about the right furniture for your office space.