Don's Home Furniture has been a long time in the making. For over 20 years we have continued to grow into a very sizeable independent furniture store. When it all began back in 1986, the little 1800 square foot store on Madison's south east side was called Don's Collection of Reproductions. Back then we carried mostly oak furniture that was new, but made to look like the antiques of the early 1900's. We were so small back then that when a customer came into the store we actually had to walk away from them just so we could stay out of their way while they looked around...
In the late 1980's the name was changed to Don's Oak Furniture. We quickly gained a reputation in
southern Wisconsin as one of the only places to find quality oak furniture at reasonable prices. Throughout
these early years the company was owned and operated by Don and his wife Pat. With Don's background
in antiques he knew what to look for in new furniture. Quality was something that was built into most
antique furniture. This was the kind of furniture that he wanted to sell in his store. So the search for quality
vendors began.
As things progressed and the store grew it was decided that we had till move into a larger space. Slowly but
surely it grew even larger. Eventually the store outgrew Don and he decided that this little business was
getting too big. That was when Don decided to sell the business to his son-in-law, Blaine Neupert.
Blaine and his wife Tina took over general operation of the business in 1993. Blaine's background in sales
and marketing would prove to be useful. Both Blaine and Tina had worked in the business from the
beginning and with the guidance of Don and Pat, started out down the road of self employment.
The first several years saw the continued expansion of business. The goal was always the same, offer the
public a quality product at reasonable price and business would take care of itself. By the mid 1990's it was
decided that the quality product would come in the form of Amish Handcrafted furniture. For decades the
Amish have become synonymous with quality crafted furniture. Blaine and his wife Tina began making
several trips to the Amish communities to search for the best that they had to offer. As the sales grew so did
the need for more space. Oak was not the only species of lumber that found its way onto the showroom
floor. Cherry Maple and Hickory soon became a part of the growing store. With all of the new product a
larger warehouse was added in 1996 and in 1997. In 2001 it was decided that more showroom space was
needed so an addition to the east side showroom was started. Completed in early 2002 the newly expanded
space was almost a full 20,000 sq. ft. This made Don's Oak Furniture one of the largest all wood furniture
stores in the Midwest.
In 2003 Don's doubled its size and added a west side location for a total of 40,000 square feet of showroom
space. we began adding several new categories of furniture, and in 2005 changed the name to Don's Home
Furniture to reflect the fact that we truly were more than just an oak store. Sofas, area rugs, accessories and
wall art were now a part of the landscape on both showrooms. In late 2006 the decision was made to open one large location on the beltline and close the two other locations. This move would put the location in what many people in Dane county perceive as "Furniture Row". A location that would allow everyone in the region to shop several furniture stores within a stones throw of one another. So in early 2007 the move was complete.
Since the 2007 opening of the single location on the Beltline Don’s Home Furniture has continued to grow by leaps and bounds! With record sales in 2007 and following up that with amazing sales through the first 9 months of 2008 was a confirmation that the move was the best thing we could have done as a company. When things started to go south for the economy in October of 2008 the entire staff wondered if the customers that had followed Don’s through the years would continue to invest in the quality that we were known for? As 2009 began the reflection on the furniture we sell was scruitinized even harder.
Today, with annual sales in the area of 6 million dollars, and over 140 different Amish vendors Don's
Home furniture continues to impress those that make their way to the store. First time shoppers are
stunned to find that for close to what you would pay at a big box store on furniture that is mass produced
you can invest in a hand crafted heirloom that will last generations. While not all of the furniture that we
sell is Amish made the vast majority (about 90%) is. So the goal remains the same as when Don first began.
Offer quality products at reasonable prices, with just a lot more to choose from.
We welcome your comments and suggestions so please feel free to send us an e-mail at info@donshomefurniture.com. Thanks for taking the time to visit our web site. Please stop back frequently as we will update our pictures often to reflect several of the new items that make their way on our showroom floors.
Thanks again,
Blaine, Tina, Amanda and Brandon Neupert |