Barbara Barry McGuire Rattan Rawhide Dining Room Chairs, New Upholstery, Set 8

Barbara Barry intends for her furniture designs to connect people to the splendor of the natural world around them. Her lounge chairs, tables and other pieces reflect the influence of the Hollywood Regency style as well as Barry’s admiration for organic materials and the subdued color palettes of the great outdoors. Simple and calming, her furniture is quietly elegant and has garnered Barry renown worldwide as a leader in interior design.

A native of California, Barry was surrounded by artists from the moment she was born and credits her mother with instilling a strong sense of confidence in her. Barry’s mother, a painter, encouraged her to nurture her creative impulses. The designer initially pursued a degree in art — she is an active painter today — but quickly eschewed the norms of formal education, leaving school to travel through Europe.

While traveling, Barry fell in love with the wines and cheeses of the cities she visited, inspiring her to open her own cheese shop in Mendocino upon her return to California. Her predilection for interior design quickly began to show itself as she went about setting up and running her store, and Barry began drawing designs for her own furniture. She moved to Los Angeles and established her own design firm in 1985.

Working with small local businesses to get her pieces made, she became more passionate about expressing herself through her furniture and quickly amassed a following for her work. Today, for its thoughtful merge of clean lines, 1940s Hollywood glamour and the soft palettes of the sea, sky and foliage of her state, her understated furniture is an international success.

Barry is expressly opposed to the use of patterns, opting instead for solid neutrals that pair well with warm brass or vintage bronze lighting fixtures and allow for the colors in a painting on the living room wall to pop. She is focused on bringing harmony and order into a space, and her minimalist designs — acid-washed mahogany side tables, armchairs with dark stained rattan backrests — are sought after by A-list celebrities, politicians and leading manufacturers alike. Barry has created exclusive furniture collections and home decor for legendary brands including Baker Furniture, McGuire Furniture Company and others.

Find Barbara Barry decorative objects, seating, case pieces and more on 1stDibs.

From its humble beginnings as a small fabric house more than a century ago, Kravet Furniture has grown into a global leader in home furnishings, renowned for luxury textiles and works designed in styles that range from modern to American Classical. 

Kravet’s story starts to take shape in 1902 when Russian tailor Samuel Kravet emigrated to the United States and began tailoring clothes for New York City’s upper crust. In 1918, Kravet, with his four sons, established S. Kravet and Sons, selling fabric and textiles to interior designers. Twenty years later, the business opened its first corporate showroom in Manhattan.

By the 1960s, the firm was renamed Kravet Fabrics, Inc. and became known for its vast assortment of fabrics, upholstery and trimmings in all colors, textures, patterns and materials. In 2019, an exhibition titled “Pattern and Process: Selections from the Kravet Archive” was held at the New York School of Interior Design, showcasing Kravet’s colossal collection of historic textiles.

While the company expanded nationally throughout the 1980s, it wasn’t until 1992 that Kravet launched its furniture division to support the company’s growing fabric business. Plush chairs, club chairs and lounge chairs paired with ottomans and poufs were designed with exceptional quality and upholstered with Kravet’s luxurious fabrics. The brand collaborated with notable American designers such as Mark Hampton and Oscar de la Renta.

From the mid-1990s through to the 2000s, Kravet acquired several international brands, including Lee Jofa and GP and J Baker, and became Kravet Inc. in 2005. That year, the firm also expanded into carpets, lighting, bedding and decorative items like bowls and baskets. In 2015, the company introduced CuratedKravet, an e-commerce site aimed at interior designers. Additionally, from 2011 to 2020, Kravet acquired more brands such as Brunschwig and Fils, Gaston y Daniela, Winfield Thybony, Andrew Martin, Clarke and Clarke, Studio G and Donghia.

Now in its fifth generation, the family-owned Kravet Inc. has showrooms throughout the United States with its high-end furniture found in collections at the Smithsonian Institution and The White House.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Kravet seating and decorative objects.