Pierre Paulin Pearl
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Organic Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Organic Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
2010s Danish Lounge Chairs
Textile
2010s Danish Lounge Chairs
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Cotton, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Cotton, Wood
2010s Danish Lounge Chairs
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Cotton, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Velvet, Walnut
2010s Taiwanese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Travertine
Early 2000s American Post-Modern Swivel Chairs
Mohair, Upholstery
Vintage 1940s Italian Art Deco Chairs
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Side Tables
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Organic Modern Floor Mirrors and Fu...
Mirror
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Suede, Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Nickel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Iron
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Sectional Sofas
Velvet
Vintage 1970s American Post-Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary American Stools
Steel, Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric
Vintage 1980s Norwegian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Foam, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass
Recent Sales
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Boxwood
Vintage 1960s Dutch Space Age Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Pierre Paulin Pearl For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Pierre Paulin Pearl?
Pierre Paulin for sale on 1stDibs
Pierre Paulin introduced a fresh breeze into French furniture design in the 1960s and ’70s, fostering a sleek new Space-Age aesthetic. Along with Olivier Mourgue, Paulin developed chairs, sofas, dining tables and other furnishings with flowing lines and almost surreal naturalistic forms. And his work became such a byword for chic, forward-looking design and emerging technologies that two French presidents commissioned him to create environments in the Élysée Palace in Paris.
Paulin was born in Paris to a family of artists and designers. He initially sought to become a ceramist and sculptor and was studying in the town of Vallauris near the Côte d'Azur — a center for pottery making, where Pablo Picasso spent his postwar summers crafting ceramics — but broke his hand in a fight. He enrolled at the École Camondo, the Paris interior design school. There, Paulin was strongly influenced by the work of Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson and Arne Jacobsen, as was reflected in his early creations for the manufacturer Thonet-France.
It was at the Dutch firm Artifort, which he joined in 1958, where Paulin blossomed. In a few years, he produced several of his signature designs based on abstract organic shapes. These include the Butterfly chair (1963), which features a tubular steel frame and slung leather, and a group of striking seating pieces made with steel frames covered in polyurethane foam and tight jersey fabric: the Mushroom (1960), Ribbon (1966) and Tongue (1967) chairs. The revered designer not only introduced new construction techniques to Artifort furniture but contributed fresh materials, Pop art colors and dazzling shapes to the mid-century modern era as a whole.
In 1971, the Mobilier National — a department of France’s Ministry of Culture in charge of furnishing top-tier government offices and embassies — commissioned Paulin to redesign President Georges Pompidou’s private apartment in the Élysée Palace. In three years, Paulin transformed the staid rooms into futuristic environments with curved, fabric-clad walls and furnishings such as bookcases made from an arrangement of smoked-glass U shapes, flower-like pedestal chairs and pumpkin-esque loungers.
Ten years later, the Mobilier National called on Paulin again, this time to furnish the private office of President François Mitterand. Paulin responded with an angular, postmodern take on neoclassical furniture, pieces that looked surprisingly at home in the paneled, Savonnerie-carpeted Louis XVI rooms. As those two Élysée Palace projects show, Paulin furniture works well both in a total decor or when used as a counterpoint to traditional pieces. His creations have a unique personality: bright and playful yet sophisticated and suave.
Find vintage Pierre Paulin lounge chairs, armchairs, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right lounge-chairs for You
While this specific seating is known to all for its comfort and familiar form, the history of how your favorite antique or vintage lounge chair came to be is slightly more ambiguous.
Although there are rare armchairs dating back as far as the 17th century, some believe that the origins of the first official “lounge chair” are tied to Hungarian modernist designer-architect Marcel Breuer. Sure, Breuer wasn’t exactly reinventing the wheel when he introduced the Wassily lounge chair in 1925, but his seat was indeed revolutionary for its integration of bent tubular steel.
Officially, a lounge chair is simply defined as a “comfortable armchair,” which allows for the shape and material of the furnishings to be extremely diverse. Whether or not chaise longues make the cut for this category is a matter of frequent debate.
The Eames lounge chair, on the other hand, has come to define somewhat of a universal perception of what a lounge chair can be. Introduced in 1956, the Eames lounger (and its partner in cozy, the ottoman) quickly became staples in television shows, prestigious office buildings and sumptuous living rooms. Venerable American mid-century modern designers Charles and Ray Eames intended for it to be the peak of luxury, which they knew meant taking furniture to the next level of style and comfort. Their chair inspired many modern interpretations of the lounge — as well as numerous copies.
On 1stDibs, find a broad range of unique lounge chairs that includes everything from antique Victorian-era seating to vintage mid-century modern lounge chairs by craftspersons such as Hans Wegner to contemporary choices from today’s innovative designers.