Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Known to collectors for his strict adherence to quality with respect to the furniture he manufactured or imported for sale, designer and entrepreneur Maurice Villency brought the highest standards of excellence into his stores. He created and built his own furniture in a loft studio in Manhattan and eventually opened a handful of retail outlets in the New York metro area that offered sleek and stylish furnishings from all over the world.
Villency is among the small business owners that helped introduce the Scandinavian modern style to the United States during the postwar era, when tastemakers really sold Americans on the earthier, homier aspects of Scandinavian design.
Villency also imported pieces from French, Italian and Belgian designers and proudly promoted their fine wares in the showrooms of his four stores. Additional Villency family-owned stores were eventually established and traded under the name Preferred Seating.
Villency was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father was a cabinetmaker, and when he was 15, his family moved to the U.S. and settled in New York State. At 19, Villency moved to New York City and began working for the Pullman Couch Company.
Villency showed great skill in his work, quickly becoming the plant manager — and later head designer – for the furniture company. In the early 1930s, Pullman moved their entire operations to Chicago, and Villency chose to stay behind. Determined to follow his own path, Villency opened a workshop on 8th Street in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood and found increasing success.
Like the Danish cabinetmakers he so admired, Villency designed chairs and other pieces and worked with fine woods such as teak, a sought-after material among mid-century modern designers. Early on, he made an impression with a sectional sofa he designed, and he would later tout the versatile appeal of sectional sofas and other modular furniture in full-page print ads for his retail locations. On a good day, a prospective buyer could stroll into Maurice Villency and find designs by French brand Roche Bobois, Danish manufacturer Farsø Stolefabrik, American modernist Milo Baughman and more.
Maurice’s company eventually came to be called Villency Design Group and today, his grandson Eric Villency — who works in product design, interiors and more — is CEO.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Maurice Villency tables, storage pieces and seating.
1970s American Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Rosewood, Lacquer
1970s Danish Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Metal
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Teak
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1950s French Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Tulipwood
1950s French Louis Philippe Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Kingwood
2010s American Modern Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Cane, Oak
2010s American Modern Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Oak
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Chrome
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Chrome
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Rosewood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Aluminum
1960s Norwegian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Rosewood, Masonite
1970s Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Burl, Leather
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Teak
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Teak
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Teak
20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Chrome
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Rosewood
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Steel, Chrome
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Maurice Villency Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Teak