Kountry Kraft Handmade Cabinets | Newmanstown, PA
By / November 22, 2017 March 20, 2023Kountry Kraft has been a leading manufacturer of Handmade cabinets since 1959. Located in the heart of Pennsylvania, the highly skilled craftsmen are valued for their talent that has been passed through generations. Starting at the beginning stages of assembly, all the way through to quality inspection, each project is ensured to be delivered on spec and on time.
Handcrafted Cabinets Withstand the Test of Time
Kountry Kraft is only one of a few cabinet manufacturers who dovetail our cabinet boxes. Handcrafted cabinets with dovetails adds superior stability that withstands wear and tear. Dovetailing creates an extremely strong joint between two pieces of wood that can endure heavy use. Most manufacturers don’t want the extra hassle and expense of dovetailing, at Kountry Kraft, we put the customer first and go the extra mile to make quality products. Dovetailing requires a great dexterity, and the craftsman here at Kountry Kraft acquire the needed skill sets and beyond.
Handcrafted cabinets bring a feeling of warmth and comfort into your home. Your Kountry Kraft cabinets are handcrafted uniquely for you, and that adds a personal touch to your space. Handcrafted cabinets allow the ability to produce cabinetry that no one else has in their home.
Kountry Kraft has a lifetime limited warranty on all their manufactured products. The warrant is valid only under normal home use and care for as long as the original purchaser owns the product and the product is at the original site of installation. To see more information about our lifetime warranty, visit our lifetime warranty page.
View all completed projects that include Kountry Kraft’s handcrafted cabinets by visiting our Houzz Page!
Hoosier Cabinet History
By / September 6, 2017 February 25, 2023
A true must have of a 1920’s kitchen was the hoosier cabinet. The idea built behind this popular cabinet was that a worker is only as efficient as her workplace. This cabinet was so much more than just a storage cabinet, it included storage, appliances and much more!
What Does “Hoosier” Mean?
The word Hoosier has been tied to the state of Indiana for over 150 years. There are several theories about its origin, one of them involves people yelling “who’s there?” across the river and the other is of a man who lost his ear in a bar fight and someone unfortunately picked it up and asked, “whos ear?” Both circumstances sound similar to the term “Hoosier”.
So, what does the term have to do with the Hoosier cabinet? The cabinet got its name because most of them were made in Indiana. The first Hoosier cabinets appeared in 1898, created by a furniture company called Sellers, in New Castle, Indiana. Popularity of the cabinet grew up until the late 1940’s when the records for the cabinets became scarce.
What Is in a Hoosier Cabinet?
You may be thinking that this was just an average cupboard, but back in the 1920’s, this was much more. This cabinet had storage for staples like flour, sugar and spices as well as workable parts like flour sifters, meat grinders, spice carousels, grocery list wheel, nutritional charts and cookbook holders. The Hoosier cabinet was made to speed up meal delivery by having everything you need in one place.
Photo credit, Rob Karosis
This modern Hoosier cabinet was designed by PKsurroundings. The modern storage cabinet includes shelves for organizing jars, spices and staple products. There is also a built-in prep sink that includes a garbage disposal. Outlets are incorporated on the walls for small appliances like a blender or electric mixer. The cabinet area provides a sense of separation from the rest of the kitchen, allowing multiple chefs to be cooking and prepping at the same time! Even though the storage space is beautiful to look at, it is all hidden behind custom sliding cabinet doors by Kountry Kraft.
Click here to view pictures of hoosier cabinets. Contact Kountry Kraft today and see how you can create your own modern Hoosier cabinet!
A Visit from Woodshop News
By / March 16, 2016 February 25, 2023
Around the holidays last year we shared with you the inspirational story of how our company began when my mother, Helen Hurst purchased a Sears Table Saw for my father Elvin back in 1958. We love that story – and around the time we shared it with you we also sent it out to a few magazines. We were thrilled when Woodshop News magazine reporter Jennifer Hicks called us to let us know they read the story and she was interested in coming for an interview and a shop tour.
Woodshop News
Woodshop News has been in print for 30 years. The publication is a favorite among woodshop owners and woodworkers with small to mid-sized woodshops, and has a readership of 70,000. They cover news, business trends, advice and new products for professional woodworkers. Their typical reader builds cabinetry, furniture, architectural millwork and remodeling projects. Our own staff are Woodshop News readers, so we were thrilled to have them stop by for a tour of our facility last week and meet my parents, Elvin Jr and myself.
Jennifer spent a good deal of time with my parents, hearing stories from the early days of Kountry Kraft, and learning how we grew from a staff of 2 to nearly 100 in the past 50+ years. It certainly wasn’t easy for my father to quit his job with a 14 month old and a 3 week old baby at home to launch our company. The path from a 28’ x 58’ shop to our current 90,000 square foot shop wasn’t always smooth, but our commitment to the Germanic principles of practical hard work and our strong sales philosophy of giving people what they want so they will come back for more still guide every decision we make today. Our path is a great example for other shops who start small with big dreams for the future.
I don’t want to scoop Jennifer and our friends at Woodshop News, but watch for a story in the May or June issue this year. Visit woodshopnews.com for some great content for woodworkers, and consider a subscription to encourage the woodworker in your life – you never know what might become of it 🙂
American Heirlooms Custom Tables
By / February 24, 2016 March 11, 2023The roots of Kountry Kraft are founded in furniture making, and our company is proud to partner with local Pennsylvania artisans to offer the American Heirloom Collection of fine furniture, a high quality line of handcrafted furniture that satisfies even the most discerning customers. American Heirlooms furniture is built from Pennsylvania cherry, oak and maple harvested from the Northeastern USA. It is crafted using state-of-the-art equipment to aid in the efficiency and quality of manufacturing, but we still provide the top quality craftsmanship our customers have come to expect.
American Heirloom custom tables can be built in many shapes and styles. The line includes both dropleaf and drawleaf tables to provide extra space when needed. Style options include rectangle extension, round extension, gathering extension, farm tables, dinette, Queen Ann, pedestal, pub, innkeeper, colonial, reeded, and Yarmouth extension tables.
Custom Options
Custom tables are available with a variety of edge options and finishes, including hand-planed tops that give finished tables a truly authentic antiqued appearance. Table legs are bolted to sturdy corner brackets to provide secure leg support, extending the life of the furniture. Legs also include table levelers to adjust to uneven flooring, a finishing touch not often found in commercially manufactured tables. All American Heirlooms pedestal tables have extension slides to provide smooth extension that is dependable for years of use. Many of the extension and pedestal tables also have self-storing leaves, eliminating the need to find a safe place to store leaves between uses.
Pictured below is a round shaker custom table and eight spindle arm chair and side chairs from the American Heirlooms series. This is just one of the many table styles available in the line. To see the extended line of American Heirlooms custom furniture, which also includes chairs, benches and children’s furniture, request a catalog by contacting us at 610-589-4575.
