Old Hickory Furniture

New items are now online in in our Montana Showrooms, for Old Hickory Furniture. For over 100 years, Old Hickory has been the preferred source for personal and commercial hickory furniture in the North America. See our new Old Hickory here:





If you are looking for some exceptionally crafted bedding sets, that are Made in the USA, please check out our Berry Creek here:

For over 2 decades LodgeCraft has been building furniture and furnishing homes and commercial properties all over the world from our Montana workshops and showrooms.

Golf Properties in NW Montana

Northwest Montana is a great place to escape for a variety of activities. LodgeCraft has long furnished homes, vaction cabins and commercial properties, and now we add Golf Properties to that resumee. We finished the "Rocky View" home in the Wilderness Club last fall. Our most recent fully furnished home is "27 Quirk Lane", in the Indian Springs Ranch Golf community. If you are ever in the area and would like to tour these homes to see the custom designs we've put together, just ask! LodgeCraft recently added several lines to our showroom and recently expanded our Frontier Log Furniture showroom in Somers, Montana to better serve our local communities.
More soon,
TK

New Catalog!

It has been a while since the last post, and a lot has happened since then. Most recently we finished our new catalog and our new Web site. Here is where you would go to order a new free catalog, and our homepage is the same style but newely revised and far more user friendly. We have added many new furnishing lines to our aresenal, and as many companies are backing out, we are preparing for the future! Check out our new barnwood furniture or our newest rustic and western bedding line while you are cruising our site don't forget our own lines of a furniture and the always popular Old Hickory Furniture. Stay tuned we are working on our facebook page and some other cool things!

Rustic Furnishing Web sites

There are a host of rustic furnishing sites out there that offer great products. However there are more that are bogus than you would think. We at LodgeCraft http://www.lodgecraft.com have been in the rustic furnishings market since 1988. Over this time we have had our fair share of feedback and heard concerns voiced from many a customer. One of the most common complaints is that customers buy something from an online store and they can not get any support when a product is damaged or they can't re-order or find the site again. Well, the unfortunate fact is that there are so many people operating on the margin for competing products that sites that are not accompanied by a physical storefront often go belly up. Sounds great to operate with little or no overhead, have rustic furnishings drop shipped from vendors and then watch the money roll in. The reality is that it takes a lot of teamwork and constant updating, you also need the infrastructure to support a growing business. Many times the bottom falls out after offering products so inexpensively and in a year or two they can't tow the line anymore and you are left unsupported. The dollar amount that you pay for a product is often only half of the picture. Do the research, all of the information is there to go with a company that has the staying power to support your needs now and in the future. If the company has a manufacturing facility that is always a huge plus because you know they are informed on the process involved in making furniture, shipping and supporting their products and the others they might sell. The cheapest price is often just the cheapest price and not the best value..

Log Furniture checks and splits

A common misconception by folks who are not familiar with rust log furniture is that it is cracking and breaking. However, this is a natural characteristic of log furniture. When the log dries and the water decreases, the log splits. This does not usually affect the structural integrity of the furniture, but if the builder is not familiar with this process then you might just have a problem on your hands. This is why I stress the importance of asking questions of your manufacturer. Different companies have different ideas on what is an acceptable level. On log furniture I think that an 8% moisture content is good. Variables in your own regional and controlled home environment can also affect the "movement" of your piece of log furniture. The bottom line is that the consumer needs to do the research. The industry is filled with great products and shabby ones alike, do the leg work and find a company with a service record and longevity to back their claims. Frontier Log Furniture http://www.frontierlogfurniture.com an industry leader since 1973 has there policy stated in the form of a disclaimer http://www.frontierlogfurniture.com/faq.aspx#disclaimer. Ask questions, a good company will have the answers that you need to base your decision on.

Rustic Furniture?!

One thing I have noticed is that there are a lot of duds out there. Rustic living and thus, furnishings are what we are all about. Hunting, fishing, hiking, basically outdoor sports and the nature that surrounds us inspire our decorating ideas. Buyer beware! There are many "craftsman" that are moving into the area that are fantastic artists and quality people. However there are also a lot of crooked folks out there just trying to cash in on the rustic furnishing market. I would recommend that you get some references on the folks building your goods. There is a good variety of local craftsman that have been around for 15 or more years. I would start with them. There is a reason that they have been around this long. Many newer builders are here and gone, leaving you unsupported and alone when you need them to follow up, down the road. It also helps to check the local BBB or Chamber of Commerce in the area, where you can get some additional information on the company. There is a lot of foreign product invading the market because the Chinese and SE Asian workforce can really crank out the Rustic Furniture for a fraction of the price, so if it matters to you ask where it was made and what type of warranty you will be getting. Also, if you are buying site unseen. Choose a rustic furnishing company that actually has some customer service on hand. Many Web sites are just a face with no substance backing them (and no, or poor customer service). My company LodgeCraft http://www.lodgecraft.com has furnished lodges and homes Coast -to- Coast and throughout North America, Since 1988. We have been an industry leader in that time and have nearly 30 folks working with us, many with 10-15 years of service experience. What I am saying is shop around, the lowest prices are not always the best criteria for purchasing. This is my first blog so hopefully I can improve and provide you with some valuable input in the rustic furniture department. Look, Compare, Ask Questions and then go with your findings. There are a lot of lemons out there in the Rustic Furnishing business, and you don't want to get squeezed.