Vintage furniture, for the most part, possesses excellent craftsmanship, utilizing high-quality wood and boasting captivating designs. The durability of vintage furniture is evident, especially in case goods such as dressers, hutches, desks, shelving units, and dining chairs, as they remain desirable and appear almost new despite enduring over 50 years of daily use. Even upholstered pieces like armchairs and sofas, although they may require expensive reupholstering, continue to be sought after due to their sturdy frame construction.
When considering the process step by step, the text can be rephrased as follows: Vintage furniture is generally less expensive than purchasing brand-new items. Specifically, vintage dining room and bedroom sets can offer outstanding value. This is because while there is a wide variety of vintage decorative items available (such as paintings, ceramics, glassware, and collectibles), there is typically limited space for only one dining room set and two or three bedroom sets. Consequently, the principles of supply and demand dictate that these larger items, which sellers find more difficult to sell, often come at excellent prices.
Six reasons to buy vintage furniture:
- Vintage furniture is usually well-constructed and built to last.
- There are many exciting designs to suit your particular taste.
- Vintage furniture can be very affordable, compared to buying new.
- It’s greener to buy vintage.
- Vintage has “a story”.
- It’s super fun to shop for vintage furniture — the thrill of the hunt!
8 of our favorite midcentury designs and brands
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Broyhill produced several impressive furniture collections during the 1960s, and one of their highly sought-after vintage lines nowadays is the Broyhill Brasilia line, which was introduced in 1962. What makes this line especially attractive is its remarkable curvaceous designs, which ultimately contribute to its easily distinguishable character. These ornamental elements draw inspiration from the architectural style of Oscar Niemeyer, the renowned architect responsible for designing Brasilia, the modernist capital city of Brazil.
2. Heywood-Wakefield
Did you know that Heywood-Wakefield furniture, known for its curving lines, solid wood construction, and unique champagne finish, remains one of the most sought-after vintage furniture styles? Vintage HeyWake is still widely available and offers great bargains. Interestingly enough, Heywood-Wakefield furniture continues to be manufactured in the USA.
3. Drexel Declaration
The Drexel Declaration is recognized as one of the initial vintage furniture lines to be featured on Retro Renovation. Pam had a direct conversation with designer Stewart MacDougall to discuss the origins of this line. Aside from possessing a distinct contemporary look, Drexel Declaration also pays homage to Shaker furniture and their inclination towards making the construction aspects of furniture visible. This design is highly commendable as it appeals to both modernists and traditionalists.
4. Drexel Plus One
If you like flower power decorating, you can find exactly what you need in Drexel’s Plus One line, which was produced in the 1970s.
5. Kroehler sofas
When attempting to decorate a retro-style living room, whether it be reminiscent of grandma’s house or a retro atomic design, it can be difficult to make a misstep with a Kroehler sofa. These sofas were crafted in various colors, shapes, and sizes, often featuring durable frieze fabric upholstery that remains highly sought-after today, despite being quite expensive and challenging to acquire.
6. Saarinen tulip tables and chairs — or vintage knock-offs made by Burke, Fiberform or other manufacturers
Even if you don’t include Eero Saarinen’s iconic tulip tables and chairs in your decorating, their crisp and graphic appearance will always be attractive. While authentic Saarinen pieces are often costly and out of reach for many, it is possible to find affordable vintage alternatives made by companies like Burke or Fiberform to achieve a similar aesthetic.
7. Ethan Allen Custom Room Plan Furniture
The concept behind the Custom Room Plan pieces was their modularity, allowing you to combine them in various ways to create countless designs for any room in the house. The style adopted was Early American, but the concept itself remained modern, keeping up with the trend of expanding families transitioning from small ranches to larger split-level homes. In this article, you can find additional examples of Custom Room Plan furniture from 1974, which include various French Provincial door styles.
8. Kofod Larsen
The furniture designs we have shown today are mostly considered affordable, meaning they can still be found at relatively low prices due to their mass production. However, chairs like the Kofod Larsens are quite the opposite. Jackie and Todd from Furnish Me Vintage are selling a pair of Kofod Larsens recliners for $2,750.
The purpose of this entry is to highlight Kofod-Larsen as a representative example of numerous other expensive, mid-century furniture designs available. We usually don’t discuss high-priced items on Retro Renovation because we are not wealthy and are unfamiliar with high-end shopping. However, even if you are also a bargain hunter, it is possible to educate yourself and potentially discover incredible treasures. Some other notable names to explore include George Nelson, Marcel Breuer, Vladimir Kagan, Florence Knoll, Warren Platner, Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi, Edward Wormley, Milo Baughman, Jens Risom, and many more.
What Maker’s Marks Can Tell Us About Vintage Furniture
Artisans, craftsmen, retailers, and manufacturers frequently utilized maker’s marks or “shop marks” to claim ownership or establish trademark for their work. These marks took varied forms such as handwritten signatures, stamps, labels, stencils, plaques, tags, or even brands.
In general, a maker’s mark is usually positioned in a readily accessible area that does not detract from the overall visual appeal of the item. If it is present, you are most likely to discover the mark on the rear or underside of the piece, or within a drawer, door, or cabinet.
Discovering and identifying marks on antique pieces can add excitement to the search for your next vintage purchase, as not all creators choose to mark their pieces and not all marks are able to withstand the test of time. Furniture enthusiasts can seek assistance from various catalogs, books, and websites to aid in identifying these marks.
Why Are Maker’s Marks Important?
The most evident and uncomplicated explanation is that a maker’s mark enables you to recognize the brand or designer of the furniture item, which can aid in discovering additional information about the object, such as its origin of production, the name of the furniture model, the wood/finish utilized, or potentially even the individual craftsman responsible for its creation. For antique collectors and those fascinated by history, the acquired knowledge from locating and studying the mark may serve as both the objective and gratification in its own right.
The use of a maker’s mark can also assist in dating furniture. Since many marks evolved and changed over time, identifying these subtle differences can help establish when a specific piece was created, especially if other aspects of the furniture remained largely unchanged during that period. For instance, Basic-Witz Furniture Industries sold furniture in Virginia until it was acquired by Stanley Furniture in the 1970s. If you come across a piece with a Basic-Witz Furniture Industries stamp, it can be concluded that it was produced prior to the 1970s.
The value of vintage furniture and decor relies on various factors, including the age and manufacturer of the item. Other considerations that affect its worth include the condition of the piece, whether it is part of a complete set (as complete sets are typically more valuable), and the brand or creator’s popularity in your location. For instance, RWay is well-known on the east coast, so its pricing may differ between Virginia and Oregon.
Identifying replicas from originals is another task that maker’s marks can help with. Dishonest vendors may try to reproduce these marks to give credibility to the items they are passing off as originals, so when inspecting marks, it’s important to carefully examine them to ensure they have all the necessary elements, symbols, and accurate dates. If there is any uncertainty, though, it might be advisable to rely on antique experts for the identification job.
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