Biloba Sideboard

The Greenapple furniture company creates captivating pieces using novel forms, colors and materials inspired by modern and Art Deco styles. Its unique 21st-century furniture combines luxury and an uncommon eye for design. Greenapple creates high-end furniture for homes, hotels and commercial spaces, with the tastes and needs of its clients considered in every step of the design process.

The furniture company was started in 2005, when Portuguese economists Rute Martins and Sérgio Rebola teamed up with the idea of employing traditional Portuguese craftsmanship to create beautiful bespoke furniture and decor.

Over time, Greenapple grew to a team of 30 craftspeople, all bringing their individual skills to each new design. A master woodworker, upholsterer and finishing specialist lead the team, with their work also passing down this expertise to the next generation of creators.

Greenapple challenges the uniformity of mass-produced furniture, such as in its playful forms for velvet-upholstered seating and wall mirrors that involve eclectic materials like green onyx, gold leaf and marble. Whether infusing complexity into the structure of a side table or bringing a silhouette of simple elegance to a set of uncomplicated dining chairs, Greenapple incorporates bold concepts and fresh ideas into every piece.

Greenapple has showcased its work around the world, including in Shanghai in 2018 for an Associative Design business mission. The company has an international clientele, including collectors in Asia, North America and across Europe. 

On 1stDibs, explore the vibrant luxury of Portuguese master craftsmanship with Greenapple seating, tables, lighting, decorative objects and more.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”

Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.

Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.

It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.

Whether burnished or lacquered, antique, new and vintage brass furniture can elevate a room.

From traditional spaces that use brass as an accent — by way of brass dining chairs or brass pendant lights — to contemporary rooms that embrace bold brass decor, there are many ways to incorporate the golden-hued metal.

“I find mixed metals to be a very updated approach, as opposed to the old days, when it was all shiny brass of dulled-out silver tones,” says interior designer Drew McGukin. “I especially love working with brass and blackened steel for added warmth and tonality. To me, aged brass is complementary across many design styles and can trend contemporary or traditional when pushed either way.”

He proves his point in a San Francisco entryway, where a Lindsey Adelman light fixture hangs above a limited-edition table and stools by Kelly Wearstler — also an enthusiast of juxtapositions — all providing bronze accents. The walls were hand-painted by artist Caroline Lizarraga and the ombré stair runner is by DMc.

West Coast designer Catherine Kwong chose a sleek brass and lacquered-parchment credenza by Scala Luxury to fit this San Francisco apartment. “The design of this sideboard is reminiscent of work by French modernist Jean Prouvé. The brass font imbues the space with warmth and the round ‘portholes’ provide an arresting geometric element.”

Find antique, new and vintage brass tables, case pieces and other furnishings now on 1stDibs.

Although traditionally used in the bedroom to store garments that would not be hung in a closet, an antique or vintage cabinet can easily find a purpose in rooms throughout your entire house.

The world's first storage cabinets, reportedly constructed in Renaissance-era Europe, were demonstrative of excellence in carpentry and the work of master carvers. These robust bureaus or sophisticated chests of drawers were typically built from common woods, such as oak or walnut. Although they were fairly uniform in structure and lacked the bright colors of modern-day furniture, case pieces and storage cabinets that date from the 18th century and earlier were often found in the homes of nobility.

Their intricate carvings and various embellishments — adornments made from ivory, ornate lacquer work and, later, glass shelvings — reflect the elegance with which these decorative furnishings were associated. Given its valuable purpose and the beauty of the early furnishings' designs, the storage cabinet is an investment that will never go out of style.

The practical design that defines the earliest storage cabinets has inspired the creation of household must-haves, like minimalist drink trolleys and marble wood bookcases. From hiding outdoor gear in the mudroom to decluttering your kitchen with a tall kitchen pantry cabinet, these versatile furnishings have now become available in enough sizes, styles and colors to accommodate any space. After all, these aren't your run-of-the-mill filing cabinets.

A sophisticated storage cabinet — wood storage cabinets with doors and shelves, for example — can serve as a room divider when necessary, while the right vintage wall unit or floor-to-ceiling cabinetry solutions can seamlessly become part of any space without disrupting the energy of the room. And although you may hide items away in its drawers, bookworms might prefer a storage cabinet with open shelving for displaying favorite books or other media.

One-of-a-kind solutions for the modern consumer abound, but enthusiasts of understated, classical beauty may turn to Baroque-style storage cabinets. Elsewhere, admirers of mid-century modernism looking to make a statement with their case pieces will warm to the dark woods and clean lines of vintage storage cabinets by Paul McCobb, Florence Knoll or Edward Wormley.

Sometimes the best renovation is a reorganization. If you're ready to organize and elevate your space, a luxury storage cabinet is the addition you need.

Find a variety of vintage and antique storage cabinets on 1stDibs, including unique Art Deco storage cabinets, chinoiserie cabinets and more.