French Furniture and Design
About
“There is nothing that indicates more clearly the magnificence of great princes than their superb palaces and their precious furniture.” —Louis XIV
Marked by distinctive stylistic periods, French design is often associated with a sense of luxury. Popular under the reign of Louis XIV, the French Baroque style favored flamboyance over practicality, producing rigid structures embellished with elaborate wood carvings and gilded paneling. The Rococo era of Louis XV—often considered France’s finest in terms of furniture design—was the first to prioritize comfort and usability, all while maintaining a sense of elegance through curving shapes and floral decorations. Influenced by the discovery of the ruins of Pompeii, French design entered its Neoclassical period under Louis XVI, characterized by a more restrained, geometric aesthetic. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the sinuous curves of Art Nouveau redefined France’s Metro stations, poster designs, and furniture pieces, though this style was soon replaced by Art Deco in the 1920s and 1930s. Later in the 20th century, Modernists Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouvé favored a more streamlined aesthetic, while the contemporary Paris-based designer Maria Pergay maintained elements of French opulence by featuring ribbons, tassels, and belts in her stainless steel furniture.