Pair of Billy Baldwin Slipper Chairs
View Similar Items
Pair of Billy Baldwin Slipper Chairs
About the Item
- Creator:Billy Baldwin (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 33 in (83.82 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)Depth: 32.5 in (82.55 cm)Seat Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960's
- Condition:Upholstery needs replacement.
- Seller Location:Danville, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: U12032982641195
Billy Baldwin
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, he 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 Billy Baldwin furniture on 1stDibs.
- Rare Pair of "Wave" Occasional Chairs by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti ItaliaBy Giovanni Offredi, SaporitiLocated in Danville, CAPair of wave lounge chairs by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti. Saporiti has long been the most Avant Garde of the high end Italian furniture makers and these chairs are no exception. T...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Pair of Charcoal Gray Swivel Chairs by AdM BespokeLocated in Danville, CAStunning pair of sculptural swivel chairs in an elegant charcoal gray heavy twill fabric. The bases are finished in an espresso lacquer. The pair swiv...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Hardwood
- Pair of Swivel Chairs in Navy Blue Velvet by Adm BespokeLocated in Danville, CAPair of swivel egg chairs by AdM Bespoke in a luxurious Navy Blue Faux Mohair velvet. The chairs are entirely bench made and upholstered in our local workr...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Velvet, Hardwood
- Pair of Vintage Caramel Barcelona Chairs by Mies van der Rohe Knoll, 1970sBy Knoll, Ludwig Mies van der RoheLocated in Danville, CAThese Barcelona chairs were designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1929 and produced by Knoll International in the 1970s. The chairs feature an incredible hand dyed cognac leather uphol...Category
Vintage 1970s German Lounge Chairs
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Pair of Italian Regency ArmchairsLocated in Danville, CARegal pair of Italian Regency armchairs with caned seats and gilt decoration. Cane seats have been replaced. Seat cushions are included as formCategory
Vintage 1940s Italian Armchairs
MaterialsCane
$4,000 / set - Ochre Knit Mohair Swivel Chair by AdM BespokeLocated in Danville, CASwivel egg chair in the French Midcentury style. This sophisticated chair is upholstered in luxurious heavy weight, Muslin backed Orange/Ochre knit Mohair. This super stylish and ver...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Swivel Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Hardwood
$4,250 / item
- Upholstered Lounge Slipper Boudoir Chair in the Style of Billy BaldwinBy William Billy Haines, Billy BaldwinLocated in New York, NYChic, voguish style lounge, slipper, boudoir chair in allover orange upholstery. The chair features a channeled seat with radiating lines, a sinuous and sexy curved frame, and curved tootsie roll...Category
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Slipper Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
- Pair of Elegant Slipper Chairs in The Manner of Billy Haines 1940sBy William Billy HainesLocated in New York, NYPair of elegant slipper chairs, tufted backs with gently curving legs, in the manner of Billy Haines, American 1940's. These chairs have beautiful scale and are very comfortable. The...Category
Vintage 1940s North American Mid-Century Modern Slipper Chairs
MaterialsOther
- Hollywood Regency Slipper Chairs in the Style of Billy HainesBy William Billy HainesLocated in Brooklyn, NYPair of oversized, midcentury, Hollywood regency, slipper chairs in the style of Billy Haines with walnut frames are upholstered in beige linen, ribbon motif jacquard.Category
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Slipper Chairs
MaterialsJacquard, Walnut
- Pair of Salon Slipper ChairsLocated in Beverly Hills, CAPair of Italian slipper chairs newly produced by ORANGE with beautiful curved lines and solid brass legs.. Shown in burnt orange mohair and priced COM.Category
2010s American Slipper Chairs
MaterialsMohair
$11,500 / item - Pair of Classic Slipper Chairs by KroehlerBy Kroehler Mfg. Co.Located in St.Petersburg, FLA pair of elegant slipper chairs by Kroehler. Original upholstery, white laquered legs.Category
Vintage 1950s American Modern Slipper Chairs
MaterialsMahogany
$1,680 Sale Price / set40% Off - Pair of Karpen High Back Slipper ChairsBy Karpen of CaliforniaLocated in St.Petersburg, FLA pair of unusual high back, upholstered slipper chairs by Karpen of California. Original fabric and labels. These chairs are very comfortable and elegant. On chunky, tapered wood le...Category
Vintage 1960s American Modern Slipper Chairs
$4,800 / item