
Last week, I shared my latest estate sale purchase of 8 side tables. Once I got them home, I was able to have a good look at them. Every piece was in relatively good shape. The previous owners obviously liked mahogany and the classic look similar to furniture from Bombay Company. Some pieces were in fact from Bombay Company but others were of indeterminable sources. Below is the photo of one of the lots I picked up.
The marble topped table has some faint stains and I am currently trying some techniques to remove them. I will post my success or failure at a later date. It is a very sturdy table and I think cleaning up the marble and painting the base will make it very special.
The square table is teeny tiny! It is very Bombay Company-ish. It has a little tray that pulls our for drinks or these days, a smartphone LOL.
The side table is quite interesting with the open part at the top and the drawer at the bottom.
Now, the last table, the one with the open shelf and the drawer is the HIDDEN GEM! The burnt-in label inside the drawer said KINDEL, Grand Rapids. From previous research, I became aware Grand Rapids Michigan, at one time in history, was the furniture capital of the US and was nicknamed “Furniture City”. Of course I checked out e-Bay to see what Kindel pieces were out there and I found numerous larger pieces all commanding some major dollars! But none like my little piece.
Excuse the dust… those photos were taken at the auction site. My house is a bit cleaner 😉
The Kindel Furniture website allows you to send in the pattern number found on the back of chests or dressers along with a photo. I did this last week and a few days later, I received this reply:
Here is what research could find. Some of our older records are incomplete. We used to file everything by hand and then we had the fire and lost some. We are working to archive all info that we have and put it on discs but we are not complete yet. This item is from The Colchester line which was produced from 1936 to 1949. The only cost we found was for $20.50. I do not know if this was net or retail.
Bessie M. Christian, Relationship Manager
Isn’t that interesting and fun! So basically this piece is 70 years old, give or take a few years. I don’t think I will paint this one! It is in amazing condition for 70 years!
I love researching mid-century pieces. So many of these great furniture manufacturers have closed shop both in the US and Canada. I suppose rising wages and foreign competition took it’s toll. Sad really but still very interesting to look back and see what they were making at their peak!