Ashlen Chairs

Ashlen Chairs

For a company that makes a product as rich in history as the Windsor Chair, it is no surprise that the founder of Ashlen Windsor Chair Company, Rick McClendon, enjoys a long history of his own in the furniture trade.

Rick has been building Windsor chairs for more than 30 years.

Rick is assisted in the business by his daughter Ashlee and son-in-law Ed. Ashlen crafts both American and English Windsor style chairs as well as traditional farm and occasional tables.

The company also offers a line of rocking chairs, bar and counter height stools, and settees. “It expands our line and gives our customers more choices,” Rick said.

Windsor chairs were originally made from readily available materials and were characteristically made from a three-wood construction. Hard maple was used in combination with a softer wood, such as poplar or white pine, for the seat. The upper part required a bending wood like oak, elm or hickory. Ashlen’s reproduction Windsors are hand-built in the same traditional fashion. The seats are hand-shaped from two-inch White Pine. Vase style legs turned from Hard Maple and Red Oak spindles are hand-wedged. Arm knuckles and wings are expertly hand-carved.

“The Windsor chairs are a wonderful design. They’re daintily elegant yet very strong for the look and the weight,” said Rick. “It’s a chair that has stood the test of time. Our chairs can be passed down through generations and become heirlooms. We stand behind our chairs and that has been an integral part of our success.”

Ashlen chairs are available in several stains and finishes including a distressed black crackle, red-black crackle and traditional historic colors of barn red and black-green.

The Windsor chairs fit into almost any decor and are very versatile.

“You can place an accent chair next to a fireplace or a more detailed carved chair in a dining room or around a simple farm table. The chairs run the gamut from formal to casual” Rick said. “We’re able to supply people with a chair in a historic style and color that will go with almost any decor.