William "Billy" Haines Stools in Silver Fox Finish
View Similar Items
William "Billy" Haines Stools in Silver Fox Finish
About the Item
- Creator:William Billy Haines (Designer)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:20th Century
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU92781716712
William Billy Haines
Plenty of prolific designers started off on slightly different tracks than those on which they ended up, but rarely did they begin their careers in a totally separate industry like William “Billy” Haines did. Before he gained a reputation as a furniture designer and decorator to Hollywood’s biggest and brightest, Haines was himself a star of the silver screen.
After leaving his native Virginia as a young man, Haines earned modeling and acting jobs in New York City and then won a Goldwyn Studios talent contest in the early 1920s. The next frontier was California, where he would go on to appear in more than 50 films. His acting career was halted abruptly in 1933, allegedly because he refused to leave his partner, British footballer Jimmy Shields, at the request of his representation at MGM Studios. Whether it was the fact that Haines was one half of Hollywood’s first openly gay marriage or that there were other factors at play, MGM cofounder Louis B. Mayer canceled his contract.
Luckily for Haines, he had nurtured a side career that kept him on Hollywood’s radar: He was a prominent antiques dealer on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles. Haines dedicated himself full-time to both dealing and designing furniture as soon as his tenure as a leading man came to an end.
Haines collaborated with the era’s biggest names in architecture and created a desert living room for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco that featured walls made of California Joshua wood and a painting by Georgia O’ Keeffe. He paid close attention to lighting design, employed hand-painted wallpaper and favored featuring Chinese ceramics alongside Chippendale chairs and ottomans for entertaining. His most famous clients included Joan Crawford, Carole Lombard, Betsy Bloomingdale and more. Crawford played a significant role in kick-starting his career when she commissioned Haines to decorate her entire home in Brentwood.
Haines was such an esteemed tastemaker that he’s among those credited with having cemented Hollywood Regency as a reputable design style. (Its origins are owed to influential interior decorator Dorothy Draper.) While he gravitated toward the look of chinoiserie and English furniture, his signature was low-level seating and giltwood accents. Haines’s interior design style was so in vogue that Nancy Reagan became one of his biggest fans and eventually enlisted Ted Graber, Haines’s successor following his death in 1973, to decorate several private and public rooms in the White House.
Find a collection of vintage William Haines lounge chairs, lighting fixtures and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Midcentury Ottoman Pouf in the Style of William "Billy" HainesBy Grosfeld House, James Mont, Dorothy Draper, William Billy HainesLocated in Houston, TXMidcentury ottoman pouf in the style of William "Billy" Haines. This charming 32 inch round poof is newly upholstered in plush white bouclè fabric with a large center button. This ve...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsBouclé
- William "Billy" Haines Attributed Brass BenchBy William Billy HainesLocated in Dallas, TX" I would rather have taste, than love or money" Famously quoted from William "Billy" Haines silent movie star who did briefly make the transition to talking pictures. When asked by the studios to "change" his lifestyle Mr. Haines said good bye...Category
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Benches
MaterialsBrass
- Mid Century Lounge Chair after William Billy HainesBy Gilbert Rohde, William Billy HainesLocated in New York, NYChic stylish mid century lounge chair of dramatic form, with scoop back and thick curved seat, on splayed tapered pole legs. The chair is structurally sound and sturdy, it is current...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- William “Billy” Haines Brass Campaign Tufted Leather Dining Chairs MCMBy William Billy HainesLocated in Atlanta, GAWilliam "Billy" Haines (American, 1900-1973), circa 1950. A pair of Iconic Hollywood Regency, conceived by the father of Hollywood Regency glamour—William “Billy” Haines. The fram...Category
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Side Chairs
MaterialsBrass
$3,916 Sale Price / set20% Off - 1940's Mid Century Modern Billy Haines Attribution Foot Stool OttomanBy William Billy HainesLocated in Southampton, NJA rare find attributed to Billy Haines with refinished walnut tapered & splayed legs; newly upholstered ready for use. Provenance: From an estate in Southampton, NY fully decorated w...Category
Early 20th Century American Art Deco Footstools
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Set of 4 William Billy Haines Style Dining or Game Chairs - Modern Cabriole legsBy William Billy HainesLocated in St. Louis, MOSet of four William Billy Haines style dining or game table chairs with sculpted modern cabriole legs and tufted faux green leather backs. The backside of the chair has nice inset ma...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsMahogany, Upholstery