Introduction to American Drew Furniture
American Drew Furniture has been around for almost a century, opening its doors in 1927. Of course, many people want to know more about this furniture brand, and see what it is all about.
Watch this video to learn more about the company and some of the great products:
American Drew Furniture: What is it Worth today?
If you have a piece of vintage American Drew furniture, you may wonder what the best way to sell it is. You may also want to know how much it could be worth on the used furniture market. Finally, you may wish to know whether it is worth it to restore a piece of vintage American Drew furniture.
These questions could all have multiple right answers. However, we can establish many things about American Drew as a vintage furniture brand.
American Drew Quality
Starting with the basics, American Drew Furniture shows decent to high quality in their products. Of course, American Drew never served an elite clientele in the way Kittinger Furniture or Baker Furniture does. These two companies make very expensive furniture and try to position themselves as a bespoke company with incredible quality pieces.
Instead, American Drew positioned themselves very much in the way of Ethan Allen in the 20th and 21st century. Their mission as a company was to create well-made, mid-market furniture for the middle to upper middle classes. As such, American Drew Furniture usually had a mostly affordable price point.
So, what does this mean as far as quality? What can you expect to find in vintage American Drew Furniture?
You most likely will find these great signs of quality in American Drew Furniture:
- Mostly Solid Wood Construction. Most American Drew drawer fronts, table tops and legs and beds feature solid cherry wood. Some pieces feature maple or oak wood fronts as well.
- Dovetailed Drawers. Most (but not all) American Drew Dressers feature drawers that have dovetailed construction.
- Veneer Work that shows decent quality. While American Drew does not do incredible veneer work, they do use wood veneers beautifully on table tops, beds and some case pieces.
- Solid brass hardware. Today, you may find nickel hardware. However, vintage American Drew usually used real brass hardware.
- American Drew China Cabinet features lighted tops, and sometimes beveled glass. These American Drew china cabinets and curios usually feature high quality lights and glass.
These construction methods and signs of quality made American Drew a good choice for many. On the used market, these signs of quality help keep the values of American Drew furniture in a good range.
However, there are some glaring negative points that we can say about American Drew Furniture, especially vintage furniture that you may wish to be aware of.
American Drew: Where does it fall short?
Like any company, there are some potential pitfalls for American Drew Furniture. Of course, that is not to say that it is worthless. However, truth be told, American Drew did not offer the highest end furniture. So, in order to offer a good product at an affordable price, some pieces of American Drew do not show the level of quality you might expect from all vintage furniture.
These are some aspects of Vintage American Drew Furniture that we personally have seen:
- Not all dressers feature dovetailing. Simple butt-joints are common in vintage American Drew Dressers from the 1970s and 1980s.
- The use of inferior materials. On more than one occasion, we have seen cardboard and pressed wood appearing in hidden parts of American Drew Furniture. For instance, the dust covers in between drawers may have composite wood or even cardboard. Also, sometimes manufacturers used staples and inferior plywood on the backs of American Drew Dressers.
- Along with these inferior materials in wood furniture, we have also seen very low quality foam used American Drew dining chairs. So, cheap foams often sag and deteriorate after use. You may have to reupholster American Drew dining chairs more often then others.
- American Drew Finishes. During the 1980s, the company seemed to use a very shiny finish on some of their pieces. Now, to be fair, this might have been in style in the period. However, a red cherry finish with a high gloss can look a bit on the plastic and inauthentic side, in my opinion. Especially, in comparison to the hand-rubbed finishes of Stickley Furniture.
Now, these small pitfalls may not be the end of the world for used American Drew. Of course, hundreds if not thousands of pieces of used American Drew Furniture are sold everyday.
Values of Used American Drew
However, used American Drew simply will not see the high prices of heirloom or fine furniture on the market today. Instead, commonly, vintage American Drew sells for between $100 a piece to $1500 a piece. So, for instance, a used American Drew dining table can come in around $800 to $1300. Meanwhile, a vintage American Drew dresser can sit in the $200 to $600 range.
So, certainly we are not saying American Drew has no value. We personally have sold many pieces of beautiful, gently used American Drew Furniture. However, typically, American Drew has only a value if it is in excellent vintage condition.
If you own for instance an American Drew Dining Room Set, complete with 6 chairs and lighted china cabinet, you can probably find a buyer in the $1000 to $2500 price point. Likewise, a full vintage American Drew bedroom set will probably sell comfortably for between $500 and $2000, depending on the style, age and condition.
So, leave us a comment below. Have you bought or sold vintage used American Drew Furniture? Which discontinued collections by the company are your favorites?
We would love to hear your opinion in the comments below!