by Juanita | Dec 2, 2023 | bedroom, Entertainment Centers, Furniture Care, Georges Difference, hutch, Tables
You’ve surfed the web hours on end, looking for quality handcrafted wooden furniture. Countless articles and pages from numerous furniture companies across the country use similar terms such as handcrafted furniture, hardwood construction, and custom build. Companies make bold claims that their furniture is the best. But it begs the question. What makes their furniture the best? How does their furniture differ from competitors’, or even what makes good furniture? These are excellent questions. There are many aspects portraying the world of furniture that contribute to a piece being truly outstanding. At Georges Furniture, we don’t aim to meet the regular standards for constructing furniture. We strive to rise above and beyond in our manufacture of excellence and quality. In the following paragraphs, you will learn about the numerous ways we take our game to the next level.
Dining Table to Fit any number of parties
If you have a large family, you may very well be acquainted with the term, extension table. As the name insinuates, it extends, allowing you to seat more members of the family so everyone can partake in a wonderful meal. Many tables extend to fit two or three leaves, but this limitation leaves much to be desired. That’s why we make our tables to extend to fit anywhere from six to sixteen leaves to accommodate even the largest dining rooms.
Where to store all those leaves
Now, it is common knowledge to those who own extensions tables that storage for these wooden table leaves is a necessity. Many resort to slipping them beneath beds or stuffing them into cramped closets, but for solid hardwood leaves, these conditions are not ideal. What is uncommon knowledge is that wooden boards need to breath. Wooden leaves breath to regulate their moisture levels and prevent mold from setting into the grain. As an added layer of protection against excess moisture, we always coat both sides of the leave with a catalyzed conversion varnish. Furthermore, leaves should be stored upright to prevent bowing and warping from gravity’s pull. Read More.
Leaf Storage Solution
In the early stages of extension table development, the issue of leaf storage quickly rose to the forefront of our minds. Some manufacturers even built storage areas within the table itself, but that kind of storage is limited. Instead, we took what we knew about proper leaf care and, after testing different prototypes, landed on a revolutionary piece of furniture so unique that it created a category of its own. The leaf storage. We designed this new piece of furniture to meet every requirement set in front of us. See the storage options.
Walnut Blend on Table with clear water resistant finish repelling water.
No More Water Marks
If you’ve ever accidently left your glass of water on your coffee table without a coaster, you understand the frustration of lifting the glass and finding a watermark stained on the wooden surface. You promise you won’t forget the coaster next time, but what if I told you remembering a coaster wasn’t necessary? With our furniture, it isn’t. We finish every piece of furniture with a water-resistant catalyzed conversion varnish to protect the grain from the marring effects of watermarks. Inside and out, front and back, even the parts unseen are protected against hard use and floods of water.
100% Solid Hardwood – No waste
Are you tired of searching for quality furniture, only to find most pieces include particle board or plywood in their construction? With our furniture, this is never an issue. We use solid hardwood in every inch of our furniture. Even scraps left over from the furniture making process are chopped up and fed into our furnace to heat our slow, air-drying kiln, enabling us to preserve the richness of our Black Walnut wood. The furnace also heats the woodshop, providing a comfortable atmosphere for our craftsmen.
Moving Chairs
Chairs take the prize for being the most used piece of furniture in your household. Whether you’re enjoying a meal around the kitchen table, working on math homework, or reaching for the cookie jar on the top shelf, the first thing you search for to aid your plight is a sturdy chair. No matter what your daily lifestyle looks like, you depend on chairs more than you realize. To ensure our chairs meet expectations, we make our chair rungs with eight sides. The eight-sided rung design is stronger and lasts longer than the more commonly available turned rungs. Each rung is precision sanded and properly sized to fit into a thick seat. So, the next time your guest leans back in their chair, you can enjoy the meal knowing you won’t be reaching for the wood glue for unexpected repairs. We even designed stackable chairs for ease of storage.
Guaranteed Authentic Quality – Signed and Dated
We’ve talked a lot about quality, but how can we guarantee it? Many companies nowadays make use
of assembly lines to manufacture their product at the fastest rate possible. While this technique is great for efficiency, it often has its drawbacks. One of which is the downgrade of quality. We don’t believe in assembly lines where every person has one job and one job only. Each of our expert craftsman construct a piece from start to finish, paying close attention to every detail. Once finished, they pen their signature and the date of completion on a concealed section of the piece. You can rest assured that the piece you commissioned from us is of the highest quality possible.
Space Saving Solid Hardwood Drawers
Drawers are a necessity included in nearly every piece of furniture, but have you ever pulled the drawer out to find an abundance of space behind it, unused and empty? That space is prime real-estate that you could be using, plus it quickly becomes a black hole, stealing your clothing to be lost for an eternity behind your drawers. At Georges, you’ll never have to worry about unused space. Every drawer we make fills the space perfectly, giving you the most storage possible for that extra blanket, another pair of socks, or maybe even that candy you’ve been hiding from the kids since Easter. Even the bottoms of the drawers are 100% solid hardwood matching the outside of the cabinet. Whether drawers are in a dresser, nightstand, armoire, hall table, hutch or chest of drawers, the drawers will serve with strong heavy-duty full extension hardware for decades to come.
No Creaky Beds
Looking for a bed that’s truly one of a kind? Our custom designed handmade bed rooms are just what you need to take your sleep to the next level! Made from the finest solid hardwood and featuring strong hardware and bed slats, these beds are built to last a lifetime.
Remember those creaky sounds of the bed rails and floor boards as you try to quietly sneak out to the bathroom at midnight. How about that new king or queen mattress that requires extra support for their warranty to be maintained. Georges uses strong bed rail hardware to secure the side rails into the headboard and footboard. Two strong metal hooks feed into a metal plate giving the bed rail a secure fit. Each of the under bed slats are made out of strong oak 1 inch think boards. The king and queen beds slats have a center support leg to hold the weight of a large mattresses. Explore our bedroom gallery.
Functional Cove Crowns
Hutches stand proudly as a signature piece in the dinning room. They often display delicate pieces of fine China or store your fancy plates for special occasions. These mammoths of the furniture community are also known for their noble stature and royal crowns. To most manufacturers, the coved crown, the top rim of the hutch, is simply a novelty. It adds decoration to enhance the furniture’s appearance. The crown extends above the top of the hutch, leaving a ton of unused space to collect dust. In contrast, George’s crowns are functional. We never leave valuable space vacant. The roofs of our hutches extend all the way to the top of the crown, giving you more functional storage within the piece to use at your pleasure. Read more.
Custom Design
We take pride in creating unique and beautiful furniture pieces that are tailored to your individual style and needs. Our skilled designers work closely with you to design and craft custom furniture. From rustic to modern styles, we bring your vision to life with exceptional attention to detail and craftsmanship. Our custom handcrafted furniture is not only beautiful but also functional, practical, and long-lasting. Whether you’re looking for a statement piece for your living room, entertainment suite or a custom dining table for your home, our team is dedicated to delivering a personalized experience that exceeds your expectations.
Easy Access Side Doors
Another neat aspect, specific to our curio cabinets, is the inclusion of side doors. While other companies build cabinets with only front facing doors, the side doors incorporated into our builds enable a painless installment of the shelves, relieving you of the awkward battle to insert them from the front. The side doors also make it easier to display your large collectibles that never seem to fit through any opening. As an added bonus, our shelves also come with precut plate grooves, perfect for displaying your favorite platters.
Choosing the Right Office Furniture
The shift from going to work and working from home has changed over the years. What are some items to consider when creating a functional space for home office or an executive suite. First measure your space. What size will best fit best with space to move around. Next plan for growth. Will you entertain clients or small meetings? Ergonomics and budget are valuable considerations. Each piece of office furniture is designed to fit the space and style while enduring years of hard use.
How to Clean & Care for Your Solid Wood Furniture
The finish used on all of Georges Furniture is a durable, catalyzed conversion varnish and the best we have found. No need for Coasters and a complete table cloth to cover and protect the table.
- Weekly Care – Use a damp cloth to wipe off the furniture. Use of duster spray is ok: however, avoid sprays that contain wax because they may cause undesirable build-up to form on the finish.
- Occasional Special Care – When you polish your furniture, or want to remove fingerprints, use a good grade furniture polish. We use Old English Lemon Oil. Guardsman is also good.
- See what things to avoid and what to do for dents and scratches. Here.
Lets Review
Why George’s furniture stands out among other furniture. Each craftsman signs and dates your custom made 100% solid hardwood heirloom furniture that is protected with a clear water-resistant conversion varnish. Be mesmerized by the natural grain of the ever growing extension table that is designed to meet your everyday table size, 4-6 people and extends up to 12 feet, even to 21 feet. Store the desired number of table leaves in a leaf storage cabinet for the next dinner party. Lively conversation will continue into the night while sitting on strong comfortable chairs made to withstand even leaning back in the chair.
Georges hutches, dressers and all cabinets contain solid hardwood drawers – even the bottoms – and strong full extension drawer hardware. The cabinet tops extend all the way to the top of the crown and can have easy access sided doors. Strong bed rails prevent squeaky beds and footed slats support the mattress extending its life.
Desks and office suites provide custom designs with long extension 
file drawers, adjustable shelves and raised paneled sides. Surround your office with natural wood desks, bookcases, conference tables and filing cabinets.
See for Yourself
Come and explore a wood shop tour where furniture is made the old fashion way by hand, crafted by one craftsman, custom made to your specifications, with 100% solid hard wood. Be amazed by the ability to share your unique ideas with talented designers and see your dreams come true. Enjoy years of quality as the natural grains of walnut, cherry oak and maple hardwood furniture serve and endure the rigors of home life. Our showrooms and woodworking shop display solid handmade heirlooms for browsing and exploring George’s difference in construction and protection of natural hardwood furniture. In the meantime, see for yourself by watching our YouTube channel where we have customer review and an inside look into our woodshop through Facebook lives and PCN videos.
by Juanita | Feb 2, 2023 | customer experience, Customization, Georges Difference, Tables
Gambinos recently came back to custom design a small server to aid in serving their guests during family gatherings. During their recent visit we asked, “How did you first find out about us and our showroom of handmade furniture.” Frank was eager to share.
Trying to Find Quality
For years as a kid, Frank came with his family to Lancaster County to enjoy the unique experiences the county has to offer. Frank and Louisa began their search for a dining table set around the Staten Island area. All they found was high prices for such poor quality. Frustrated they asked friends and family for suggestions of where else to look. His father remembered Lancaster County and the quality craftsmanship that Lancaster is known to produce.
B&B Inn Keeper Recommendation
Frank and Louisa spent 4 days in Lancaster, exploring the numerous options. At breakfast one morning, the B&B Inn keepers, Ann and Janice of Kings Cottage Inn shared their knowledge of the furniture stores in Lancaster County.
“Looking for furniture? You must go to Georges Furniture. It’s our favorite custom handcrafted furniture maker.”
Thrilled with the recommendation, the Gambinos found Georges Furniture. A small woodshop, nestled in the countryside on the west side of Lancaster County. Ann and Janice are their “go to” resource for recommendations when looking for places to shop in Lancaster County – Best place for quilts, furniture, and antiques, often places away from the busy tourist area in the quiet farmland.
Abundant Options
After discussing the many options Offered at Georges, their heads were spinning with the ability to create a table set made the exact size, quality and look they wanted. Louisa could not wait to receive the table set and seat everyone around one table. The table fit their space, one that started at 6 feet when closed and extended to 14 feet. Today, their family has already exceeded the length of the table. However, the room size is also limited.
Long Rolling Pin
Another unique purchase was a long rolling pin. Louisa enjoys making homemade bread, a recipe that her father brought from Italy and a family tradition. The 32” rolling pin works hard, especially around the holidays when Louisa makes 3 batches of bread for her growing family.
Georges Difference
Frank remembers weighing the differences between another furniture store and George’s. Several positives that sold them on George’s Furniture is that George’s delivers their furniture to their Staten Island home. You can also see where the furniture is made and meet the craftsman at the same location as the furniture store. Chris delivered the large 72×48, 5 leg extension table, 8 table leaves, finished leaf storage and 8 chairs, the legs of the table needed to be removed so that the table could get into the house.
The guests amazed by small details.
As a recent guest helped Frank and Louisa put the 8 table leaves back in the lovely wooden leaf holder, they noticed Georges Furniture’s branding logo, craftsman’s signature, date, and stain number on the top section of the center table leg.
“Wow you don’t see the craftsman’s signature, business logo, and date on furniture.”
Each piece of furniture is made by one craftsman and the signature is found on the inside of the right-side drawer, the back of cabinet, top of center table legs or under the seat of a dining chair.
Take the recommendation from the Gambino’s and explore what quality, handcrafted, made your way furniture looks like in your home. See the craftsmen taking special care to make it the right way. Share your ideas with our expert designers at our showroom in Lancaster County, PA
by Juanita | Dec 2, 2022 | Entertainment Centers, Georges Difference, hutch, Office
Hutches Exceeds Expectations
So, you’ve decided that you need storage space for your collection of silverware and fine dinning plates for special occasions. Hutches are a wonderful way to store your dinning essentials and display your fine china, keeping them safe until the entire family is over for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. When the festivities are over, the dishes and silverware are cleaned and returned to the hutch for display until the next event. No matter your yearly customs, a hutch serves dutifully as a pivotal part of your dinning experience. With this much riding on one piece of furniture, it’s no secret that your hutch must be up to the task. Here are several ways George’s hutches soar above expectations.
100% Pennsylvania Hardwood
Every piece of furniture we make is sourced from 100% solid, Pennsylvanian hardwood. The freshly harvested logs are cut into board and dried, then delivered to our woodshop. Our craftsmen select the boards they need and refine them to precise measurements using a variety of machines ranging from small hand-sanders and routers to large planers and table-saws. Each craftsman follows a time-proven construction method to ensure their piece achieves unmatched strength and sturdiness.
Solid Hard Wood Backing
We construct the back of our hutches with the same hardwood used on the rest of the piece. Each back panel is connected together via a tongue and groove system to allow the wood to expand and contract while maintaining its strength. We also employ a method known as book matching to our back panels. In this method, a solid piece of wood is cut in half, opened up like a butterfly wing, with the opposing grains matched together to give a beautiful, transition from panel to panel. Backing explained video
Cove Crown – a Functional Part
To most manufacturers, the coved crown, the top rim of the hutch, curios and bookcases extends above the top and serves only to enhance the furniture’s appearance. We hate wasted space. To combat this issue, the roof of our cabinets meet the rim of the coved crown, turning that wasted space into functional storage. To finish it off, we fill in the small crevice between the cabinet roof and the coved crown with extra pieces of wood, giving the top a smooth, complete appearance, and making your chore of dusting a walk in the park. See Video of Cove Crown construction.
Solid Drawer Construction, Sturdy Hardware
Solid Hardwood drawer bottoms and sides. Signature and date written inside drawer.
Each drawer is constructed using all solid hardwood. Smaller pieces of wood from the table saw scrap pile are utilized and glued together to make the bottom and side of our drawers. See Video. Each drawer is constructed with high-quality, stainless-steel hardware. This ensures your drawers will endure day-to-day use and slide smoothly for decades to come.
Includes Curios, Bookcases, Entertainment Centers
The quality of craftsmen ship also extends into all cabinet construction such as Curios, Bookcases, and Entertainment centers. The use of all solid hardwood, coved crown design, water-resistant finish and signed/dated by craftsman is evident in each heirloom quality furniture made at George’s Furniture.
Another ingenious design, specific to our curio cabinets, is the inclusion of side doors. As an added bonus, our shelves also come with precut plate grooves, perfect for displaying your favorite platters.
Customize Your Way
Additionally, our hutches come in many different designs and storage arrangements to meet your needs. If you can’t find one that is exactly what you want, we will work with you to design your own custom piece. We work with customers on a regular basis to bring their vision to reality.
Need Storage Only – Try a Buffet
If you have no need for the extra display up top, perhaps a buffet is what you need. It provides the same storage and counter space as a hutch without occupying your entire wall. Custom tailor your hutch, buffet, corner cupboard, curio, dry sink, server, pie safe, or serving cart to meet your specific needs.
Walnut Blend on Table with clear water resistant finish repelling water.
Water-resistant Protection
Once your piece of furniture is completed, our dedicated master sprayer applies a catalyzed conversion varnish to every surface so you don’t have to worry about water marks distorting the beautiful grain you’ve grown to love. See Spraying video
Hidden Craftsman’s Signature and Date
Once your piece is complete, the craftsman signs and dates it. The signature can be found on the bottom of the top drawer on the right side of the hutch and on the back. This gives you the satisfaction of knowing your piece of furniture was built from start to finish by one master craftsman.
Whether you are looking for hutch, buffet or serving cart, check out Georges Furniture, where dreams come true. Visit our furniture store, out in the quiet countryside of Lancaster County and explore the abundant options of custom solid hardwood furniture designed to exceed your expectations for decades to come.
by Juanita | Aug 27, 2022 | Ava Lee's History Corner, customer experience, Forestry Management, Uncategorized
Recently Carl and Chris Geeseman returned to our showroom after three decades of enjoying the furniture built by George. Like so many of our customers, they wanted to share the memories of George. The memories started back in the 1970’s. Carl worked for Highspire lumber yard. Lumber yard typically cut the trees in the forest and transport them to a sawmill. They are looking for straight long trees. A good veneer log needs to be clear of bark, metal, knots, and blemishes.
Forgotten hammer
Metal is a big concern for logs that come from a residential area where metal hardware, bullets or even a forgotten metal screwdriver, hammer or animal trap discarded in the fork of a tree. Each year the tree grows a metal object will become embedded into the wood and unable to be withdrawn. The metal object will leave a scar and their minerals will seep into the wood. Not only does metal scar the wood it destroys.
Scars and destroys
Along comes a saw blade, cuts through the metal, or goes around the hook and the expensive blade loses its teeth or even destroyed. Metal can shut down a sawmill resulting a loss of time and money. Bandsaw blades are 12 feet long and 1 ft wide. They are razor thin and thousands of dollars. Lumber jacks look at the outside bark for marks or scars that shows healing from metal objects or use metal detectors to find metal. Think twice before hooking a wash line, swing, or sign to a tree. They are alive and growing.
George’s treasure pile
Highspire lumber piled their cut offs like bark, knots, rotten wood etc. aside and sold the straight boards to their customers. George loved to come and rummage through the cut off pile looking for unique knots, grain twists, chain saw wedges, rotten tree butts and odd shaped pieces of wood for his next project. Walnut and cherry were his favorite. Some cross cuts turned into coffee tables, end tables, Lamp bases, or even crosscut critters (a crosscut with a hole in the middle from where the hollow tree healed itself.)
Filling the House
Carl and Chris Geeseman started their furniture collection in 1980’s with a table set, dry sink and hutch. Next a bedroom set. Later as the family grew it was time for the kids’ room, a single bed, dresser and child’s play table and chairs. Then another bed, chest of drawers and nightstands. Next it was dad’s turn with a nice rolltop desk with finished back and swivel desk chair. As the family grew so did the table. Time to order more table leaves.
Resourceful Brothers
During family get togethers Carl and his brother would haul their table leaves to the other’s house. Since both brothers had tables from George’s, the table leaves fit together nicely. A curious situation happened. I discovered a leaf storage box with two different colored table leaves in our shop. The two brothers completed their 8-leaf table set by ordering 4 leaves each. Now the hassle of loading up the table leaves in the car was no longer needed. All 29 people crowd around the table and enjoy the comfort of family. A fun game the Geeseman children play is lining up the little child’s chairs and playing school bus.
Sharing the quality
That is not all the furniture in the Geeseman household. 2 high chairs served the growing family. Chris said that their kids sat in the high chairs so long until they no longer fit in between the arms. Chris stopped using the high chairs when she got tired explaining to the kid’s friends why the kids still sat in high chairs. The high chairs have endured 3 kids, and 5 grandchildren. Other items like rocking chairs (child and adult), quilt rack, cradle, Jewelry box, benches and round end table found their way into the home. There is room for more. Maybe a new bed.
Explore, Watch and Design
Join the Geeseman family and many customers over the 50+ years in their experience with Georges fine craftsmen and quality handcrafted furniture. Everyone worked with our designers to create the perfect piece that meets every need and endures hard use of family and friends. Begin creating your unique living space, designed, and built right in Lancaster County, PA. Explore ideas on our website, watch the wood shop in action (YouTube) and see what possibilities await discovery.
In the mean time, we have created this handy checklist on how to spot high-quality furniture. Down the checklist here so you know what to avoid in your furniture shopping. An informed mind will bring great results.
Download your Guide to High-Quality Furniture
by Juanita | Nov 24, 2021 | Ava Lee's History Corner, customer experience, George's Furniture, Georges Difference, Tables, Uncategorized
“I love that this table belonged to my grandparents!” Can you believe this solid wood kitchen table was actually created for her grandparents?! Now Karly gets to gather her family around this same table! And it is in amazing condition!
A Custom Kitchen Table Just for Them
In 1978, Cyrus and Florence Keefer were designing their new house in Middletown, PA. They dreamed of a joyful home making memories with their children. That’s when they realized they really wanted a solid wood kitchen table as the centerpiece for family meals, homework, board games & late-night chats. Their next obstacle? Finding a table that could meet their needs.
As Cyrus & Florence considered their needs, they knew they could not just pick up a kitchen table from a furniture outlet store. They really needed a customized solid wood kitchen table just for them & their family.
Enter George’s Furniture, Lancaster, PA. When Cyrus & Florence reached out to George, they knew they definitely wanted a kitchen table made from black walnut wood. Lucky for them, George’s Furniture specializes in black walnut wood. When they visited George, they shared their vision for the kitchen & even saw George’s woodshop in action. That is when they decided on a trestle table & chairs to fit their eat-in kitchen space.
1st thing to know about this solid wood kitchen table: It is completely custom designed for Cyrus & Florence’s kitchen & made out of beautiful black walnut wood.
Black Walnut Wood: Perfect for this Kitchen Table
Once the gorgeous solid wood kitchen table was installed in their home, it quickly became the gathering point for their family. In fact, Cyrus started a Sunday night tradition of preparing sandwiches, his specialty, for the whole family & any of their guests who visited too.
Sadly, Cyrus passed in 1980. But in their loss, his family appreciated the memories they had with their father gathered around that beautiful kitchen table. In time, Cyrus’s daughter Lori & son-in-law Kurt Siffin inherited the solid wood trestle table & chairs set.
“The table was a sentimental piece of furniture… a pleasant reminder of our father and family home,” recalls Lori. “The table has aged well. The memory marks have added character to the table. It is a piece worthy to be passed on.”
In the Siffin home, the kitchen table again brought the family together for meals, games, & memories. Even through several moves, this family heirloom witnessed birthday parties & celebrations, soup nights in the winter, & lunches in the summer.
When Lori & Kurt Siffin finally downsized to their current home in Long Neck, Delaware, the solid wood trestle table & chairs went into storage, but not for long.
2nd thing to know about this solid wood kitchen table: Using the black walnut wood for this kitchen table meant it kept its beauty & strength through the 2nd generation of the family. 
Solid Wood Kitchen Table Lasts Generations
Because of the sentimental value of the table as well as the high quality of the black walnut wood, the Siffins thoughtfully stored the table properly to preserve its quality.
After 2 years in storage, Karly Siffin, granddaughter of Cyrus & daughter of Lori, gave the trestle table new life in her home. From Philadelphia, PA, Karly moved from her small apartment into a townhome in Manayunk, PA. Now this family heirloom can again serve family & friends in Karly’s kitchen. “I love that this table belonged to my grandparents. It is very special to me,” says Karly.
3rd thing to know about this solid wood kitchen table: When you work with George’s Furniture to custom build your dream furniture, you can trust that the quality will truly last your family for generations. It is well worth the investment.
Each customer of George’s Furniture enjoys the ability to pass their heirlooms from one generation to another. The exceptional, high-quality construction and strong, protective finishes allow George’s furniture to survive decades. Join the many satisfied customers and begin your family traditions of gathering around a table and enjoy the beauty of handcrafted solid wood furniture.
