To best understand how committed Don’s Home Furniture is to providing quality, handcrafted Amish and American-made furniture to its customers, one merely needs to look at the way they deliver their products. Rather than use cardboard, this independently owned furniture store wraps each piece in a blanket, which is better for the environment and the beautiful furniture. “This is really important to us and our customers,” says Blaine Neupert, co-owner and president of the Madison, Wisconsin, store.
And so it goes at Don’s Home Furniture, which has been in business for more than 30 years.
But before Don’s became the largest Amish-made furniture showroom in the country with more than 140 Amish vendors to choose from, it was Don’s Collection of Reproductions, a small shop carrying primarily new oak furniture designed to replicate antiques of the early 1900s. Founded by Don Kotlowski, who has a background in antiques, and his wife, Pat Derer, the store has grown over the years with a few name changes and larger locations along the way. In 1992, Kotlowski sold the store to his son-in-law, Neupert, who, along with his ex-wife, Tina Neupert, and their two children, Amanda and Brandon, now run the business.
While there have been many changes over the years, including the addition of sofas, area rugs, accessories and wall art, the emphasis on pride of craftmanship and eschewing factory-built furniture has remained. “Quality has always been what we are known for, and we continue to hear that from our customers to this day,” says Neupert.
In fact, it was that commitment to craftmanship that inspired Blaine and Tina to visit Amish areas in Ohio and Indiana in the late 1990s to establish personal relationships within those tight-knit communities and ensure Don’s Home Furniture was offering the highest-quality Amish-built furniture it could.
Don’s Home Furniture offers an extensive selection of dining room, living room, bedroom and office furniture.
“We really appreciate the opportunity to work with Amish family businesses in the furniture industry as they have deeply rooted family values that parallel our family-owned business,” says Neupert. “Our Amish partners are reliant upon everyone else in the community to foster their success. Some provide furniture hardware and parts, others specialize in making tables and another in chairs, and they work together to create amazingly beautiful furniture that lasts through generations.”
With more than 20,000 square feet of showroom space, Don’s Home Furniture offers an extensive selection of dining room, living room, bedroom and office furniture. “We blow people’s minds when they see the variety of styles that our Amish builders can make,” says Neupert. “Their perception of what Amish furniture is changes."
In addition, Don’s Home Furniture provides customers with choices in hardwoods, fabrics, style and stains that include regular, painting, glazing and distressing. “We love helping customers get creative to truly make their furniture as unique as they would like.”
Beyond its hard-earned reputation as a furniture store like no other, Don’s Home Furniture values its commitment to the world around it. “We take great pride in our partnerships not only with our Amish makers but with our American manufacturers,” says Neupert. “They, in turn, provide Americans with jobs, which strengthens the communities in which they live.”
Additionally, Don’s Home Furniture connects to their neighbors via local charities. “As a family-owned business, our owners and staff live and take pride in this community,” says Neupert. “We consistently, and proudly, support nonprofit groups and events because they are incredibly important to the success of our community.”
For more information, visit donshomefurniture.com.
Don’s Home Furniture, located on West Beltline Highway in Madison, Wisconsin.
