Falster Danish Modern Teak Triple Dresser for Maurice Villency

Known to collectors for his strict adherence to quality with respect to the furniture he manufactured or imported for sale, designer and entrepreneur Maurice Villency brought the highest standards of excellence into his stores. He created and built his own furniture in a loft studio in Manhattan and eventually opened a handful of retail outlets in the New York metro area that offered sleek and stylish furnishings from all over the world. 

Villency is among the small business owners that helped introduce the Scandinavian modern style to the United States during the postwar era, when tastemakers really sold Americans on the earthier, homier aspects of Scandinavian design.

Villency also imported pieces from French, Italian and Belgian designers and proudly promoted their fine wares in the showrooms of his four stores. Additional Villency family-owned stores were eventually established and traded under the name Preferred Seating. 

Villency was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father was a cabinetmaker, and when he was 15, his family moved to the U.S. and settled in New York State. At 19, Villency moved to New York City and began working for the Pullman Couch Company. 

Villency showed great skill in his work, quickly becoming the plant manager — and later head designer – for the furniture company. In the early 1930s, Pullman moved their entire operations to Chicago, and Villency chose to stay behind. Determined to follow his own path, Villency opened a workshop on 8th Street in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood and found increasing success.

Like the Danish cabinetmakers he so admired, Villency designed chairs and other pieces and worked with fine woods such as teak, a sought-after material among mid-century modern designers. Early on, he made an impression with a sectional sofa he designed, and he would later tout the versatile appeal of sectional sofas and other modular furniture in full-page print ads for his retail locations. On a good day, a prospective buyer could stroll into Maurice Villency and find designs by French brand Roche Bobois, Danish manufacturer Farsø Stolefabrik, American modernist Milo Baughman and more. 

Maurice’s company eventually came to be called Villency Design Group and today, his grandson Eric Villency — who works in product design, interiors and more — is CEO. 

On 1stDibs, find vintage Maurice Villency tables, storage pieces and seating.

Falster Møbelfabrik furniture is effortlessly pleasing to the eye. The mid-20th-century Danish furniture manufacturer is distinguished by its gorgeous hardwood pieces boasting impeccable build quality. Durable teak and rich rosewood were among the company's favorite wood options for its chic credenzas, upscale dressers and elegant highboys. Falster Møbelfabrik pieces are characterized by clean lines, generous proportions, tapered legs and gentle curves — all of the attributes that are typically associated with the best of mid-century Scandinavian design.

While little is known about the beginnings of Falster Møbelfabrik, it was producing furniture by the 1950s. Throughout the second half of the decade, Arne Wahl Iversen worked with the manufacturer on a series of alluring Scandinavian modern pieces. A budding designer at the time, the Nyborg-born Iversen studied under legendary Danish modernist Kaare Klint at Copenhagen’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts and went on to have an illustrious career. His designs for Falster Møbelfabrik included teak tables and chairs, upholstered armchairs and multiple storage cabinets.

In the 1960s, Falster Møbelfabrik enjoyed another fruitful collaboration with talented Danish designer Svend Åge Madsen. The resulting mid-century modern furniture became some of the manufacturer's most well-known creations. Madsen's credenzas, dressers and nightstands were sensible and stylish. They came with rich wood finishes and features like spacious compartments and adjustable shelves. Thoughtful touches like felt-lined drawers and finished backs make them a sophisticated addition to any room.

Operating in the heyday of Danish furniture manufacturing, Falster Møbelfabrik left its own commanding stamp on the industry. Many of the company's vintage pieces were built with durability in mind and remain in good condition today.

On 1stDibs, find Falster Møbelfabrik storage pieces, bedroom furniture, tables and more.