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Billy Baldwin Tables

American, 1903-1983

Billy Baldwin had the unusual distinction of being the first man to break the glass ceiling of interior decoration, which before WWII was ruled by a coterie of ladies. 

The look that Baldwin championed in the mid-century was entirely American: classical in foundation, but modern in spirit, free of ostentation and unconcerned with trends. “Be faithful to your own taste,” he used to tell clients, “because nothing you really like is ever out of style.”

By the 1960s, just about every American taste-making blue blood was Baldwin's client, including Jackie Onassis, Pamela Harriman, Nan Kempner, Bunny Mellon and Babe Paley. If you ever wondered who was responsible for Diana Vreeland’s unforgettable “garden in hell” crimson drawing room, it was Billy B, as his friends called him.

“I always say I love color better than people,” he once remarked. He also loved cotton, calling it “his life,” detested damask and satin, and claimed to have “made a lady out of wicker.” His quips were legendary.

Unlike most decorators of his era, Baldwin believed that every project should feature furnishings already belonging to the client, so that the client’s personality would manifest in the room’s atmosphere. That atmosphere would emerge out of Baldwin’s selection of other furnishings — both old and new, American, European and Asian — and his choice of colors, mix of patterns and keen sense of proportion and scale.

If good antiques were beyond a client’s budget, Baldwin advised buying top contemporary pieces, rather than reproductions. What was important was quality, as well as comfort. A resolute anti-snob, Baldwin detested pretentious people. He believed decorating was a collaborative adventure embarked on with the client.

Embracing of new materials, including fake leather and plastic, in the mid-1950s, Baldwin covered the walls of Cole Porter’s tony Waldorf Astoria suite in tortoise shell vinyl. For that project, possibly his masterwork, he also designed floor-to-ceiling brass étagères, as he felt it “would be extravagant to do built-in bookcases for an apartment in a hotel.” His enthusiasm for chintz slipcovers prompted Porter to threaten, “Don’t you dare slipcover these pianos!” When the hotel suite was published, the étagères began showing up everywhere. Baldwin was not pleased. “If I find that something I am doing is becoming a trend, I run from it like the plague,” he declared.

For the New York City apartment of William and Babe Paley in the St. Regis hotel, Baldwin covered the damaged walls in a shirred geometric fabric, which started another trend. Among other much-copied design signatures were low slipper chairs, swing arm brass lamps, dark-hued rooms, rattan-wrapped Parson’s tables and arresting orchestrations of brilliantly patterned cotton prints.

When he turned 70, Baldwin retired and a few years later decamped to Nantucket where he had often summered, and which he loved in part for its strong, clear New England light. When he died at 80, he had influenced a generation of American decorators and shaped the tastes of Americans on a mass-scale, even those who never knew his name.

Browse a wide range of vintage Billy Baldwin furniture on 1stDibs.

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Creator: Billy Baldwin
Billy Baldwin Large Whitewash Oak and Glass Coffee Table
By Billy Baldwin
Located in Miami, FL
Billy Baldwin designed whitewashed oak frame coffee table with inset glass top circa 1980s.
Category

Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Billy Baldwin Tables

Materials

Glass, Oak

Billy Baldwin Side Table in Oak with Inset Granite Top, 1980s
By Paul M. Jones, Billy Baldwin
Located in New York, NY
Architectural side table in oak with inset black granite top by Billy Baldwin for Luten-Clarey-Stern (LCS), American 1980's  
Category

1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Billy Baldwin Tables

Materials

Oak

Billy Baldon Dining Table
By Billy Baldwin
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This Billy Baldwin dining table with a 3/4" thick glass top and pickled oak wood frame is a stunning and sophisticated addition to any dining room. The table's sleek design and high-...
Category

1970s American Modern Vintage Billy Baldwin Tables

Materials

Glass, Oak

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Billy Baldwin tables for sale on 1stDibs.

Billy Baldwin tables are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of wood and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Billy Baldwin tables, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original tables by Billy Baldwin were created in the mid-century modern style in united states during the late 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider tables by Kent-Coffey, Cedric Hartman, and Edward Wormley. Prices for Billy Baldwin tables can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $5,500 and can go as high as $8,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $6,750.

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