Guillerme et Chambron, Large Desk with Drawers, France, Mid-Century

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Guillerme et Chambron, Large Desk with Drawers, France, Mid-Century

About the Item

Robert Guillerme studied design and architecture at the École Boule, graduating in 1934. After the Second World War he moved to Lille, in the north of France, where he decorated homes and designed furniture for the well regarded Rogier workshops. In 1948 Jacques Chambron left his work as a painter and decorator on the Rue Nollet in Paris, and relocated his family to join Guillerme. The two had met in 1940 while imprisoned by the Germans in East Prussia and bonded over, among other more obvious things, their shared passion for design. In 1949 the pair discovered Émile Dariosecq, a master cabinet maker who had a shop in the city, and who was willing to produce their designs. The three started Votre Maison. The association was destined to be as influential as prolific. Not only did Votre Maison produce over two thousand models during the later half of the twentieth century, it also left an indelible stamp on design of the 50s, 60s and 70s. The company’s output served as a model for a vast field of livable contemporaneous design. The soul of Guillerme et Chambron’s work was in the company’s name (“Your House"). Their focus was as keenly attuned to functionality—furniture’s use in daily life—as to the creation of innovative design. For the pair of designers the home was envisioned as a place where the family could live both comfortably and in aesthetic harmony. Robert Guillerme, who designed most of the work, possessed a limitless creative ambition, producing designs for everything from grand dressers and sideboards to the smallest elements of a space, such as pedestals, shelving, benches, and lighting. This steady output of beautiful furniture bucked convention not merely in the equal emphasis Guillerme placed on function and aesthetics, but in the almost paradoxical creation of a consistent style that was as staid as it was arresting. While his work was in many ways distinctively conservative and recognizable from project to project, both in form as well as in medium—his wood of choice, waxed oak, was often either lightened or darkened to the same few tones—Guillerme’s pieces also possessed an unusual flare. He incorporated elaborately detailed tiles and unusually bright fabrics, both of which could be used interchangeably in a variety of pieces. While Guillerme designed the pieces, Jacques Chambron focused on décor and client relationships. Working with stores and individuals alike, the decorator filled homes throughout Europe with small and intimate lines of furniture created to address each room’s particular and varied needs. He had attended the School of Applied Arts in Reims, but he was a remarkably charismatic man, unusually befitted to the work, and amply capable of evangelizing Votre Maison’s unique and groundbreaking conception of décor. Votre Maison continued to produce furniture late into the Twentieth Century, Jacques’ son Hervé Chambron, a designer and graduate of the Ecole Boulle, having taken the reins in 1983.

Creator:
Guillerme et Chambron (Designer),Votre Maison (Manufacturer)
Dimensions:
Height: 29.25 in (74.3 cm)Width: 67 in (170.18 cm)Depth: 28 in (71.12 cm)
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Oak
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
Mid-20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
Mid-20th Century
Condition:
Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Refinishing.
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: GC 381stDibs: LU781328797262

Shop All Guillerme et Chambron

Guillerme et Chambron

Robert Guillerme and Jacques Chambron, the French creative duo behind Votre Maison, met under unusual circumstances: They discussed design while imprisoned in a forced labor camp. The pair’s combined talents later resulted in modern, sculptural furniture — today, vintage Guillerme et Chambron desks, dining tables, chairs and other pieces still look conceptually playful and vibrant but could fit harmoniously into any home.

Guillerme had graduated from the École Boulle in 1934 with a degree in design and architecture, and Chambron had studied at the School of Applied Arts in Reims. They were captured by the Germans in East Prussia during the Second World War and struck up a friendship over their mutual love for all things design. After the war ended, Guillerme moved to Lille in northern France; Chambron left his job as a painter and decorator in Paris and joined him in 1948. In 1949, the pair met Émile Dariosecq, a skilled cabinetmaker who enthusiastically agreed to manufacture the duo’s designs, leading to the start of Votre Maison.

Guillerme and Chambron were as prolific as they were detailed, producing more than 2,000 pieces in the second half of the 20th century out of a former gun factory. Their furniture, which was mostly made with different tones of waxed oak, adhered to the trends of design that emerged after the war: mid-century modernism.

European furniture in the postwar period largely prioritized function as much as it did form and lacked any unnecessary ornamentation. Guillerme and Chambron wanted people to actually use their furniture, not just look at it. That design philosophy was a pillar of their company, its name translating to “your house” in French. Their signature touches included ornate tiles, hidden drawers and vibrant textiles on pieces such as desks, tables, shelving, lighting, benches and other seating. One of Votre Maison’s most famous and popular pieces was the Grand Repos armchair, a stately, high-backed wide piece with a skeletal oak frame, six spindles and plush cushions.

While Guillerme and Chambron were a team, they handled different aspects of the business: Guillerme designed much of the furniture and Chambron concentrated on decor. Votre Maison was a full-service design business. In 1983, the dynamic duo passed on their company to Chambron’s son, Hervé, a designer and graduate of École Boulle.

Find a collection of vintage Guillerme et Chambron furniture on 1stDibs.