- Design Inspo
Henredon Furniture: The Storied Past And What’s Ahead
Savannah Sitton
Henredon’s main mission statement was to combine timelessness with innovation. In the 1950s, the brand adopted the name Heritage Henredon to encapsulate its emphasis on incorporating history while moving forward. One of its ads proclaimed, “Henredon rooms go beautifully with time.” Its designs were meant to appreciate the past but be loved forever, and this seems to have succeeded since its furniture is nearly as present in the high-end market today as it once was.
The brand boomed during the Fifties and Sixties. Exploring innovative creations and new lines with buzzy designers and other exclusive collaborations kept the brand on the pulse of the industry. One half of a headline-making duo was with that of Dorothy Draper, the first internationally recognized and most acclaimed interior decorator. Every piece Draper designed for Henredon was an instant icon. Henredon’s famous partnerships were plenty. Ralph Lauren often designed exclusive collections for Henredon from the Sixties through the Nineties.
Henredon was founded in Morganton, North Carolina, in 1945 by a group of four men; T. Henry Wilson, Ralph Edwards, Donnell VanOppen, and Sterling Collet. Their names combined created Henredon. The brand launched with the release of three chest trunks for sale. During the post-war boom, North Carolina became a hub for furniture design and the three chests were all they needed to get off the ground.
By the Fifties, the brand offered an assortment of hundreds of products from cabinets, to sofas, to dining room tables and seating sets. During this time, Henredon kept its upholstery and manufacturing factories in North Carolina with the original site being its center of operations in Morganton. Home decor was evolving and yet Henredon managed to remain one of the most-wanted brands through every decade.
In 2018, Henredon’s parent company Heritage Home Group filed for bankruptcy. It had buyers interested in its most iconic brands. Authentic Brands Group purchased Thomasville & Co., which also included Thomasville and Drexel, shortly after. At the time, ABG shared that it was excited to continue the Hendredon’s legacy.
