Home Reserve
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Furniture industry |
| Predecessor | Wieland Furniture Co. |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Ready-to-assemble upholstered furniture |
| Website | www |
Home Reserve is an American furniture manufacturer specializing in ready-to-assemble furniture. The company is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana and operates as a direct-to-consumer e-commerce business.
The company offers furniture that is customizable, easy to assemble, and designed for small-space living. It is known for its innovative approach to furniture design, integrating built-in storage, replaceable fabric covers, and using sustainable materials in its products.
History
[edit]Home Reserve was founded in 2000, bringing an e-commerce-first approach to the furniture industry. The company’s origins trace back to Wieland Furniture Co. in Michigan, a firm known for pioneering the Unimold process, a manufacturing method that creates durable, repairable furniture while minimizing waste. This process emphasized long-lasting materials and modular design, influencing Home Reserve’s approach to sustainable quality furniture.
Prior to launching Home Reserve, its founders specialized in commercial seating for healthcare and educational environments, focusing on durability and adaptability. Some of their designs were featured on television sets for shows like ER and Touched by an Angel. [1]
In 2000, the company introduced flat-pack furniture, optimized for compact shipping through UPS and FedEx Ground. This logistics breakthrough was recognized by UPS in its April 2005 Preferred Report.[2]
Products
[edit]Home Reserve offers seating, including sofas, sectional couches, loveseats, chairs and ottomans. Each piece is designed for modular expansion, easy assembly, and long-term durability. The company's products features include:
- Built-in Storage – Every seating unit and ottoman includes hidden storage compartments.
- Replaceable Fabrics – Customers can swap out fabric covers for a refreshed look.
- Machine-Washable Covers – Offers fabric options like performance velvet that are easy to clean, machine-washable and stain-resistant.
- Kid- and Pet-Friendly Durability – Designed to withstand kids, pets and everyday wear.
- Customizable & Expandable – Sectional layouts can be modified to fit evolving needs.
- USA-Made Engineering – Components are crafted in the U.S. for quality and sustainability.
- Patented Ready-to-Assemble Design – Engineered for compact shipping and easy setup. Boxes can fit through all doors that a person can.
Sustainability
[edit]Home Reserve has committed to sustainable furniture practices, reducing waste, and promoting eco-conscious manufacturing. Key sustainability initiatives include:
- Planting a tree for every furniture order.
- Sustainable wood frames crafted from fast-growing, high-yield trees which helps preserve older, more valuable forests. Each frame is sourced under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
- CertiPUR-US Certified Foam that’s free from harmful chemicals like formaldehyde and heavy metals, and has low VOC emissions.
- Fiber fill made from 100% BPA-free post-consumer plastic bottles, repurposed into cozy, supportive cushions.
- Water-neutral production in partnership with Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF).
- 100% recyclable bamboo bags that protect fabric during shipping.
- Eco-friendly packaging made with sustainability in mind, utilizing corrugated cardboard - the most recycled packaging material on the planet.
- Carbon-neutral shipping via emissions offsets.
- The Home Again program, which refurbishes returned furniture frames into like-new sectionals, extending product life and reducing landfill waste.
Made in the USA
[edit]Home Reserve manufacturing its furniture in the United States, ensuring quality craftsmanship while supporting local communities. The family-owned company’s Made in the USA efforts include:
- Keeping production in Fort Wayne, Indiana and Ogden, Utah to maintain quality control and reduce emissions associated with overseas shipping.
- Fair wages, not per-piece pay that offers workers a dignity wage and allows them to focus on quality and safety without the pressure of speed.
- Full healthcare coverage for employees, meaning that Home Reserve pays for 100% of their health, vision, and dental insurance.
- A four-day workweek that promotes work-life balance and allows employees to spend more time with their families, while continuing to craft durable, thoughtfully-designed furniture for families across the country.
Furniture E-commerce Models
[edit]There is an inherent problems in a direct-to-consumer furniture, the logistics of shipping and returns being the primary obstacle to workable systems. To achieve efficient costs of transportation, ready-to-assemble (RTA) products have been developed. RTA methods as developed by Home Reserve have been chronicled in industry related media journals, such as Furniture Today.[3]
Primarily a logistics idea, the Home Reserve model is based on optimization and efficiency studies of the movement of materials via various country-wide transportation systems. The model was presented at the 2003 McCloskey business plan competition, at the Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies on the University of Notre Dame campus.[4] A booklet was published for this competition based on a fictitious communication between Professor Matthew Albert of the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the protagonist for the idea of Home Reserve, an American businessman.
Recognition
[edit]Home Reserve has received praise from both industry professionals and consumers.
Country Almanac wrote: "Home Reserve's low cost furniture collection comes in ready-to-assemble pieces shipped in separate boxes (no heavier than 70 pounds), that fit easily through narrow doors. They even feature internal storage, making them ideal for apartments and other small spaces.[5]
Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications listed Home Reserve as one of the new crop of ready-to-assemble furniture items that delivers instant style on a shoestring budget.[6]
Company patents
[edit]Home Reserve holds five U.S. patents for engineering advancements in ready-to-assemble upholstered furniture, reflecting its leadership in furniture design:
- Patent 1: US 6,267,446[7]
- Patent 2: US 6,568,058[8]
- Patent 3: US 6,981,747[9]
- Patent 4: US 7,044,557[10]
- Patent 5: US 7,523,989[11]
These patents cover frame construction, modular assembly, and compact shipping methods.
References
[edit]- ^ Joyce Rosencrans, The Cincinnati Post, October 30, 2004
- ^ "Preferred Report - Home Reserve Designs Success with UPS" (PDF). 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-02-06. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
- ^ Gary Evans, "Home Reserve selling RTA sofas on Web site", Furniture Today, August 8, 2005
- ^ "The Notre Dame Business Plan Competition". Archived from the original on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ "The Latest Ideas to Help Simplify Your Life" Archived 2009-03-27 at the Wayback Machine, Country Almanac
- ^ "Some Assembly Required" Archived 2009-03-28 at the Wayback Machine, Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications, winter 2005
- ^ "United States Patent: 6267446". Archived from the original on 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
- ^ "United States Patent: 6568058". Archived from the original on 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
- ^ "United States Patent: 6981747". Archived from the original on September 18, 2013.
- ^ "United States Patent: 7044557". Archived from the original on 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
- ^ "United States Patent: 7523989". Archived from the original on September 18, 2013.