Harden Furniture Company
Sadly, Harden Furniture Company went out of business in recent years. So, unfortunately you can only find vintage Harden furniture in second hand shops, consignment stores and online antique malls. Watch this video to learn more about the company.
However, you can still enjoy fine vintage furniture from Harden. Additionally, you probably will get a great deal on gently used furniture by this fine New York Company.
What Made Harden Special
Harden followed great traditional craftsmanship in order to make fine furniture. Firstly, they used quality hardwoods.
Indeed, the company actually owned several acres of sustainable forest in New York State. Therefore, they were able to harvest and cure their own lumber.
Most Harden Furniture tends to come in solid cherry. However, they also used some imported mahogany on special pieces. Additionally, you can sometimes find maple Harden furniture as well.
Secondly, the company craftsmen used incredible skill and techniques to build furniture pieces. Drawing on early Federal Furniture techniques, artisans at the Harden factories made furniture the old fashioned way. Of course, you will find quality details like dovetailed drawers and wooden dust covers between the drawers.
Additionally, you will see fine paneled cabinet doors.
Finally, Harden also employed beautiful inlay and carved detail on select pieces.
What Style is Harden Furniture?
While Harden occasionally dabbled in trendy furniture trends, by in large Harden is classic traditional furniture.
You will see mostly that the company made beautiful adaptations of fine furniture from the past. Indeed, a few pieces of Harden furniture also sit in the White House!
Harden Furniture Dining Room Tables, for instance, almost always feature a Queen Anne design, double pedestal design or other similar formal looks.
Additionally, the Harden Furniture Catalog also featured elegant high boy dressers, smart bachelor chests and beautiful Chippendale style chairs.
That said, there were a few lines of painted furniture by Harden. Harden furniture cream finish dressers and nightstands often found a great home in the bedroom.
How to Care for Harden Furniture?
Like any fine furniture brand, Harden Furniture will look great for years to come. As long as you properly protect, dust and clean your pieces, that is.
The best way to care for vintage Harden Furniture is to keep it in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. Secondly, you should use a very soft rag to keep dust off the furniture. Additionally, you can use a mild wood cleaner like Murphy’s oil soap diluted in lukewarm water to clean table tops and the like. However, you should dry the furniture straight away.
Finally, you can use commercial furniture polishes and Harden Furniture cream to protect. We like natural Beeswax. However, you can also use Guardsman polish.