Vintage Shabby Chic Picture Frames

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.

Picture frames have the distinct role of presenting artwork in your home. A good frame can elevate the appearance of a fine oil painting or provocative fine-art photograph. From ornate handcrafted designs to streamlined wooden styles, some antique, new and vintage picture frames have become stand-alone pieces of art on their own.

Frames were originally a part of paintings themselves before they were separate structures carved from walnut and other woods for use with items like portrait paintings and mirrors. The design of frames evolved in Renaissance-era Italy, where an artist might create his own gilded or painted frame. Today, there are all kinds of picture frames made from a variety of materials, including silver, bronze and acrylic.

Displaying art in the home is an art in and of itself, and trends and new art movements have dictated how picture frames have been integrated into home interiors over the years. When Abstract Expressionist art emerged during the 1930s, for example, collectors utilized minimalist frames to hang abstract works or dispensed with frames entirely. Today, mixing mediums and frame designs make for endless combinations, but knowing how to arrange wall art can help even if you’re feeling adventurous.

Whether it’s a dark wood frame for your landscape paintings, a sleek chrome mid-century modern frame to show off your black-and-white photography or a bold Art Deco frame that might completely outshine its subject, find an extensive collection of antique, new and vintage picture frames on 1stDibs.