American Made Furniture Chosen with Care

How a family connection helped a North Carolina furniture maker benefit from an improved online presence, and by doing so, created a stellar customer experience.

The furniture that earns its place in a home usually makes everyday life a little better: a comfortable seat for a long conversation, a table within easy reach, or a small piece a child can call their own. Choosing it begins with how it will be used.

Troutman Chair Company and Furniture Made in USA: What a Team!

How the chair will be used is the perfect starting point for exploring the solid wood furniture made by Troutman, North Carolina’s Troutman Chair Company – proudly building quality chairs since 1924.

Steve Horney and his son Robert, who run Furniture Made in USA in nearby Mocksville go well beyond the process of browsing furniture and finding a retailer. They help customers connect a piece on a screen with a place in their home.

Their family owned online store offers dining chairs, rocking chairs, counter and bar stools, side tables, and children’s furniture. Across the collection, they combine North Carolina craftsmanship with practical guidance and personal support.

That approach grew from Steve’s own introduction to the furniture business.

The Website that Became an Education

In 1998, Steve built a demonstration website for Bill Shaver of Shaver Wood Works in Troutman, North Carolina. Steve could show Bill what the Internet might do for his business. Bill could show Steve what went into a well made chair.

Through many meetings, the two became friends. Bill explained how furniture was made and sold, introduced Steve to local makers, and deepened his appreciation for craftsmanship and American workers. Elderly and in failing health, Bill was hospitalized before the demonstration became an online store. He gave Steve his blessing to carry the business forward after his death.

Flat Top Wood Works began as a furniture page on small, mall website called EnterNetMall.com, the family’s first e-commerce effort, launched in 1998. Early offerings included furniture maker J.H. Craver and Sons, Inc., in Yadkinville, North Carolina. A dedicated Flat Top Wood Works website followed in early 2003, and the business adopted the FurnitureMadeInUSA.com name in 2008.

It was Steve’s local connections in the community that brought him into contact with Bill Shaver. However, it was Bill’s mentorship that provided Steve with a solid grounding in the trade.

The family also worked with Dixie Seating Company and Uwharrie Chair Company in earlier years. Today, its collection focuses exclusively on Troutman furniture. Troutman makes the pieces; Steve and Robert help customers choose, order, and receive pieces perfect for them.

Furniture Buying Guides: A Good Fit Starts Here

It is one thing to build quality furniture in America. It is another to have the care and attention devoted to helping customers decide on the best choice – for them. A key component in helping customers decide is the array of Guides available by Furniture Made in USA.

Rocking Chair Comparisons

A rocking chair has several widths, and each answers a different question. Overall width tells you how much floor space it takes. Seat width describes the sitting surface. The distance between the arms tells you how much room you have to settle into it.

Furniture Made in USA’s rocking chair comparisons separate those measurements. Compare them with a chair you enjoy, along with seat height and depth. Comfort remains personal: a generous seat may suit one person while leaving another too far from the back support.

Seat Choices are Key

Even a seat choice can change the fit. The Cottage Dining Chair, for example, lists a 17 inch depth for its solid wood seat and 15½ inches for its woven seats. That difference is worth considering alongside the texture and appearance.

Yes, there are many choices to make when selecting this sort of quality furniture. However, it is worth the effort. The choices you make affect how you sit as well as what you see. Steve and Robert will help you make those choices to get the best possible results.

Stool Height Guide

At the dining table, measure beneath the top. An apron, the rail running below the tabletop, can reduce knee space. Table legs can limit how many chairs fit along a side. Leave room to pull each chair out, too; a tidy arrangement pushed under the table must still work when everyone sits down.

Kitchen islands have their own small trap: counter stools and bar stools are different heights. A 24 inch seat is a common starting point for a 36 inch counter; a 30 inch seat generally suits a 42 inch bar. The store’s stool height guide explains the crucial second check: measure to the usable underside, including any supports. Roughly 10 to 12 inches above the seat is a starting allowance for knee room, adjusted for the person and the space.

For a side table, check its height beside the seating and leave walking space around it. With children’s furniture, compare the actual dimensions with the child who will use it, including seat height and depth. Scale matters at every age.

Dining Chair Guide

Chairs are an integral part of the dining table orchestra. Their presence makes a statement, not to mention offers a comfortable place to sit. Helping you choose a dining chair is another critical piece of the puzzle.

Consider the view. A taller chair back can give a dining group more presence without raising the seat. A wood tone can emphasize grain; a painted frame can make the silhouette stand out. Compare finishes with the table, floor, and nearby fabrics. Screen color is a reference, and natural grain and room lighting will influence the finished appearance.

Many More Guides and Support Available

These are just a few of the guides available at Furniture Made in USA. They have an extensive selection of furniture selection resources available to help customers get that perfect fit.

The Workmanship Behind the Familiar Shape

Troutman’s craftsmanship includes work customers may never notice at first glance. They start with oak logs from local loggers. Then, they mill the lumber at its own sawmill. Smaller rungs and larger posts are prepared with different moisture levels so their fit tightens as those levels move toward balance. Interlocking joinery connects the frame through the way its parts fit together.

These are useful details to ask about when evaluating wooden furniture: the material, the connections, and how the parts are prepared. Skilled hands and specialized machinery both contribute to the result.

As one of their most popular products, the Official Kennedy Rocker makes some of that handwork easy to see in its handwoven natural cane seat and back. It arrives fully assembled and is intended for indoor use. The woven texture sits alongside a shaped wood frame, bringing the maker’s work into view as well as into daily use.

Help that Follows the Furniture Home

Choosing well also means knowing what happens next. When you place an order, Steve and Robert submit each selected configuration to Troutman. When it’s available, they share with you the factory’s production and/or shipping estimate. Made-to-order furniture requires planning around that schedule and the journey afterward.

Their prices include standard shipping within the contiguous 48 states; taxes and optional delivery services are extra. For freight shipments, standard delivery is curbside. Unloading is the customer’s responsibility unless additional service is arranged. Discussing unloading or inside delivery beforehand helps make arrival day much easier.

Customers can contact Steve and Robert with order or delivery questions. They help explain next steps and coordinate with the factory or carrier as needed. A useful conversation can begin with a few measurements, material and finish preferences, and a description of where the furniture will live.

Pride in Manufacturing, Support, and Buying American Made

For the Horneys, pride in buying American is rooted in people they have come to know and work they have learned to respect. Troutman prides themselves on building quality furniture that can become heirlooms.

Each order supports the manufacturer, its workers, and the family business connecting them with a customer.

Bill once helped Steve see what went into a chair. Today, Steve and Robert pass that understanding along. Their hope is that a carefully chosen piece becomes an old favorite in another home, used, cared for, and eventually passed on with a story of its own.

For more information about the quality Troutman Chair Company products, visit FurnitureMadeInUSA.com. See what they offer, contact Steve and Robert, and allow them to fit you with a very high quality piece of American Made furniture.