Atelier Majorelle On Sale

Louis-Jean-Sylvestre Majorelle, more commonly known as Louis Majorelle, was a French artist, metalworker and Art Nouveau designer celebrated for his bedroom furniture, cabinets, chairs and decorative objects. 

In 1877, Majorelle moved to Paris from the town of Nancy where he began his studies in painting under Jean-François Millet at the École de Beaux Arts. Following the death of his father, a furniture designer, he returned to Nancy and took over the family workshop. Parisian architect Henri Sauvage designed Majorelle’s house in Nancy, Villa Majorelle, which featured stained glass by Jacques Gruber. 

In order to increase productivity and reduce costs — as well as shift the family business’s focus from reproductions of 18th-century furniture such as Louis XV chairs to instead working in the era’s Art Nouveau style — Majorelle integrated modern techniques and processes at Atelier Majorelle (these changes were in part inspired by innovative glassmaker Emile Gallé). 

The workshop became known for Majorelle’s distinctive designs and the pronounced craftsmanship of its offerings. There were tables made from mahogany and ormolu that featured handsome bronze mounts and marquetry, table lamps that shared common ground with the prized designs associated with Tiffany Studios, and decorative pieces that Majorelle produced in partnership with Daum, a revered manufacturer of French art glass. 

The work was very much characterized by the botanical motifs and curvaceous silhouettes of Art Nouveau design, and the business was successful. Majorelle produced a range of items during the early 1900s and was a participant in the 1900 Paris Exposition as well as the Exposition de l'Ecole de Nancy in 1903.

In 1916, a devastating fire broke out in Majorelle’s factory on the rue du Vieil-Aître in Nancy. It destroyed all of the company’s awards, sketches, molds, equipment and archives of Majorelle’s work. In 1917, destruction again shook his business when his shop on the rue Saint-Georges was bombed by German aircraft. The designer marched on — he relocated to Paris where he shared a workspace and created vases and other vessels in the Art Deco style before he moved back to Nancy. Majorelle designed the Nancy Pavilion at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in 1925 with Alfred Lévy. He died in 1926.

Find antique Louis Majorelle cabinets, seating and decorative objects on 1stDibs.

Art Deco furniture is characterized by its celebration of modern life. More than its emphasis on natural wood grains and focus on traditional craftsmanship, vintage Art Deco dining chairs, tables, desks, cabinets and other furniture — which typically refers to pieces produced during the 1920s and 1930s — is an ode to the glamour of the “Roaring Twenties.” 

ORIGINS OF ART DECO FURNITURE DESIGN

• Emerged in the 1920s 
• Flourished while the popularity of Art Nouveau declined
• Term derives from 1925’s Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) in Paris, France
• Informed by Ancient Egypt, Cubism, Futurism, Louis XVI, De Stijl, modernism and the Vienna Secession; influenced Streamline Moderne and mid-century modernism 

CHARACTERISTICS OF ART DECO FURNITURE DESIGN

• Bold geometric lines and forms, floral motifs
• Use of expensive materials such as shagreen or marble as well as exotic woods such as mahogany, ebony and zebra wood
• Metal accents, shimmering mirrored finishes
• Embellishments made from exotic animal hides, inlays of mother-of-pearl or ivory

ART DECO FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

• Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann
• René Lalique
• Eileen Gray
• Jean Dunand
• Donald Deskey
• Jean Perzel

VINTAGE ART DECO FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

Few design styles are as universally recognized and appreciated as Art Deco. The term alone conjures visions of the Roaring Twenties, Machine Age metropolises, vast ocean liners, sleek typography and Prohibition-era hedonism. The iconic movement made an indelible mark on all fields of design throughout the 1920s and ’30s, celebrating society’s growing industrialization with refined elegance and stunning craftsmanship.

Widely known designers associated with the Art Deco style include Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Eileen Gray, Maurice Dufrêne, Paul Follot and Jules Leleu.

The term Art Deco derives from the name of a large decorative arts exhibition held in Paris in 1925. “Art Deco design” is often used broadly, to describe the work of creators in associated or ancillary styles. This is particularly true of American Art Deco, which is also called Streamline Moderne or Machine Age design. (Streamline Moderne, sometimes known as Art Moderne, was a phenomenon largely of the 1930s, post–Art Nouveau.)

Art Deco textile designers employed dazzling floral motifs and vivid colors, and while Art Deco furniture makers respected the dark woods and modern metals with which they worked, they frequently incorporated decorative embellishments such as exotic animal hides as well as veneers in their seating, case pieces, living room sets and bedroom furniture.

From mother-of-pearl inlaid vitrines to chrome aviator chairs, bold and inventive works in the Art Deco style include chaise longues (also known as chaise lounges) and curved armchairs. Today, the style is still favored by interior designers looking to infuse a home with an air of luxury and sophistication.

The vintage Art Deco furniture for sale on 1stDibs includes dressers, coffee tables, decorative objects and more.

As a practical focal point in your living area, antique and vintage coffee tables and cocktail tables are an invaluable addition to any interior.

Low tables that were initially used as tea tables or coffee tables have been around since at least the mid- to late-1800s. Early coffee tables surfaced in Victorian-era England, likely influenced by the use of tea tables in Japanese tea gardens. In the United States, furniture makers worked to introduce low, long tables into their offerings as the popularity of coffee and “coffee breaks” took hold during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

It didn’t take long for coffee tables and cocktail tables to become a design staple and for consumers to recognize their role in entertaining no matter what beverages were being served. Originally, these tables were as simple as they are practical — as high as your sofa and made primarily of wood. In recent years, however, metal, glass and plastics have become popular in coffee tables and cocktail tables, and design hasn’t been restricted to the conventional low profile, either.

Visionary craftspeople such as Paul Evans introduced bold, geometric designs that challenge the traditional idea of what a coffee table can be. The elongated rectangles and wide boxy forms of Evans’s desirable Cityscape coffee table, for example, will meet your needs but undoubtedly prove imposing in your living space.

If you’re shopping for an older coffee table to bring into your home — be it an antique Georgian-style coffee table made of mahogany or walnut with decorative inlays or a classic square mid-century modern piece comprised of rosewood designed by the likes of Ettore Sottsass — there are a few things you should keep in mind.

Both the table itself and what you put on it should align with the overall design of the room, not just by what you think looks fashionable in isolation. According to interior designer Tamara Eaton, the material of your vintage coffee table is something you need to consider. “With a glass coffee table, you also have to think about the surface underneath, like the rug or floor,” she says. “With wood and stone tables, you think about what’s on top.”

Find the perfect centerpiece for any room, no matter what your personal furniture style on 1stDibs. Browse a vast selection of antique, new and vintage coffee table and cocktail tables today.