We enjoy meeting with customers so they can see our furniture up-close and we can answer any questions they have. We understand the handcrafted furniture pieces we create are a major purchase for them and we take it very seriously.
Every visit to our showroom, however, is by appointment only. There are several reasons why it has to be this way.
First, we don’t have a storefront. Our furniture showing room is on our family farm, which is a private residence.
Secondly, I want to make sure I am both home and available to meet when a customer comes for a visit. I typically spend at least an hour – and often longer – when meeting with a prospective buyer.
We schedule visits about two hours apart in order to give me enough time and personal attention to everyone who schedules a visit to our shop. It’s common for me to help customers figure out exactly what they want during our time together.
There is often a need for me to draw out a furniture idea that one customer has in mind, including proposed dimensions. And we also discuss wood types and colors and finishing.
There is always a need to go over lots of details. This type of discussion is a regular part of a shop visit. Scheduled visits give me the required time to focus upon every customer and the furniture piece they’d like for us to create for them.
When you come for your scheduled visit, here are a few things you should know:
1) There is no formal FFTB sign out front, at the entrance to our property. The reason is that a sign would be an invitation for random folks to come in without an appointment.
2) There will be a “Greenhouse Farm” sign posted outside the entranceway instead. It’s a new farm sign, carved from wood, which depicts both a chestnut tree and the barn on our property (which was built in 1813). This sign features the historic name for our farm property, which is actually the oldest in our area. Anyone coming for their showroom appointment should easily be able to identify our property using this sign.
3) You’ll see, on the other side of the road, across from our driveway, a big, old rusty mailbox (#191). It has received the mail sent here to our property for many, many years. It’s been repeatedly hit by snowplows and farm tractors through the years and yet, somehow, it’s still standing.
4) When you enter our driveway you’ll pass an old stone farmhouse (built-in 1813) and the new white barn showroom addition. Park in front of the fieldstone wall or after you pass the stone wall to the right near the black horse fence and gate
5) It’s possible you may be greeted by Lila and Drover (our 2 dogs) and Oakie (our shop cat). Oakie loves visitors in the shop. Once in a Blue (our other cat) make their way down to the shop and say, “Hi” also. If you happen to be allergic to animals then just let me know ahead of your appointment time so I can make sure our pets are confined to the house during your visit.
6) You’ll likely see Shorti (bay horse) Little Red (our pony) and our newest rescue Levi the Donkey grazing in the field.
Things to bring with you when you come to visit:
— Floor samples
— Lots of pictures (on your smartphone is fine) of the area where you want to put your custom piece of furniture
— Your area measurements and dimensions
— Picture of kitchen cabinets (or other area furniture). If, for example, you want to order a new kitchen table from us then it’s a good idea to have a picture of your existing kitchen cabinets so our design color will go nicely with it
— Anything else, including any details, that you think may be important to your FFTB designed piece
Expect to see the following once you get here:
— A variety of wood tables
— Product examples featuring various species of wood (white pine, yellow pine, Douglas fir, oak, and chestnut)
— Various kinds of cabinetry, including hutches, armoires, bookcases, etc.
— Barn doors & barn door cabinets. We’re always working on barn doors and related pieces
— Color samples of all sorts
— Other pieces we’re currently making for customers in the finishing shop here on our farm. (We do most of the hand-finishing here)
Everyone seems to be short on time these days. This is why when you make an appointment to come to our showing room I set aside the time to devote myself to your design.
Your time in our showing room is often where we work together to answer questions such as, “Would pedestal or trestle legs work better?” A lot of thought goes into every design. Scheduled appointments give me time to give you the attention needed to help you create the perfect heirloom-quality piece for your home.
Our goal is to always create both beautiful and functional pieces of furniture. Scheduled appointments are an important part of the process of achieving this.
Saturday appointments, which take place between 9 am and 3 pm, seem to fill up quickly. So if you can only come on a Saturday then please call well ahead of time to schedule your visit. Monday through Thursday appointments are usually between 9:30 am and 4 pm. Friday appointments are between 11 am and 5 pm.
We prefer to not work on Sundays and keep it for family time. Occasionally, we will schedule a showing room appointment between 1 pm and 4 pm, if no other option is available for a customer.
If you’re interested in having us create a hand-crafted piece for your home then just contact us so we can get the ball rolling. We’ll be glad to schedule your own showing room appointment in the process.
Our address is 191 Greenhouse Rd Nottingham PA 19362
Warm Regards,
Kelly
