Billy Haines Faux Bamboo Étagère, Beverly Hills Hotel
View Similar Items
Billy Haines Faux Bamboo Étagère, Beverly Hills Hotel
About the Item
- Creator:William Billy Haines (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 84.5 in (214.63 cm)Width: 42 in (106.68 cm)Depth: 9 in (22.86 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Southampton, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU107966577153
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.
- Faux Bamboo EtagereLocated in Redding, CTClassic Faux bamboo Etagere with oil glaze drip. 6 shelf bookcase perfect for display and storage for your living room or bedroom. Glass shelves are re...Category
Vintage 1980s Hollywood Regency Shelves
MaterialsMetal
$1,620 - Faux Bamboo Etagere with Acorn FinialsLocated in Redding, CTFaux bamboo five shelf Étagère with acorn finials. Solid, well made piece with five shelves . The interior of the shelves are 28" wide by 10 " deep. Sof...Category
Vintage 1970s Hollywood Regency Bookcases
MaterialsMetal, Iron
On Hold$1,800 - Faux Bamboo Arch Shape Glass Shelves EtagereLocated in Rockaway, NJVery nice Mid-Century Modern faux bamboo glass shelves etagere.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
- Bamboo & Rattan ÉtagèreLocated in Bradenton, FLA bamboo and rattan étagère. Thick bamboo pieces form the frame with bentwood bamboo at the corners. Five rattan covered shelves secured with...Category
Mid-20th Century Bohemian Bookcases
MaterialsRattan, Bamboo
$3,295 - Faux Shagreen 6 Shelf Bookcase / EtagereBy Made GoodsLocated in Dallas, TXThe "Kenneth" bookcase/etagere by Made Goods features 6 spacious shelves wrapped in cool gray realistic faux shagreen, supported by a matte silver finish steel frame. Good condition ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsSteel
$1,950 / item - Mid-Century Modern Italian Four-Tier Gilt Metal Faux Bamboo Étagère with GlassesLocated in Prato, ITMid-Century Modern Italian gilt metal faux bamboo étagère with glass shelves. 1970s This étagère can come as a set together wit...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsMetal