Pleasant View Furniture offers friendly sales staff and fair prices
By Joanne Lehman
Pleasant View Furniture is a family owned and operated hardwood furniture business located between Berlin and Winesburg, along U.S. 62. The company stocks a variety of furniture styles and woods. The family manufactures many of the items offered for sale and maintains a friendly sales staff.
Besides their own furniture, they offer many additional pieces crafted in small family shops located no more than 10 miles from their store. The business employs eight people who work in the woodworking shop and three store employees, as well as five family members.
Their building, located on the family homestead, looks unpretentious from the outside. Inside, the store features 7,000-square-feet of beautiful handcrafted furniture, in showrooms on two floors. Leroy Keim, son-in-law of original owners Paul and Mabel Miller, said his family enjoys meeting the many customers who stop by. "We try to have a bond with the customer; we're here to sell furniture, but we want to be friends, too," he said. Many first-time customers discover the shop while touring the area or visiting friends who live nearby.
"We ship our furniture anywhere in the U. S." Keim said. "In the past couple of months we've delivered custom furniture to California, Washington and Texas."
The company began 17 years ago, with a small showroom that featured "a few tables, chairs and beds from area builders", according to Keim. At the time, Paul Miller had a welding business he was operating in another area of the shop.
A year after opening, a fire destroyed the showroom; but by 1993, they had opened a new store, as well as a manufacturing company, J&L Woodworking. Keim said that during the past decade the company has continued to develop new lines of furniture in order to meet customer demand. Popular styles produced by J&L include Heirloom, Georgian and Shaker, among others. Altogether, Pleasant View offers 10 different bedroom sets from which to choose.
In 2001, they added the popular Mission style furniture. Quarter-sawn oak dining room and bedroom pieces have been the most sought-after styles during the last couple of years. To complete the selection of styles and finishes, they now work with 90 different builders. Every piece in the store is available in the customer's choice of stain color and hardware options and in a variety of woods.
The company buys many pieces from their suppliers unfinished - especially chairs and beds built by local shops set up to handle the specialized woodworking required to make these pieces. Pleasant View Furniture works with their own finishers to ensure pieces match and are finished to specifications.
Oak and cherry are the standard woods, and maple is also gaining in popularity. For something different, Pleasant View Furniture offers a bedroom suite in elm and can provide furnishings made of hickory. Plasma TV stands, wall units and entertainment centers are always available, as are corner office units, executive desks and roll-top desks. Keim said the store keeps many items in stock and often has at least one piece in addition to the one on the showroom floor. They also have a few specific designs of kitchen and dining room furniture available that can be delivered in less than one month from the time a customer places an order.
Each year they hold clearance sales in July and December, when they mark all floor models 10 percent off. The company offers fair prices, great service and a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee. Hours are Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Their address is 6782 TR 423, Dundee, Ohio, just off US 62. They have voicemail access at 330-893-4322 and fax at 330-893-1812.
