Since the Covid pandemic, the comfort of our interior has become a priority. This search for “home Sweet Home” partly explains the dazzling success of French designer furniture from the 1950s to the 1980s. If we add to this the modernity of forms and the enthusiasm of the great decorators who rule the roost in terms of taste, we can no longer talk about a fleeting fashion but rather a lasting craze, sometimes bordering on madness for certain designers. Thus, last March, at Christie’s New York, a pair of armchairs and a Ours Polaire sofa by Jean Royère (1902-1981) found a buyer for… $3.4 million. In June 2022, two large tables by Jean Prouvé (1901-1984), intended for the refectory of a university residence, sold for 3.8 million euros.
Unless you have significant means, it is almost impossible to buy the iconic pieces of these designers. There’s no point hoping to find an Œuf armchair by Jean Royère or a colorful bookcase by Jean Prouvé designed for student rooms at a good price. These design must-haves sell for several hundred thousand euros. However, this does not mean that we must give up the furniture of these two masters, as well as that designed by Charlotte Perriand (1903-1999) and Pierre Jeanneret (1896-1967), these four artists being considered the most brilliants of the Thirty Glorious Years. Some of their pieces can still be found at a relatively reasonable price. Thus, the Tajan auction house sold a sideboard by Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret last spring for 19,680 euros. At the beginning of October, Piasa sold four Ondulation chairs by Jean Royère for 44,200 euros, and a stool by Charlotte Perriand for 5,200 euros.
Rising stars
To hope for better deals, the enthusiast has an interest in turning to less internationally famous designers, who are still accessible, but whose prices are rising regularly. Let us cite for example Audoux & Minet – active house from 1929 to 1965 -, Robert Guillerme (1913-1990) & Jacques Chambron (1914-2001) for the company Vos Maison, Mathieu Matégot (1910-2001), Louis Sognot (1892-1970 ), Joseph-André Motte (1925-2013), Pierre Guariche (1926-1995), Pierre Chapo (1927-1987) or Pierre Paulin (1927-2009).
The latter is known for having decorated, at the request of President Georges Pompidou, several rooms in the Elysée. Its most famous pieces of furniture, like the Mushroom armchair or the Elysée coffee table, remain affordable. A model of the latter sold for 5,464 euros at Piasa. The furniture of the duo Guillerme & Chambron adorned the interiors of the good bourgeoisie of the North of France. Totally forgotten, it came out of purgatory when creators like Philippe Starck used it in renovations of prestigious hotels. It remains inexpensive: armchairs sell for between 2,000 and 5,000 euros, sideboards for less than 5,000 euros and small nesting tables between 1,500 and 3,000 euros. And we can make the same observation for the other designers, Pierre Guariche and Pierre Chapo remaining among the most expensive since it costs 10,000 euros for a beautiful piece.
Auctions, clearance sales or flea markets
It’s not particularly difficult to find these nuggets, as long as you take your time. First of all, you have to locate the design auctions which are held throughout the year, everywhere in France, by reading for example La Gazette Drouot. Some houses like Piasa in Paris specialize in these sales. We also have to keep an eye on provincial companies because if you like Guillerme & Chambron, sales often take place in Hauts-de-France, the region where most of their furniture is found.
Other avenues to favor are the Puces de Saint-Ouen and design in Paris, or the canal in Lyon-Villeurbanne, the good flea markets as well as the flea market in Lille or the Grande réderie in Amiens, where you can discover beautiful pieces. Finally, those who have the means, because the prices are high, will go to PAD – Paris Art Design – next spring, this prestigious show bringing together all the major specialized gallery owners.