Vintage Furniture
The Headline................ Vintage Furniture is on trend to become a 16.6 Billion Dollar a year business by the year 2025.
See the article via the link below:
It's a fascinating read if you're interested in, shopping for or thinking about incorporating vintage furniture into your design, either for your personal space or for a client.
In today's market the obvious options for purchasing trendy or popular higher end furnishings for your home, be it adding to or accommodating a complete redesign, are limited. The big players who are instantly recognized by name because of massive advertising budgets lead you to beautifully curated showrooms with intoxicating and seemingly endless options at every turn and the emotions take over. I recently had a client invest over 30K in her new bedroom furniture alone at one of the most recognized outfits in the upscale furniture field today, only to discover when the furniture arrived it had a label on the back of one of the pieces that disclosed that it was actually made in another country, one associated with
cheap labor and lower quality. I was astounded, and I'm in the business. They certainly don't disclose that to you when you're purchasing and they sure don't put in into the catalogues.
High quality US made furniture is still around but it's expensive and options are becoming less and less. Some of the top names in the business were forced into bankruptcy and futures hung in the balance.
Hendredon, Drexel, John Widdicomb (now operating under the Stickley brand) and numerous other top names in the business were forced out by lower priced cheaply made imitations. Some were purchased and rebranded.
As luxury furniture goes there is a hierarchy. At the top you'll find Karges, Union National (near Karges quality for a slightly lesser price), some other boutique brands such as James Mont, John Widdicomb, Maison Jansen and Mastercraft followed closely by Baker, Century Furniture, Stickley, Henredon, Drexel/Heritage and Hickory Furniture. Some of the hugely popular MCM top names include Knoll, Wormley for Dunbar, Directional, Probber, Milo Baughman, Adrian Pearsall, Eames, Herman Miller and Thayer Coggin just to name a few. This MCM group and their wares have become uber popular and iconic pieces such as an Oasis sofa by Wormley can fetch in the tens of thousands of dollars for a single sofa, some vintages fetching upwards of 40K for a single sofa. Paul Evan's earlier case pieces can fetch upwards of 40K for a single example.
Investing in vintage Luxury furnishing crafted by the industries top makers and designers is becoming more and more desirable and driving the surge and demand for vintage pieces. For demonstration, a vintage sideboard crafted by Century furniture, (for this example I'll use a piece currently on our showroom floor) hails from their Caspian Collection which ran from 1977 - 2002 and retailed for around $5,000 when purchased as new, (the equivalent to approx. 17K today) can be purchased for just under $3000 today. The piece comprised of hand carved details on massive planes of 100% walnut and finished with decadent solid brass hardware featuring an abundance of size, weight and intricate detail is nearly impossible to replicate and is stiff competition for the trendy box stores that most turn to for furniture solutions. What your $3000 investment currently affords you at those top name stores doesn't hold a candle to these vintage pieces from some of the top, most iconic brands in the business. It's simply a smarter buy.
I find something inherently calming and at times reassuring to find a coveted vintage piece used in the design or redesign of a space. These rare beauties command such respect for their creator's vision, style and craftsman ship along with their sheer ability to withstand 50-70 years of use and are certainly worthy of that respect. I think their presence brings a space to life, giving it balance and depth. Using all new or all vintage furniture is never a design plan I could get behind. As in life I think a successful and memorable design reflects a life well lived and stays relevant through the trends and beyond. These vintage pieces being infused into a fresh design accomplishes that and those masterful reflections of the past placed along side the brightest visions of today can give a that space a unique texture and depth.
Some select pieces from these legendary brands have become quite collectible and sought after by some of the top designers in the industry. Vintage Mastercraft pieces for example are some of the most sought after today and command a heftier price. We offer a variety of these vintage Mastercraft pieces along with many other top names and boutique luxury brands. Notable Mastercraft pieces can range from $4000 - $10,000 for a dining table, $5.000 - $15,000 for a sideboard and $5000 to $15.000 for a pair of brass vitrines.
Whatever your budget, be it for a single piece, a room, or an entire home, investing in vintage pieces from one of these master craftsmen should most certainly be a consideration when creating a timeless design. It can be some of the most gratifying money spent on furnishing your special space.