Dixie Furniture Company History
The Dixie Furniture Company opened in 1901 in Lexington, North Carolina. Henry Link and others opened the Dixie company, which eventually became Lexington Furniture Brands.
Is Dixie Furniture Company still in business?
No, Dixie Furniture Company (the manufacturers of furniture from Lexington, NC) is no longer in business. The company had a history of manufacturing furniture under the Dixie name from 1901 until about 1986-1987. After that time, Lexington Furniture subsumed the Dixie Brand. However, there is a retail store in Charleston, South Carolina that goes by the same name.
So, today, you will find that Dixie Furniture is a retail store, no longer a manufacturer of furniture if you do a search online.
Do they still make Dixie Furniture?
No, there is no company that manufactures furniture under the Dixie name. From 1901 until 1986-87, Dixie produced mid-market furniture in America. Indeed, most of their manufacturing plants were located in Lexington, North Carolina and the company employed thousands of people at its height.
Dixie Furniture Catalog
Of course, with an eighty year history in manufacturing, Dixie Furniture Company had a very diverse catalog of offerings.
Dixie produced several lines of furniture. However, there were four styles by Dixie that are most commonly found today:
- Dixie French Provincial Furniture
- Traditional Dixie Federal Style Furniture
- Bamboo Dixie Tahiti Furniture
- Dixie Mid Century Modern Furniture.
Of course, Dixie bedroom sets, living room sets and accent furniture can be found in these prominent furniture styles. Old Dixie Furniture catalogs offered a multitude of different furniture at reasonable price points.
Dixie French Provincial Furniture
Dixie’s line of French Provincial Furniture emerged in the 1950s and gained popularity through until the 1980s. Of course, the French Provincial lines by Dixie included bedroom sets, accent furniture, and even several types of Dixie dining room sets.
Mostly, you will see wood finishes in Dixie French Provincial Furniture. However, during the 1960s and 70s, factory paint finishes also became very popular. Of course, Dixie French Provincial dressers often had serpentine front drawers, brass ornate hardware, and sometimes even gold accents.
Like Drexel Furniture, Dixie capitalized on this feminine and ornate style. Indeed, the light cream finishes with gold accents became a hit when French Provincial furniture had its moment in the sun. And, when Shabby Chic styles came back around in the 1990s, people looked at used Dixie furniture as a great way to copy the look.
What is French Provincial Furniture by Dixie Made of?
Mostly, French Provincial furniture by Dixie is made of some hardwoods, and some pressed wood with laminate tops. Of course, new methods of producing pressed wood in the 1960s and 1970s offered durable and affordable furniture making materials. So, sometimes Dixie Furniture is made of pressed wood, and some laminates. However, often, real hardwood parts and pieces made up Dixie French Provincial furniture.
Most Dixie French Provincial Furniture has several coats of lacquer paint finish, usually in cream. This thick paint often gives the look of plastic. However, it is just the paint coating on top of wood, or pressed wood (particle board).
Today, used Dixie French Provincial furniture still has a following. Of course, many people have repainted Dixie French Provincial Furniture in order to update the look of 1960s Dixie Furniture.
Dixie Tahiti Furniture
Similarly, in the 1950s through 1970s, Dixie experimented with another style of furniture. Tahiti Furniture by Dixie features bamboo style accents along the edges and drawer fronts. Of course, this tropical style of furniture also had a moment of popularity, especially for Southern homes.
The bamboo accents often worked great for customers with sunrooms, or Florida rooms, and who wanted to add a touch of tropical style in their decorating.
Additionally, some Dixie Tahiti Furniture featured palm-tree motifs or images of ferns and other plants. Frankly, this fun furniture by Dixie had a great sense of playfulness to it. You can still find the Tahiti line of Dixie furniture today, often updated with bright colors with a Hollywood Regency or Chinoiserie flair.
Dixie Federal Style Furniture
In the 1940s, post war America really had a revival of Federal and traditional styles. Obviously, major manufacturers all had a push for Federal revival furniture during that time, and Dixie was no different.
Dixie Furniture made a beautiful catalog of mahogany bedroom furniture. Of course, these Federal style pieces often featured mahogany veneers over ash wood. Additionally, the Dixie dressers had Oval brass or brass style hardware.
Likewise, Dixie company produced a variety of dining room furniture in Federal styles. So, you can find used Dixie dining room sets with Shield-back chairs, and mahogany double pedestal Duncan Phyfe style tables.
Dixie Mid Century Modern Furniture
While traditional styles, like Federal style Dixie still had a following, the company also dabbled in “contemporary styles” in the 1950s and 1960s.
Of course, Dixie made Mid Century Modern styles that featured clean lines, minimalist profiles and peg legs. Additionally, MCM Dixie dressers may not have any hardware, or it may have very geometric bold handles.
Dixie Furniture Value
Used Dixie company Furniture can fluctuate in value like any other furniture brand. Obviously, condition can make the difference from a few hundred dollars to a very minimal return on a used piece of furniture by Dixie.
Today, Dixie French Provincial furniture likely has the most value of any lines by Dixie. Of course, French Provincial furniture has had a resurgence in the last few decades.
Additionally, you may find that Mid Century Modern Dixie furniture can still have a great resale value.
However, Dixie Furniture Company is not considered to be a fine furniture brand. Instead, Dixie falls below companies like Drexel and Henredon in quality and prestige. So, while a vintage Henredon Dresser can reach a resale value of a couple thousand dollars, a vintage Dixie dresser likely will sell for a few hundred dollars.
As previously mentioned, this is because many of Dixie’s vintage dressers and accent pieces feature pressed wood and laminates. Solid wood dressers typically have a higher priced point on the used furniture market. So, while Dixie Furniture is certainly nothing to sneeze at, you likely will not have to pay an arm and a leg for used Dixie furniture.
If you would like to learn more about the company, please consider watching our Dixie Video.