Mid-century Dining Room Table and Chairs

A mid-century, drop leaf dining room table with four chairs and an extra leaf offered by Snowdrift Antiques.

This mid-century styled, drop leaf dining room suite was made by S.R. Hungerford Furniture of Memphis, Tennessee, in July 1957.

The search for information about the S.R. Hungerford company does not provide us with much. They were best known for building high quality, mahogany bedroom dressers and high boys. Their style was typically 1950s American with a highly carved, Victorian look. If you look for examples of their furniture this is mostly what you will find. I cannot find another instance of dining room furniture and certainly not with mid-century styling.

Without the company tag underneath one chair and the date “July 26, 1957” stamped on it, the maker would be a mystery. Although they were known for their use of mahogany in their bedroom pieces, this suite is not made of mahogany. The table is marked model 7-D-23 and the chairs are 7-C-25.

This is a beautiful mid-century styled set with graceful lines and good grain and color. The table has drop leaves on both sides, and an extra leaf, providing a wide range of table lengths. With both leaves dropped and the 12" center leaf added, it can be as small as 35 inches long, perfect for 2 people in a small space. Each drop leaf adds 18”. It is 42 inches wide and 29 ½ inches high. Underneath the full mark reads, “2034 DROP LEAF EXTENSION TABLE/MELLO TONE WALNUT/7-D-23”. I believe this “WALNUT” reference is to the stain color, not necessarily the wood type, although it may be walnut.

The comfortable chairs feature fabric and padding on both the seat and the back. These chairs have new foam on both and have been professionally re-covered in a new, vintage style Knoll fabric called Diva/Green Tea. A sample and information are provided under one chair.

On a chair, the seat height is 19 ½ inches, seat width 20”, seat depth 17” and a back height of 30 ½”. One chair is $1995marked under the seat base, ”2029/MELLO TONE WALNUT/7-C-9”. These marks provide evidence the table and chairs were made by the same maker.

This set is in excellent condition at almost 67 years old. There are some very minor, light scratches on the surface but no heat marks or water rings. All of the pieces have been oiled lightly to relieve them decades of Colorado dryness. One chair has an old repair that has been further reinforced.

This is a beautifully styled mid-century suite from an unlikely maker. It is versatile in its sizing and cool with its graceful lines.