Love mid-century modern? Need a small side table? Here it is! It’s round. It’s walnut. It’s awesome. Plus, it is from one of the most popular and sought-after vintage mid-century modern furniture lines. It is Brasilia from Broyhill Furniture and their Broyhill Premier collections. The arched base is very architectural, and the round top has Brasilia’s wonderful signature top style. The top is solid wood in four sections with the grain running in opposite directions every other section, which creates a lovely pie-shape or wedge look. The raw edges are then banded. It is simply stunning!
It is no coincidence that The Brasilia collection design is very architectural in style. It was introduced to the public at the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962 and drew its inspiration from the architecture of the newly created and majestic Capital of Brazil, Brasilia. The brochure for Brasilia by Broyhill Premier says…….”Brasilia…the city…by its daring and beauty has revolutionized architecture and opened vast new horizons of design. From this inspired dream, Broyhill Premier drew inspiration for the furniture grouping which bears the fine young name: BRASILIA.” This line was very popular with the furniture buying public and is still sought out today. Broyhill ended production of this successful line sometime in the 1970s.
Broyhill Furniture was founded by 27-year-old James Edgar Broyhill in 1926. Edgar or Ed had worked for his older brother’s furniture company as a salesman, bookkeeper, and clerk since 1919. It is a story of true American entrepreneurship. Starting simply producing single pieces of furniture they soon grew into a huge well-known and well-respected furniture manufacturer. Ed together with his brothers merged and purchased smaller entities to do so. The company flourished till the depression as did most furniture makers and refitted and remade themselves during WWII to stay in business. After the war with the American economy booming, they expanded further. During the mid-20th century introducing beautiful and very successful modern lines. Still flourishing and expanding during the 1970s until in 1980 they turned the tables and sold the company to St. Louis based Interco, Inc. who had also purchased Ethan Allen and Lane. By 1991 Interco had overextended and sought bankruptcy protection. Then climbing out of their slump by the early 2000’s Interco transitioned into their newest incarnation, Furniture Brand International, which remains one of the largest manufacturers of furniture today.
