No question, Drexel Plus One would have been my teenage girl dream furniture in 1970, when my mom let me choose my paint colors and carpet for our groovy new split level house in Vista, California. I already had an Early American bedroom set That Never Wore Out, but if I hadn’t… well, 40 years later a once-teenage girl can dream. Thanks to reader Kevin — who has several pieces of this hard-to-find vintage bedroom furniture for sale on craigslist in Long Island, New York: He also scanned the catalog, which is eye-popping dreamy.
Doing research to sell the pieces, Kevin found our several stories on Drexel Plus One furniture here. In his listing he wrote:
If you found this, then you might know about this vintage furniture from the blog at Retro Renovation. I put this in storage so these are the last pics of it when it was home.
It’s not the complete set from Drexel, but enough to start a bedroom in 1970’s style. Basically takes up most of a bedroom anyway. Add a yellow flowery bedspread and it comes to life… a beanbag chair and you’re all set.
In Yellow with black and white accents. In Good to great condition. Made in 1970.
Includes: Dresser, Desk (with stool from set), End table, Mirror, Headboard.
The finish is a durable 3M plastic ‘coating’ of yellow. Extremely stain resistant and durable.
Notice the ‘desk stool’ in green & yellow in the catalog .. I have it in matching yellow. The white top has some wear. Drawers are wood with 3M Vynil Veneer…not fiberboard, MDF, etc…
Drexel polled girls via Seventeen magazine, then took their ideas and made this line of furniture. Last few pics are from a bad copy of a catalog that was given to me.
… It’s literally 47 years old. Price is firm. A set of this was recently broken up on an auction site where opening bid was 150 a piece, before shipping and buyer’s premium. There are people who love this 70’s stuff.. Is this you? Thank you for looking.
Kevin told me the catalog image are not so great because the catalog was stored all flattened out wrapped in bubble wrap for many years. I kinda like that part of the story.
And I more than kinda like this furniture. It is my 70s dream come to life!
Thanks for sharing, Kevin!
Link Love:
- Wanna buy this furniture? Here’s Kevin’s craigslist ad, while the gettin’ is good.
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I can picture my junior high self sitting in front of that vanity with my bangs secured with Scotch pink hair tape while I sing into my hairbrush!
Oh I had forgotten about that tape! I remember it well!
Suburban Greater NYC and New Jersey seem have a high percentage of time capsules and I wonder if it has to do with the high cost of living and real estate.
I think one of the things that makes furniture like this a relative rarity is that it’s very specific in it’s appeal in terms of gender and age. A teenager or younger may love something like this for a while but it might be an embarrassment to somebody over a certain age and it’s not really transferable to a younger male sibling.
So I think people either bought it and replaced it when the girl “grew out” of it, or the didn’t buy it at all because they wanted a style of furniture that would be a little more classic or grow up with the girl and keep the age specific stuff to accessories.
Plus, I think colors changed really quickly after 1975 or so, so this would have been “dated” after that, especially to someone young where a year or two seems like a longer period of time than it does to adults.
Lime green!!! A bookcase that obviously was designed to hold record albums, too!! That “Victorian” vanity table in the first picture!!
My inner 11-year-old is now heartsick that she didn’t own this in 1970.
Very Cool, Rare, Time Capsule furniture. And oh so Londonderry!
I would think this posh set has a home in set design, Vegas, or Euro. Too Cool! (er Groovy!) Great Survivor. That butterfly table is timeless.
Wondering which stool he has, the Thornet looking one or the organic petal shape poof. (?)
Very cool furniture! Pam I had no idea you’re a California girl!
I just discovered Vista recently and I think it’s a great area.
I was in San Marcos buying palm trees when I discovered Vista 🙂
OMG, that vanity! The Cheval mirror!
Seriously? A butterfly table?! Who wouldn’t want that?! My first impression of the suites was The Brady Bunch but then thought Mary Richards or Rhoda but settled on Phyllis – this is what she would’ve gotten for her daughter – and kept it for herself!
So, the flower drawer pulls are a little out there but each vignette was so happy! I especially liked the bed with the red pom-poms – classic style and under-bed storage.
Let me hear you out there! “Hello, world, here’s a song that we’re singin’…”
…”come on, get happy!”
Where has this been all my life???
Mine was a hand me down set from my mom’s bedroom that could survive a hurricane with zerO signs of wear. But I’m not bitter.
I also think you’re pretty cool for asking for websites in the comments.
I could create a guest room with these pieces! I use these colors now in my kitchen & office. 💕💕
I still have my desk and dresser with attached mirror from this series. My daughter uses them now. When I saw an article on your website about additional pieces several years ago, I kept an active search on ebay because I knew I just had to add the pedestaled nightstand. Just this year I finally found someone willing to ship it and bought it immediately! Although it was damaged in transit, my handy dandy fix-it man brother made it look as good as new. These pieces are just happy! I hope they’ll last until my daughter has a daughter. Of course, now that I saw the bookcase, I will have to keep looking!
I’ve had a Drexel Plus One bentwood vanity for sale on Craigslist for over a year now and didn’t know it! It’s lemon yellow and I just fell in love with it when I found it. It looks like it’s sold just today. Here’s the link: https://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/fuo/d/vintage-1970s-yellow-bent/6283611249.html
Cool, Ben! Can I capture the photos for the site?
Of course!
This would be so fun in the craft room also .
Loving this!! All of it! Seriously, I loved my trundle bed, dresser, nightstands and secretary desk, BUT mine was almost Western Wagon wheel in comparison! All of our grand girls would love this now! Whom am I kidding? The guest room today. Lol
I can’t say the furniture is to my taste, but *wow* that Plus One logo!
Yeah, it’s not apparent these days what a profound sea-change was rocking the culture in the early 70’s. A mere 20 years earlier these designs, and the freedom they celebrated, were way, way unthinkable…even criminal, in the minds of many…they So upended the previously prevailing sober zeitgeist of 50’s conformity. It was literally an act of revolution.
The swinging, far out 60’s had lit a hot fuse under the younger generations, and we were chomping at the bit to get With-It, y’all; but 99% of us had no access to the drugs (which we saw in the news and movies, etc,) that would take us on a groovy trip of inner liberation, so we embraced wacky, trippy design in everyday objects; a very serviceable alternative.
And…it was so, So, SO much fun.
Doesn’t do it for me. I’d probably feel differently if I were a girl.
This looks so much like the bedroom suite I had as a child in the 70s. The only piece I have left is the full size mirror. I wonder if was Drexel as well.
We have this!! In our Master bed room right now!! Don’t use several other pieces throughout our home, but with 3 of the 7 pieces in the Master … Its noticed!