A Little Sleuthing

I was in Goodwill today and saw this Danish Modern nightstand. It needed some refinishing but otherwise was in good condition and seemed to be well made. As I was looking at it, another shopper came up to me and mentioned that there was a matching nightstand in another part of the store.

I found the other nightstand to be in good condition also and saw the maker's mark inside the drawer. It was a Perspecta by Kent Coffey. I considered buying them but I was still working on another pair of nightstands at home that I had recently purchased. Also, my shopping cart was already filled with goodies so I decided to pass. Now I don't know that much about mid century modern furniture. I was curious about this brand so I started researching it when I returned home.

I found out that Kent Coffey was a fairly successful furniture company in the late 1950's- early 1960's based in Lenoir, North Carolina. It was a direct competitor of James Broyhill and Bernhardt furniture. It was bought out by the Singer Company (the sewing machine co.) which ended up going bankrupt in their furniture division. Kent Coffey never made any more furniture.

There are a few Kent Coffey lines of furniture out there but it's difficult to find much information about the company or the existing pieces.

Here is a beautiful dresser from the Perspecta line on etsy. (It had sold so there was no price listed.)

Here is another pair of Kent Coffey Perspecta nightstands. These ebay finds are fancier than the Goodwill pair and a LITTLE more expensive. The Goodwill pair was $18. The ebay pair is listed for $899. (Uh, didn't see that coming...) I wasn't able to find the exact same style as the Goodwill pair but all the different nightstands in the Perspecta line ranged in price from $600-$1,000 a pair on ebay. Wow! Now, keeping in mind that ebay tends to be a little pricey, it still doesn't change the fact that the Goodwill nightstands were a STEAL!

Unfortunately, they will be someone else's incredible deal. That particular Goodwill is almost an hour from my home so I can't just pop back over there. Oh well, you win some and ...well you know the rest...