Bague Scone

Since its establishment in 1860, the Maison Baguès has been an emblem of French sophistication in luxury lighting design. Each piece the firm makes is hand-assembled using traditional techniques in order to emphasize the elegance and excellence of their detailed artisanal work. Still the epitome of savoir-faire, Maison Baguès’ luxurious chandeliers, floor lamps and other lighting fixtures are prized for their craftsmanship, beauty and harmony.

The master metalsmith Noël Baguès founded the company as specialists in liturgical bronzes, but by 1880 the company had expanded into the production of bronze light fixtures in response to the development of electrical lighting. Carried on by Noël’s son Eugène and grandsons Victor and Robert, Maison Baguès continued to progress, adding intricately detailed iron lighting collections in the 1920s as well as stair banisters, gates and accessory tables. 

Baguès began selling internationally in the interwar period, expanding the company’s operation to New York, Rome and Cairo. Noted for their high-end handcrafted work, such as complex carved sconces and hand-strung crystal chandeliers, Maison Baguès appealed to an elite clientele.

While Baguès’ Art Deco crystal lighting fixtures drew the most attention, the company was also known for bespoke metalwork that drew commissions from important interior designers and decorating firms such as Maison Jansen and Raymond Subes. The idiosyncratic genius Armand-Albert Rateau used Maison Baguès accessories to decorate the interiors of Jeanne Lanvin’s town home in 1928. Maison Baguès products have also been featured in luxury hotels like Paris's George V and the Savoy in London.

Today, Maison Baguès continues its history of delicate, detailed work and devotes much of its enterprise to preserving the company’s heritage through restoration. Their efforts are worth it.

As you will see on 1stDibs, Maison Baguès remains the last word in classic French lighting and metalwork.

The California-born style of Hollywood Regency, also known as Regency Moderne, emerged during the Golden Era of cinema from the 1920s to the ’50s. Decadent and bold, vintage Hollywood Regency furniture and interiors playfully mix colors like jewel tones and hot pinks with lacquered walls, gilded accents, mirrored surfaces and metallic finishes for maximalist spaces.

Although it involved elements of the coinciding Art Deco movement, such as a preference for clean lines, Hollywood Regency was much more opulent, inspired by glamorous movie stars and the lavish set designs for films being made in Tinseltown. Furniture designers associated with the style embraced an eclectic range of influences, including throwbacks to previous styles of grandeur, such as Rococo, neoclassical and chinoiserie, as well as materials, from bamboo dining chairs to lucite bar carts to sunburst mirrors made from gilded resin. Hollywood Regency end tables, floor lamps, chandeliers and other pieces tended to be small-scale, fitting into an overall design rather than serving as a focal point.

Interior decorator Dorothy Draper led the shaping of the Hollywood Regency style and also designed iconic pieces like the España chest, which was manufactured by Henredon. Virginia native William “Billy” Haines, a furniture designer who started as an actor, contrasted hand-painted wallpaper with Chinese ceramics and Chippendale chairs, while architect John Elgin Woolf imbued his Beverly Hills designs with theatrical details. Paul Revere Williams, a trailblazing African-American architect, was pivotal in defining the look through his commercial projects, such as the 1940s Beverly Hills Hotel and bespoke homes that mixed everything from Louis XV paneling to Georgian architecture.

Find a collection of vintage Hollywood Regency bedroom furniture, tables, seating and other pieces on 1stDibs.

From the kitchen to the bedroom and everywhere in between, there is one major part of home decor that you definitely want to master: lighting. Carefully selected vintage sconces and wall lights can do wonders in establishing mood and highlighting your distinctive personality.

We’re a long way from the candelabra-inspired chandeliers of the medieval era. Lighting is no longer merely practical, and lighting designers have been creating and reinventing lighting solutions for eons. Because of the advancements crafted by these venturesome makers, we now have the opportunity to bring unique, customizable lighting solutions into our homes.

It’s never been easier to create dramatic bedrooms, cozy kitchen areas and cheerful bars than it is today. Think of an elegant wall sconce as functional and as a work of art, adding both light and style to your hallways, whimsical kids’ rooms and elsewhere.

When choosing a lighting solution, first determine what your needs are: Will you opt for a moody or a bright feel? The room that will serve as your home office will need adequate lighting — think “the brighter, the better” for this particular setting.

For the bedroom, bedside wall lamps with warm-temperature bulbs instead of bedside table lamps could be the way to go to induce a sense of calm or intimacy. Try to match the style of the wall light or sconce that you’re installing to the overall design scheme of your room. It’s never “just a light.” You should approach the lighting of a room with a mindset that is one part practical and one part aesthetics-driven.

Let 1stDibs help you set the mood with the right antique and vintage wall lights and sconces for your home. Our collection includes every kind of fixture, from sculptural works by Austrian craftsman J.T. Kalmar to chic industrial-style wall sconces, from adjustable painted aluminum wall lamps designed by Artemide to a wide variety of minimalist mid-century modern masterpieces.