"Gemütlich" Leather Clad Table and 4 Bergundy Brentwood Chairs by William Haines
About the Item
- Creator:William Billy Haines (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 28.5 in (72.39 cm)Width: 25 in (63.5 cm)Depth: 27 in (68.58 cm)Seat Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 5
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1963
- Condition:Reupholstered. Wear consistent with age and use. The original leather top has been professionally restored to its original condition and the chairs have been expertly reupholstered.
- Seller Location:Palm Desert, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU797738216392
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Palm Desert, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Faux Bamboo and Marble Topped Cocktail Table by William HainesBy William Billy HainesLocated in Palm Desert, CAThis collection, purchased directly from the heirs of the estate presents a rare opportunity to own a piece of Los Angeles design history. The house, originally designed by Paul Wil...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble
- A Pair of Iron and Leather Benches designed by William Haines for Francis BrodyBy William Billy HainesLocated in Palm Desert, CAThese benches, created by William Haines for the home of the Brody’s located in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles are a part of a collection executed in iron rod. This ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsIron
- A Pair of Cobalt Blue Swiveling Tub Chairs designed by William HainesBy William Billy HainesLocated in Palm Desert, CAOffered here a pair of swiveling tub chairs, sitting on a stylized Chinoiserie base. The bases are painted black. The chairs have been newly upholstered in Romo/Zinc Ocelot - Midni...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- A Pair of Large Custom Mirrors, designed by William HainesBy William Billy HainesLocated in Palm Desert, CAThis collection, purchased directly from the heirs of the estate presents a rare opportunity to own a piece of Los Angeles design history. The house, originally designed by Paul Williams in 1933 was given the Haines touch when his clients a young family of five...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors and Full-Length ...
MaterialsMirror, Wood
- A Pair of Wooden Columns, William HainesBy William Billy HainesLocated in Palm Desert, CAThis collection presents a rare opportunity to own a piece of Los Angeles design history. The house, originally designed by Paul Williams in 1933 was given the Haines touch when his...Category
Vintage 1950s American Greco Roman Pedestals and Columns
MaterialsWood
- Custom Neoclassical Table with Original Finish by William Haines for Jack WarnerBy William Billy HainesLocated in Palm Desert, CAThis is an original custom made neoclassical table by Billy Haines for the Palm Springs home of Jack L Warner. The round table top's geometric desig...Category
Vintage 1950s American Neoclassical Tables
MaterialsConcrete, Travertine, Metal
- William Haines, Gemütlich, Coffee Table, United States, 1951By William Billy HainesLocated in New York, NYThis charming occasional table clad in green "tortoiseshell" leather has a broad round top with a sloping underside and four legs. The table and legs are entirely covered in the orig...Category
Mid-20th Century Center Tables
MaterialsLeather, Wood
- Important Console Table by William Billy Haines, USA, c 1965By William Billy HainesLocated in Ft Lauderdale, FLAn important console table by William Billy Haines, USA, c 1965 A giltwood and polychrome wood, patinated metal, gilt-...Category
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Console Tables
MaterialsGranite, Metal
- American Fantasy Knight Chess Table After William ‘Billy’ Haines Circa 1960By William Billy HainesLocated in Southampton, NJA unique and fanciful knight chess table in blended woods, the top is supported by a mahogany pedestal carved in the form of a pair of opposing horse's...Category
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Game Tables
MaterialsMahogany
- Vintage Regency Revival Dining Table and 10 Chairs by William Tillman 20th CLocated in London, GBThis is a fabulous Vintage Regency Revival dining set comprising a dining table and a set of ten Swag Back dining chairs, by the master craftsman, William Tillman, Circa 1980 in d...Category
Vintage 1980s Dining Room Sets
MaterialsMahogany
- Faux Bamboo Brass Glass Dining Game Table Set with 4 Chairs Billy HainesBy William Billy HainesLocated in Rockaway, NJMid-Century Modern Art Deco era 5 pieces dining room set consisting of four chairs and a round glass top table. The wooden parts have beautiful original vintage finish and precisely ...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Brutalist Oak and Leather Table and 4 Chairs, 1960s, Set of 5Located in Saint Rémy de Provence, FRAstonishing Brutalise 1960 set consisting of 1 table and 4 oak chairs covered in leather, which can be used as a side table or a games table. Certainly of eas...Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
MaterialsLeather, Oak
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
In Dragonette’s New Palm Desert Digs, Great Design Springs Eternal
Since leaving Los Angeles, Patrick Dragonette is experiencing a new kind of creative freedom.
Why This L.A. Designer Prefers Soulful Sophistication over Snobbism
Mallery Roberts Morgan practices a singular brand of creative fluidity as a writer and a quietly influential interior designer.