Side Table by Renato Zevi for Romeo Rega, 1970s

Best known for his inimitable Ellipse rocking chair, Italian furniture designer Renato Zevi worked with gilded aluminum and brass, lacquered wood and mirrored glass to create sleek, sensual and glamorous pieces befitting the Hollywood Regency style.

Zevi designed extensively throughout the 1970s, drawing inspiration from the likes of Milo Baughman, one of the most adept American mid-century modern designers. Baughman’s relaxed and airy approach to design is reflected in many of Zevi’s pieces, such as sideboards, coffee and cocktail tables and dining room tables, which, like Baughman’s designs, feature sturdy chrome frames and polished lacquered wood veneers. 

Zevi’s most inventive designs included a lounge chair with an ottoman, a unique creation with oval, sculptural, polished chrome legs and a plush seat and backrest. Through his firm Zevi and C., he designed the Ellipse chair for the Selig furniture company. An American manufacturer and importer, Selig is known for being among the first to introduce European modern furniture to the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. Versions of the popular Ellipse chair have been produced with tufted vinyl upholstery and soft, supple Italian leather. 

Zevi also collaborated with Italian furniture designer Romeo Rega, creating elegant bookcases and vitrines with gilt brass frames and smoked glass or crystal glass shelves. Rega’s company was acclaimed during the 1970s for its mass-produced console tables, chairs and other pieces until it ceased production in the 1980s.

Zevi’s work continues to be popular with Hollywood Regency decorators, collectors and design enthusiasts.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Renato Zevi case pieces and storage cabinets, tables, seating and more.

For his range of sophisticated modernist furniture, Romeo Rega worked with wrought iron, textiles, glass and more, yielding an amalgam of geometric shapes, sculptural flourishes and glamorous sensibility commonly associated with the Hollywood Regency style that remains popular today. For collectors in the know, vintage furniture made by the Italian designer's eponymous company is branded with his iconic double R logo, and Romeo Rega lighting, tables and other work is recognized globally for its seductive materials and dazzling forms.

Growing up in the heart of Rome, Rega apprenticed with a blacksmith and, just like his craftsman father before him, became a master in the skill of working with wrought iron and forging. In 1957, Rega opened his own workshop and began to explore his potential as a designer while collaborating with other master metalsmiths and blacksmiths. The creation of gates, railings and various furnishings led to a pivotal moment in his career — a contract with Italian movie studio Cinecittà. Rega was commissioned to design and manufacture the chariots for the 1959 acclaimed American film Ben-Hur.

In the 1970s, the Rega trademark was put to use and the designer began to mass produce furniture — including chairs, console tables and more. Renowned designers like Willy Rizzo and Gabriella Crespi collaborated with the company over time but the production of now sought-after Romeo Rega furniture ceased during the 1980s.

Among Rega's clients were A-list Italian entertainment and cinema celebrities, and the company’s furniture continues to be coveted by collectors today. At Hudson, New York–based antique shop Regan & Smith, Rega’s work is among the owners’ favorite designs.

Find a collection of vintage Romeo Rega case furniture, seating and decorative objects on 1stDibs.