Guillerme et Chambron

This pair of midcentury, polished light oak reading tables by the celebrated French designer Robert Guillerme, was created as part of a line of design he produced for the company Votre Maison. Features a built-in lamp and ceramic tile top executed by Boleslaw Danikowski.

Guillerme placed equal emphasis on function and aesthetics, creating an aesthetic as staid as it was arresting. While his work was in many ways distinctively conservative and recognizable from project to project, both in form as well as in medium—his wood of choice, waxed oak, was often either lightened or darkened to the same few tones—Guillerme’s pieces also possessed an unusual flair. He incorporated elaborately detailed tiles and unusually bright fabrics, both of which could be used interchangeably in a variety of pieces.