What better time than the height of summer to discover this most curvalicious vintage patio furniture: Two Fibrella fiberglass lounges and a five-piece table and chairs set, which I bumped into for sale right now on Facebook Marketplace. I’ve never seen vintage Fibrella before, and goodness, are they goodness. I also searched the history of these Fibrella sets. Info is a bit sparse, but I found some cookie crumbs along the trail. Thanks to seller Mark for giving me permission to show these photos. The set is located in eastern Connecticut. Also, have you checked out Facebook Marketplace? I’m really into it!
Let’s take a look at this lovely Fibrella set — individually the pieces are quite desirable, and as a set, I’d guess, even more so >>
These Fibrella lounge chairs are particularly wonderful. Using that unique zig zag molded base design, they can be moved in two positions — gentle let’s check out everyone at the pool recline and full-on tan time recline. Note, I spotted other designs of these lounge chairs online, including a flat-paddle design and variations with coated metal legs. Colors seem to have been: yellow, light blue, aqua, and pink.
Friday update: When I posted this story on our Facebook page (109,000 followers — join us there, too!), Amber posted the photo above and said she had just bought this set of four turquoise Fibrella lounge chairs the day before. Fabulous! Thanks, Amber, for permission to show your photo. Summertime, and livin’ the dream!
Back to Mark’s set for sale…. Googling around, it seems Fibrella lounge chairs come up for sale with some decent frequency. The patio table and chairs that come with Mark’s set appear to be harder to find. As you can see, they were color coordinated and equally groovy in their design aesthetic. I bet there was a matching umbrella too.
In his listing Mark says:
BARN FIND …Very rare 50s 7 piece “Fibrella” fiberglass patio / pool / porch / deck set in very good original condition. Two contour loungers, four dining chairs and one table. There are some chips, scratches and paint drips on a few pieces. Each piece has the original tag in place. $3000 for the two lounge chairs and 1500 for the four chairs and table…..$4000 for everything.
Actually, I believe these are late 60s or even early 70s… continue on. Yikes! What a great barn find!
Fibrella history — fiberglass furniture launched in 1961 or 1962
Mark shows this label in his listing indicating the pieces were sold by Le Barron Pool & Patio Furniture of Irwindale, California. Indeed, in many photos I spotted online, Le Barron seems to have been a major retailer of this furniture line.
That said, I also found this molded mark indicating that Fibrella patio furniture was manufactured by Aquaslide ”n’ Dive of El Monte, Calif. This company also made fiberglass patio slides. It makes sense that they would also have a line of patio furniture.
This April 1962 advertisement indicates that Fibrella launched its fiberglass patio furniture in 1961 or 1962. I could not find any historical record of the curvy Fibrella lounge chairs that Mark is selling, but I suspect the curvy lounge chairs and sets came later in the 1960s. (Note, you may need to have a subscription to see the ad; I have a subscription now to do research like this.)
There were many more designs of patio furniture available. For example, right now for sale in Las Vegas I see these low slung lounge chairs. Same chairs here, matchy matchy colors, on chairish.
- One more bit of link love: See the listing for this Fibrella set on Facebook Markeplace. And again, thank you, Mark!
DJ Sparkles says
I am so in love!!! Good thing we’re not in Connecticut or my husband would be coming home and going “What the heck?” I eased him into our current patio furniture by starting with pillows, then we needed something to put the pillows on, then we needed storage for the pillows, and now we have backyard seating for 16, which is hilarious as it’s only the two of us and I’ve been too sick to entertain more than one person at a time. But that one guest gets a choice of where to sit. 🙂
Carol Hale says
Love the Fibrella furniture. We live in Cincinnati area. Have never seen these here. You come up with the most wonderful furnishings, ideas! Rah Rah for Retro! Why can’t one of major frig makers offer colorful line of appliances for reasonable price. White, black, silver, gray are boring Love Big Chill, Elmira line but so expensive.
Caroline says
Aloha! I had a set of 4 of the loungers for a few years. Then we decided not to put a pool in & no longer had space for them, so I let them go to another lucky owner.
I do have a table and set of 4 chairs. The chairs are identical to the photo – except they are light blue. The table has a different funky base that has always reminded me a little of the TWA terminal at JFK. The table top was originally yellow. Currently someone had it painted a darker blue, which looks great. I’m planning to take them to an auto body shop (since they are all fiberglass) to get them repainted, as the paint has gotten dull and needs a refresh. I’m planning to keep the colors the same as they are now.
Pen says
I am about to gut the 1990 reno of the 1 bathroom in this 900 sq ft 1952 bungalow..changing footprint to include extra door..removing very deep “garden Tub”(dangerous for seniors) replace with shower..trying for a salute to the 1951 age rather than an age exact reno..any ideas..could I get away with white subway tile? I do love the old colors but it is a dark bathroom
This is nerve-wracking..Gotta get it right
Pam Kueber says
Subway tiles are not historically appropriate for a 1952 home. Go with 4x4s.
See: https://retrorenovation.com/category/bathroom-categories/tile/
And: https://retrorenovation.com/category/bathroom-categories/bathrooms-hi-pam-reader-spotlight/
more: https://retrorenovation.com/2015/10/05/five-steps-choose-bathroom-colors-infographic-guide/
and more: https://retrorenovation.com/2012/04/27/bathroom-remodeling-a-checklist-of-84-costs-to-consider/
linda h says
My daughter just bought a vintage Bendt Winge dining table on Facebook marketplace.
Dan says
Very groovy, but I imagine puddles of sweat collecting on a hot day. More practical and comfortable used indoors.
Tanya says
I have a set of these in my backyard! One is orange and one is yellow. I purchased these in the Toronto area a few years ago. I also have an orange fiberglass umbrella with a starburst on it that I bought separately. These are much harder to find in Canada.
Ronda Vallejo says
Wow, I’ve never seen anything like these before. They’re funky and unique. 🙂
Lisa Compo says
Looks very cool Space Age. I like the look of it, but can’t help but wonder if you slide around one you get a “glistening glow” to your skin. At 90 degrees and high humidity. ..I’d probably end up on the ground. LOL
Great story, I’ve never seen these before. Always something fun to see on here.
Lynne says
Yeah, you’re right Pam, these aren’t 1950’s. There is a zip code on the label. We started zip codes, in what? 1965 or thereabouts?
Pam Kueber says
I think someone the other day said 1963, on a different story where the question came up.
Pam Kueber says
Yup in this story, David said: