Broyhill Facet Furniture Info

Sometimes you just have to wait for an answer. Sometimes you have to wait a while. Two years ago I got a question about the Broyhill Premier Facet furniture; a line I knew, and still know, little about. Recently though a reader was kind enough to point me to a listing on Urban Dwellers.

Urban Dwellers confirmed my assumption that the Facet furniture line was made sometime in the 1960s, but that's where things take a twist.

"Broyhill Facet was produced for less than one year before being discontinued, as the production cost was deemed too high. Almost no pieces from this series exist; a shame, as the design is entirely independent from the popular Brasilia, Sculptra and Saga series. The dresser is fashioned from a solid hardwood base overlaid with light-toned walnut veneer."

So there's good reason that there's little info about the Broyhill Facet line floating around; Broyhill Facet furniture wasn't around very long. Hopefully as more people see the line and fall in love with it (for good reason), more information will surface too.

Broyhill Sculptra Desk on Austin Craigslist

It's not often that I see an unnamed Broyhill Sculptra desk on Craigslist these days, but this one is simply labeled "mid-century modern desk." Still, it's not the super deal you hope to find when you stumble upon an unmarked item. It's a little bit of a deal, but pretty close to market price for the Austin market.

Guess that just speaks to the aesthetic of the Broyhill Sculptra line. Even when sellers don't know what they have, they know they have something special.

A Restor-A-Finish for Broyhill Furniture

I've used Restor-A-Finish on my Broyhill Sculptra furniture and many times since then. If you to want make some mid-century furniture look better, it's the way to go in my book.

During one of my recent (and frequent) trips to Home Depot, I overheard an employee recommend using a shade lighter of Restor-A-Finish than the wood you're putting it on, and to never ever go darker. Like paint, it's easier to start light and then go over it a second time with something slightly darker.

It's advice echoed by Mr. Modtomic, who suggests Golden Oak Restor-A-Finish for walnut furniture (like Broyhill Sculptra furniture).

The lighter shade fills in any damage, but doesn't highlight it. When you go too dark, all you see are the scratches. So here's my tip from the pros: Start lighter and go darker only if it still looks bad.

More Broyhill Sculptra to Ogle

I love seeing other people's Broyhill Sculptra setup, like this Sculptra bedroom set. The accessories on top are a great match and really bring out some fun in the set.

Reader Question: Broyhill Sculptra Numbers

A Mad for Mid-Century reader recently asked:

We just started collecting Sculptra furniture and currently have 8 different pieces. I've noticed a factory marking on the back which seems to identify the design, with additional info that perhaps identifies the location and date of manufacture?

For example, the base of our buffet is marked
6095/10
L 587 62

6095/10 is the Broyhill "part number" for this piece. If I had to guess, I would imagine that the L designates Lenoir House, and that the 62 means the piece was made in 1962. Does that sound right? Also, what do you think the 587 means?

I've talked to Broyhill a few times about the manufacturing numbers on the back of the Sculptra line, and I've heard a few times that they themselves don't know what the numbers mean. A definitive answer might be lost to history, but we can get a pretty good educated guess.

The first set of numbers is the style number for the piece, this matches on both the Broyhill Sculptra brochure and sales sheet. 6095-10 is the Sculptra buffet with 3 drawers and 1 shelf, where as 6095-11 is the buffet with 3 drawers and 2 shelves. These would have been the numbers that people and stores used to buy Sculptra furniture.

There may also be something to the slash versus the dash. My Broyhill Sculptra desk has 910-25, but no L. The first set of numbers always means the same thing, the style of the piece, but the separator might tell us something more. I'm not sure what though.

The second set of numbers is where the guessing comes in. L for Lenoir House makes some sense knowing the history of Broyhill. Although, Sculptra was a Broyhill Premier line, and Lenoir House usually indicated their moderate lines. My desk doesn't have any letter in the manufacturer numbers. Made in the Lenoir House factory or not, is probably the best guess for this piece of the numbers.

The middle piece of those numbers might be the cutting number. I can't find a true definition for a furniture cutting number, but from what I can tell it's a collection of pieces all made at or around the same time and place, maybe even from the same shipment of wood. Most of the middle numbers I've seen fall close to the one cutting number I've seen on original Broyhill Scultpra packaging.

The last number being the year the piece was made makes sense. I haven't seen a piece with that number outside of the range of the manufacturing dates of the Sculptra line.

My guess is the second set of numbers is essentially a serial number for the piece. If Broyhill ever needed to do a recall, they could limit it to a specific manufacturing location, cut number and year. But, that is just an educated guess.

A Poorly Painted Broyhill Sculptra

I'm almost never a fan of the "I painted this mid-century piece and it looks modern now" trend, but people can do whatever they want with their own furniture. However, sometimes you see a piece and you just want to save it. Especially if it's a Broyhill Sculptra commode (side table).

The beauty that is hidden under all that paint.

Broyhill Sculptra Dresser as a Credenza

I love seeing Broyhill Sculptra furniture in action and in other people's mid-century homes. Like this reddit user who is using his Broyhill Sculptra dresser as a credenza. I can see that working really well. Big, deep drawers to hold all your random stuff and a nice center area to hold all your taller stuff.

Sculptra by Broyhill Premier China Cabinet for Sale

If you're out furniture hunting this weekend, there's a Broyhill Premier Sculptra china cabinet for sale in Austin. 

You can find the craigslist ad for it here.

I'm mentally moving around furniture at my place to try and find room for a piece like this, so you'd better hurry if you want it.

Broyhill Sculptra Dresser and Nightstand for Sale

If you're in the San Antonio area (or willing to make a drive), Jason has a pretty spectacular-looking Sculptra nightstand and Broyhill Sculptra dresser with mirror for sale.

If you're interested you can send Jason an email at: SOLD. If you hurry, you might be able to snag them before he puts them on craigslist.

Broyhill Sculptra Dining Room Set for Sale

I honestly wish I needed more Broyhill Sculptra furniture, because one of the biggest lots I've seen in a while just came up for sale. If you're looking for Broyhill Sculptra for sale in Austin, hit craigslist soon.

Broyhill Premier Mid-Century Furniture Ads

As I was hunting for any information I could find about Broyhill Facet furniture, I came across a few vintage Broyhill Premier ads that I had never seen before.

This mini-brochure for a Broyhill Premier and Air France cross-promotion with some great illustrations of the Saga, Invitation and Trianon lines.

And this two pager which includes the Broyhill Sculptra, Saga and Cerama lines. 

The Broyhill Cerama line is another one of those mystery lines that I've never heard anything about before, but it looks like an interesting collection. The only time I've seen the Sculptra triple chest / platform before now is the illustration in the Broyhill Sculptra brochure. To me, it looks a little out of place with the rest of the Sculptra line, with rounded squares instead of the hard corners.

Broyhill Sculptra at Kyle Estate Sale

If you're looking for some Broyhill Sculptra furniture in the Austin area you might want to check out this estate sale in Kyle. They have a Broyhill Sculptra china cabinet, coffee table and king size bedroom set. If you want it though, I'd get there early on Saturday, it's not often that you see that much Sculptra in one place.

Mid-Century Lane Furniture, Sculptra Series?

An interesting ad popped up on Austin's craigslist. The lister claimed this mid-century cedar chest was a "Vintage Lane Cedar Chest from their Sculptra Series."

While I think it's a case of mistaken furniture names, one can understand someone mistaking this for a Broyhill Sculptra piece, I still wonder what mid-century Lane Furniture line this is actually from.

There isn't a cedar chest listed in the original Broyhill Sculptra brochure or original Sculptra price list, so it's definitely not a Broyhill Scupltra piece. (Plus the handles are similar, but not exact.)

But the similarities to Broyhill Sculptra are uncanny – the square motif, the cat-eye handles – and I wonder which series came first.

Does anyone recognize this vintage cedar chest or know what Land Furniture line it's from? I can't find any proof that a Lane Furniture Sculptra line ever existed.

Mid-Century Inspiration by Broyhill Premier Furniture

Marissa recently emailed me with a question:

I just purchased a mid-century Broyhill Premier Inspiration china cabinet, dining table and six chairs. I was trying to find out the exact year and maybe some pictures of other items in that line. So far, no luck! Maybe you could help me find some more info and value? I love them very much. I just wanted to know the history of the brand.

And she included a few pictures:

I've written about the history of Broyhill furniture company and the history of Broyhill Sculptra, which was probably being built around the same time as the Broyhill Inspiration line. The earliest newspaper ad I can find for Inspiration by Broyhill Premier is from 1959 and says it's the "first showing of Broyhill Premier's dramatic new collection, Inspiration."

It's hard to say if it's the store's first showing of Broyhill Inspiration or if they were announcing the world premier of the line. Either way, it's probably safe to say that Broyhill Inspiration was build in the late '50s and continued to be made into the early to mid '60s.

The other scrapes of newspaper ads I can find say that the Inspiration line included over 40 pieces for the bedroom, living room and dining room and that it's made out of mahogany with brasstique pulls.

I was able to find two original price lists for Inspiration furniture in some old furniture store ads. 

Of the over 40 pieces there's at least a room divider, round dining table, side chair, arm chair, buffet, sofa, lamp table, cocktail table, triple dresser, mirror, master chest, kingsize panel bed, night stand, end table, coffee table, china cabinet and a chest.

I was also able to track down an vintage Inspiration by Broyhill Premier brochure. 

The copy reads,

The romance of far away places...
Inspiration's arabesque panel motif is fram a Moorish palace, From Ming China, the door-pull in tone-on-tone brasstique. Its architectural elegance and quiet air of assurance is Georgian English. And distinctly American, the intuitive blending of art and function.

Inspiration...
for a home serene in its beauty, subtle drama. Master-crafted in swirl-grained mahogany given a tawny Malabar finish. Over forty correlated pieces from which to choose... each modestly priced.

I haven't seen an actual pictures of the line, other than the ones Marissa sent me.

As for value, it's always hard to give a price online, but here are some tips for pricing mid-century furniture.

Hope that answers a few of Marissa's questions and now we all have another line of mid-century Broyhill furniture to look for while we're out hunting vintage furniture.

Vintage Broyhill Premier Furniture Brochure

This wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but I'm happy I ran across this vintage Broyhill Premier furniture brochure. It includes fabric swatches for Broyhill furniture as well as images of the Broyhill Forward, Accent and Invitation lines.

The overall theme of this Broyhill brochure seems to be quality furniture for the cost conscious, with the outstanding tagline of, "Live high on a low budget."