You know that feeling when you see something, and you MUST have it?? Well, that’s exactly what happened when we laid eyes on this striking display cabinet! We had to have it to offer to you. This is a gorgeous vintage one-piece china cabinet or hutch by Kroehler Furniture. The top display section has two doors flanking one fixed center panel, all with glass inserts and sculpted brass plated handles and hinges. The top of the cabinet features horizontal carved designs that are the negative design to the positive design on the handles of the lower cabinet… it’s really beautiful!! The display compartment comes with sturdy, adjustable glass shelves and it is lighted! The lower portion of the cabinet has two vertically grooved doors that feature two fabulous large wooden vertically carved handles that have a waxed or whitewashed finish, and it mimics the carved design across the top. Upon opening the double doors, each side reveals a segmented storage drawer perfect for utensils and smaller items and ample open storage below the drawers for extra dishes, larger items, or linens. It’s mid-century modern with a Mediterranean flair and we think it has a bit of Brutalist Style as well. It would be the perfect piece to display all of that “fine china” your grandmother gave you!! But maybe you don’t have “fine china” to display? No problem!!, fill it with books and call it a library! Or make it a dry bar and fill the display portion with wonderful cocktail glasses and use the lower part for liquor bottles and other bar accessories. It is beautiful, versatile, useful, and it’s by Kroehler, so you know it is of the finest quality!
Peter E. Kroehler purchased the Naperville Lounge Company in 1902. The original factory was destroyed by a tornado, so he built a new facility in 1913 and soon after renamed the company Kroehler Manufacturing Co. Like most furniture businesses they struggled through the depression and barely made it through WWII by refitting and making furniture and file cabinets for the USO offices. But by the mid-1940s Kroehler was the second largest furniture maker in the United States. They flourished in the 1950s, even with the death of their founder, and by the1960s employed close to 8,000. Unfortunately, the 1970s brought financial struggles and by 1978 they had mostly ceased operations. In 1981 they were acquired by ATR Group of Northbrook who sold most of the assets along with the Kroehler name. In the early 2000s two unrelated companies were manufacturing under the Kroehler moniker. We celebrate the wide array of furniture Kroehler brought to us during the mid-20th century!
This is an artfully crafted, highly functional piece of magnificent Mid-Century Modern furniture… what are you waiting for? As stated in a vintage 1950’s Kroehler furniture ad… “Be confident with Kroehler!” Make it yours!!!!
