The solutions oriented furniture company, Sauder is the world's leading manufacturer of ready-to-assemble furniture. What began at the close of the Great Depression in a small barn making wood crates and cabinets for farmers gradually expanded into a small factory building church furniture. Battling two devastating fires over the next two decades, Sauder continued to persevere and rebuilt his factory each time. The last time, he was determined that it would be the last.

In the early 1950s, he took the furniture industry by storm with the invention of the first “knock-down” table. Packed flat in a box and designed for easy customer assembly, Sauder patented the knock-down concept in 1953 and expanded this concept into five more pieces —cocktail table, lamp table, end table, step table and corner table. Produced for 15 years, these became the longest running series produced at Sauder selling for an affordable $4-5.

As the years progressed, Sauder experimented on other materials and in 1978, patented a fully laminated and wrapped raised panel door that resembled the look of “real wood” furniture, which was used for the first time by RTA in 1980.

Throughout the years, Sauder Furniture continued to expand and advance with the changing trends, always sticking to the tried and true, assemble yourself furniture. But as technology improved, so did the assembly as many of the new Sauder pieces became easier to assemble. In fact, Sauder cut assembly time in half through the addition of slide-on moldings, easy-to-use fasteners, and T-slot and slide-together drawer assembly systems. Moreover, just to make sure that their assembly instructions are easy to follow, from time to time they test their products on a local sixth-grade.

Sauder offers a range of furniture for the home including bedroom, entertainment, computer work stations, home office, storage and utility pieces. You can purchase individual pieces or complete collections. And most pieces are less than $500. Available in different styles and finishes, you’re sure to find pieces to match your home’s décor without difficulty.

Sauder furniture can be found online at www.sauder.com or at many discount home furniture stores, both online and locally. If you think you may have difficulty assembling your new Sauder furniture, you may want to contact Sauder or consider purchasing from a major office supply chain like Office Depot, Staples or Office Max. For an additional fee, you can usually arrange to have the furniture assembled for you.

You may be able to find discontinued Sauder furniture at your local stores, or check the Sauder website. They no longer carry any online, but they will refer you to another site. Inventory is limited so check back often.