Here at Ohio Hardwood Furniture, both our online and Peninsula, Ohio showrooms are admirably stocked with designs from the finest furniture designers and producers in the industry. From the hills of Western North Carolina to the Connecticut River Valley in Vermont, our collection boasts some of the finest designs from Wesley Hall, Charleston Forge, Leathercraft, Thayer Coggin and of course, even Copeland Furniture.
No collection of designer furniture would be complete without Copeland Furniture, and for better or worse, that name is firmly entrenched in the admiration of those who love fine furniture and rare quality. While we can’t give an objective analysis of what makes a furniture producer good or bad, we can say that Copeland, like many of the others that we feature here on our website and in our showroom, stands on a history of producing uncommon quality, and promises to do so for long into the future.
There are many reasons that we love Copeland Furniture, and we are confident that given the right introduction, you will, too. Even if your personal tastes don’t align too closely with their unique, somewhat Scandinavian, somewhat contemporary, somewhat mid-century modern, even minimalist designs, we firmly believe you will come to appreciate them for what they do well. That is, they produce some of the highest quality hardwood furniture in the country that is impressively possessed of character, despite its minimalist nature.
These are some of the things that we love about Copeland, and we’re sure that you will too. Who knows; there might even be a Copeland design just waiting for you to discover it in our online catalog.
A Succinct History of Copeland Furniture
Copeland Furniture stands on an illustrious, yet somehow humble history. The history of Copeland can be traced back nearly half a century, to the early 1970s. At that time, Copeland was an incipient idea that was many decades away from the commanding, impressive name that it is today.
Originally, Copeland was an agricultural operation, which is fitting given the lay of the country that surrounded their origins. Vermont is a state that places a great deal of pride on its agrarian heritage. To those who call the Green Mountain Republic home, this isn’t just about history. It is a facet of life in their state that they promote and embellish with pride. Still today, Vermont boasts of an agricultural tradition that is larger than life. For many residents, it is life.
Copeland got its start making cider presses for local orchards in its area, before graduating into other areas of design in furniture. From functional, dependable cider presses to equally functional and viable items of furniture whose main emphasis was on providing families with an affordable yet attractive way to furnish their homes. Yet even in small local markets like those that are present in Vermont, it is only a matter of time before talent gains its due recognition.
Growth may have been slow at first but it was steady. From those early designs in porch furniture and other simplicities, Copeland continued to proliferate into furniture designs for the rest of the home. Today, Copeland Furniture occupies a modern manufacturing facility in Bradford, Vermont, along the Connecticut River.
Copeland is still a homegrown name, but despite its deceptively simple origins, it is a brand that has become a recognizable household name throughout much of the country, especially of those with an affinity for fine furnishings.
Designs That Defy Categorization
Categorizing Copeland Furniture is an exercise in critical thinking, and it could open a truly Socratic discourse. Despite the fact that their furniture really can be called objectively simple - in at least some sense - it does not neatly fit into any category.
Spend enough time as a casual critic of the finest in the country’s current designs in furniture and you’ll be able to recognize Copeland from a far, and metaphorically blindfolded. Their furniture is defined by simple lines and harsh angles, a general lack of ostentatious ornamentation, and gracefully sloping legs that drive away from the design and almost serve as lines of perspective to drive your interest to the natural character of the native hardwoods from which they create their furniture.
It is recognizable, true enough, and there is a gist to their character that can be keyed in with relative ease. However, their designs have been called variously Scandinavian, Minimalist, Mid-Century Modern, Contemporary, Arts & Crafts, and more. In its own way, Copeland Furniture is indicative of each of these schools of design, and in its own intrepid way, it continues to defy succinct categorization.
Take for example a short description of what most would agree can apply to Scandinavian furniture, which is one of the schools of design to which Copeland has been likened. Scandinavian furniture can be recognized by its clean designs and simple lines. There is a general lack of ornamentation in Scandinavian design, and often bare wood is presented and stands on its own merits. Rarely is there any additional decoration to speak of.
Scandinavian design, for example, has become increasingly popular in the United States for a few big reasons. Among the most significant of them is that the furniture does not overwhelm the senses with excessive details and florid design. The other reason is that this simplicity itself is highly compatible with a number of other designs because there are no distinct elements of style in Scandinavian design (or very few) that would clash with other schools.
In many ways, these observations could be made of Copeland Furniture, but it still would not provide a complete analysis. Copeland can be called minimalistic, and it does have clean lines. Even the legs of most Copeland Furniture, with their graceful yet sharp angles, are very Scandinavian. However, there is a richness in the tones of the wood used that is somewhat defiant of Scandinavian style. Perhaps that is more mid-century modern or avant-garde. Nonetheless, it is a simple style and the beauty arises from that very simplicity.
No small part of the intrigue associated with Copeland’s designs is due to this lack of easy categorization. It is this pleasant ambiguity that makes their furniture so widely appealing and so easy to incorporate into so many different settings.
Style and Intrigue for Every Room in the House
Another thing that we love about Copeland is that their catalog is so diverse and includes so many opportunities to outfit every room in your house. From a small-scale producer of agricultural implements to one of the country’s premier producers of furniture for the entire house, Copeland’s influence has grown monumentally in scope. In addition, it is the fact that they defy categorization that makes them so widely applicable in so many different settings. From being neither too much of one thing nor too much of the other, they have increased their ability to produce universally pleasing designs.
There are very few interior design schemes - very few - that will openly clash with the simple, yet elegant designs of Copeland Furniture. Because of their minimalistic overtones, Copeland designs are both demure enough to melt into the background yet simply pleasing enough to take the center of attention - if that is what you want for them. Copeland gives conscientious homeowners the ability to work their designs into every room in the house, and that versatility is present throughout everything that they create.
For the bedroom, Copeland produces a wide range of bedroom sets, including beds, nightstands, chests of drawers, night shelves and much more. Just as with their other wood products, their wood bedroom furniture is simple but elegant in a way that is difficult to describe. It’s funny that a picture could say a thousand words about something so blatantly simplistic, and yet it is true. They are better visually assessed than verbally described.
Copeland also produces a wealth of other high-quality, solid hardwood designs for the rest of the house, including for the living room and the dining room. Those looking for a refresh for their current design scheme will be well served by the simple variety of Copeland dining room tables and chairs, coffee tables, end tables, and other furniture. With the right insight and experience, you can outfit nearly any room in your home with Copeland, and your home will accommodate those changes with grace and poise.
Customizable Designs in America’s Finest Hardwoods
There is something else that we love about Copeland Furniture, and we are not alone in the assessment. Homeowners and designers around the country sign Copeland’s praises for it as well - like many modern furniture producers, they offer their customers the value of customizations.
While their designs in furniture themselves are somewhat standardized, Copeland makes it easy for its customers to create their vision in the hardwood of their choice. That’s no small matter, when you consider that there is such a difference between the appearance of woods like solid walnut, cherry or ash.
That doesn’t even speak to the quality, although the quality is there. There is no comparison between furniture that is made from choice, solid hardwoods using proven techniques and any alternative. In this instance, the key difference is in visual appeal.
But Copeland does not simply provide its customers the ability to customize their furniture with a variety of choices in hardwoods. They also provide their customers the option of customizing with a variety of different stains as well. If the wood does not offer it in its native character, Copeland will stain the furniture in the color of your choice. In that way, you can suit not only the design but also the color to nearly any setting.
Representing the Finest in American Heritage
If there’s one more reason to make the most of the finest designs in furniture that Copeland can supply, it’s because Copeland has been influenced by American heritage and tradition and is a true native son of American design.
Producing furniture from the wealth of native hardwood stock that has been available here has been a tradition for hundreds of years and something that can be witnessed in showrooms and museums across the country. These traditions have been heavily influenced by European schools and by other cultures, but there are unique American traditions that have arisen from the mixture of these elements.
That may be one of the reasons that it is so difficult to categorize Copeland. It is at one time both an idyllic representation of the history of producing furniture in America and also a unique fixture of its own inspiration. Make no mistake about this message, though - Copeland has been a staple of American furniture designs for half a century and it will continue to color the American spirit of furniture design for long into the future. If that simple hardwood construction appeals to you, then you will delight in Copeland Furniture.
Standing for Values that Matter
Copeland Furniture, like many of the other manufacturers that we represent in our showrooms, is, as they say, green furniture. They use sustainably harvested hardwoods from North American forests and are committed to doing the best for the environment from which they sustain their operations.
Their hardwoods come from the American Northern Forests and most of the wood they use comes from within their vicinity, minimizing their impact not only on the forests from which they make their living but also on the greater supply chain that must in part support it. Copeland is also variously awarded and certified, having been awarded the Silver Exemplary Membership by the Sustainable Furnishings Council and the Sage Award. Their finishes are also GREENGUARD Gold Certified - tested for over 10,000 known harmful chemicals, and guaranteed safe.
Just like so many of the other manufacturers, we laud - and our own operation, Copeland is a leader in this arena. You can outfit your home with pride and poise when you choose Copeland designs for your interior decorating, and you’ll be doing good for the environment as well.
Contact Us to Learn More - Or Visit Our Showroom
If you’d like to learn more about Copeland, or just to see what we have in stock and offer in terms of Copeland built-to-order furniture, take a look through our catalog. Of course, if you’d like to come in and see us, we’d love to have you. Give us a call at 330-657-2095 and let us know when you’d like to come visit. Some things off the beaten path are worth discovering, and we’re confident our showroom in Peninsula, Ohio is one of them!