Henredon Bombay Chest

Founded in 1945, Henredon is one of the more recently minted of the top-tier North Carolina furniture makers. Among collectors, Henredon is admired both for its sleek, sexy sofas, dining tables and other furniture of the 1970s and for its partnerships with noted designers, a program that began in the 1950s with decorating icon Dorothy Draper and architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

From the start, Henredon has been best known for its bedroom furniture and vintage case pieces, such as cabinets, dressers, armoires and credenzas. The brand was established in Morganton by former Drexel Furniture Company executives, and its name is a portmanteau term, derived from the first names of three of the company’s founders — T. Henry Wilson, Ralph Edwards and Don VanNoppen. (Sterling Collett, a fourth figure mentioned in Henredon Furniture’s history, chaired the company and served as treasurer).

Though not on the cutting edge stylistically, Henredon’s production — as well as its output under the Heritage-Henredon label — has always kept pace with contemporary tastes. 

In 1953, High Point manufacturer Heritage began a collaboration with Dorothy Draper, famed for bravura interior design commissions such as the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco and the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia. Her taste for bold, modernized historical style is reflected in the incised baroque medallions of her España line and the geometric motif of her Viennese furnishings group. In 1955, Henredon launched the Taliesin Ensemble by Wright, named after the architect’s houses in Wisconsin and Arizona. Taliesin dressers and coffee tables are recognizable by their angular shapes and a dentil motif on their edges. In those years, Henredon had a cross-licensing agreement with Heritage, and Draper and Wright's furniture is usually labeled Heritage-Henredon.

In later decades, Henredon produced collections for such designers as Ralph Lauren and Laura Ashley. The company took a stylish turn in the 1970s, fabricating new and unusual forms like mirrored room dividers and console tables with rounded corners and burl-wood veneers. Such pieces are priced in the $3,000 to $4,000 range, as are chests of drawers by Draper. Wright furniture tends toward the higher end, priced around $7,000. Henredon was an aesthetically diverse maker, but its furniture commands attention and makes a statement in any eclectic decor.

The vintage Henredon furniture for sale on 1stDibs includes bedroom furniture, coffee tables, chairs and other pieces.

Is it a commode or a chest of drawers?

Commode is the French term for a low chest of drawers, but it is also sometimes used to denote a piece with a particularly intricate design. The commode dates to circa 1700 France, where it was used as an alternative to a taller cabinet piece so as to not obscure paneled, mirrored or tapestried walls. Coffers, or chests, which were large wooden boxes with hinged lids and sometimes stood on ball feet, preceded chests of drawers, a fashionable cabinet furnishing that garnered acclaim for its obvious storage potential and versatility.

As time passed, French and British furniture makers led the way in the production of chests of drawers, and features like the integration of bronze and ornamental pulls became commonplace. Antique French commodes in the Louis XV style were sometimes crafted in mahogany or walnut, while an Italian marble top added a sophisticated decorative flourish. This specific type of case piece grew in popularity in the years that followed.

So, what makes a chest of drawers different from a common dresser? Dressers are short, and chests of drawers are overall taller pieces of furniture that typically do not have room on the top for a mirror as most dressers do. Tallboys and highboys are variations of the dresser form. Some chests of drawers have one column of four to six long drawers or three long drawers in their bottom section that are topped by a cluster of small side-by-side drawers on the top. To further complicate things, we sometimes refer to particularly short chests of drawers as nightstands. 

Even though chests of drawers are commonly thought of as bedroom furniture to store clothing, these are adaptable pieces. A chest of drawers can house important documents — think of your walnut Art Deco commode as an upgrade to your filing cabinet. Nestle your chest near your home’s front door to store coats and other outerwear, while the top can be a place to drop your handbag. Add some flair to your kitchen, where this lovable case piece can hold pots, pans and even cookbooks.

When shopping for the right chest of drawers for your home, there are a few key things to consider: What will you be storing in it? How big a chest will you need?

Speaking of size, don’t dream too big. If your space is on the smaller side, a more streamlined vintage mid-century modern chest of drawers, perhaps one designed by Paul McCobb or T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, may best suit your needs.

At 1stDibs, we make it easy to add style and storage to your home. Browse our collection of antique and vintage commodes and chests of drawers today.