Heritage Henredon Dresser

Vintage Heritage-Henredon dressers and other furnishings are widely loved by design enthusiasts all over the world.

During the mid-century years, North Carolina furniture manufacturers Henredon and Heritage had a cross-licensing agreement. Works by legendary designers Dorothy Draper and Frank Lloyd Wright for these brands during the era are usually labeled Heritage-Henredon.

Heritage was founded in 1937 in High Point by Elliott Wood — with the support of his father, George, who owned a wholesale rug business — while Henredon was established in 1945, in Morganton, by a group of Drexel Furniture Company executives interested in making unique custom furniture for new homeowners of the postwar era. 

Henry Wilson, Ralph Edwards and Don VanNoppen — the first few letters of their names combined to create the name Henredon — launched the brand with a total of three chest trunks for sale (Sterling Collett, a fourth figure mentioned in Henredon’s history, chaired the company and served as treasurer). Heritage’s Wood was an original investor in Henredon when the company was getting off the ground.

North Carolina became a hub for furniture design — there was Thomasville and Tomlinson in Thomasville and High Point, respectively, while iconic mid-century modern brands Century, Broyhill and Drexel also opened their doors in the so-called “Tar Heel State.” 

During a heyday of production in the mid-1950s, Heritage entered into a partnership with iconic designer Dorothy Draper, while Frank Lloyd Wright created several lines of furniture for Henredon — the works by both designers were marketed under the Heritage-Henredon name. Wright, a legendary architect who gave us some of the most elegant buildings in America, designed his popular Taliesin Series — named after his houses in Wisconsin and Arizona — while Draper, famed for bravura interior design commissions such as the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco and the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, is known to Heritage-Henredon enthusiasts for her España chests, side tables and other pieces. 

On 1stdibs, find vintage Heritage-Henredon dressers, cabinets, tables, seating and more.

Of all the vintage storage cabinets and antique case pieces that have become popular in modern interiors over the years, dressers, credenzas and cabinets have long been home staples, perfect for routine storage or protection of personal items. 

In the mid-19th century, cabinetmakers would mimic styles originating in the Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI eras for their dressers, bookshelves and other structures, and, later, simpler, streamlined wood designs allowed these “case pieces” or “case goods” — any furnishing that is unupholstered and has some semblance of a storage component — to blend into the background of any interior. 

Mid-century modern furniture enthusiasts will cite the tall modular wall units crafted in teak and other sought-after woods of the era by the likes of George Nelson, Poul Cadovius and Finn Juhl. For these highly customizable furnishings, designers of the day delivered an alternative to big, heavy bookcases by considering the use of space — and, in particular, walls — in new and innovative ways. Mid-century modern credenzas, which, long and low, evolved from tables that were built as early as the 14th century in Italy, typically have no legs or very short legs and have grown in popularity as an alluring storage option over time. 

Although the name immediately invokes images of clothing, dressers were initially created in Europe for a much different purpose. This furnishing was initially a flat-surfaced, low-profile side table equipped with a few drawers — a common fixture used to dress and prepare meats in English kitchens throughout the Tudor period. The drawers served as perfect utensil storage. It wasn’t until the design made its way to North America that it became enlarged and equipped with enough space to hold clothing and cosmetics. The very history of case pieces is a testament to their versatility and well-earned place in any room. 

In the spirit of positioning your case goods center stage, decluttering can now be design-minded.

A contemporary case piece with open shelving and painted wood details can prove functional as a storage unit as easily as it can a room divider. Alternatively, apothecary cabinets are charming case goods similar in size to early dressers or commodes but with uniquely sized shelving and (often numerous) drawers.

Whether you’re seeking a playful sideboard that features colored glass and metal details, an antique Italian hand-carved storage cabinet or a glass-door vitrine to store and show off your collectibles, there are options for you on 1stDibs.