A designer and ensemblier, Jules Leleu was one of the key authors of the Art Deco movement. While he did not win the fame of such contemporaries as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jean-Michel Frank, Leleu had a longer career and was easily their peer in the conception of trim, refined furniture forms and in the use of the opulent materials — from lacquer and ivory to sharkskin and exotic woods — that were a keynote of haute Art Deco design.
Leleu was born into a family of artisans and decorators. Their firm, Maison Leleu, had existed since the 18th century and Jules would guide it through much of the 20th. (The business lasted until 1973, headed at the end by Jules's children.) He studied architecture, served as an aviator in World War I, and after the conflict took up design full-time.
Leleu presented work at the 1925 exposition in Paris that gave us the term Art Deco, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York purchased a burl amboyna wood commode by Leleu directly from the show.
As the desks, dining tables and other furniture on 1stDibs show, Leleu was a stickler for precision craft and preferred to let his materials do the talking — his furniture is generally spare and sleek; its presence is established by figuring (or patterning/graining) in the wood and the occasional marquetry medallion. He had a keen eye for currents in design and an adaptable sensibility.
Maison Leleu would embrace many of the starker forms of modernism after the 1940s, as well as new materials such as artificial lacquer and plastics (then considered cutting-edge rather than cheap). Jules Leleu is a guiding light of 20th-century modernism: a man whose work represents both a devotion to traditional handiwork and an appreciation for the next wave in design.
Find Jules Leleu tables, sideboards, dining chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Plaisance Console Table, by Bourgeois Boheme Atelier
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Art Deco inspired console table. Steel frame with a gun metal patina and brass accents. The top has an exceptional marble top. Black, grey with blue and silver crystalized marble. Cu...
Marble
$15,000 / item
H 32 in W 60 in D 18 in
Quinet Console Table by Lance Thompson, Hand-Crafted Metal & Wood
By Lance Thompson
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Made to order 'Quinet' console & end tables Hand made metal base, ebonized wood top Measures: H: 32 D: 18 W: 60 inches This console & table in stock.
Metal
Elegant, Stone and Metal "Classic" Console Table, Parisii Collection
Located in Del Mar, CA
Classic Console Table: A study in quiet elegance, the Classic Coin Console Table bridges antiquity and modern living. Its proportions-72" wide, 18" deep, and 30" high-create a strik...
Granite, Marble, Brass, Bronze, Iron
Console table by Peter Ghyczy, 1970s
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Rare brass console table designed by Peter Ghyczy. Ghyczy is known for his bronze/brass tables with integrating the glass in the design as subtile as possible. Timeless design. G...
Brass
$8,291
H 29.73 in W 48.04 in D 9.65 in
Rectangular console table in steel and brass. Contemporary work.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Rectangular console table in gunmetal-colored polished steel, with a patinated brass top in a gradient finish, on a steel base finished with brushed gold brass feet. Contemporary wo...
Brass
Console Table by Gentner Design
By Christopher Gentner
Located in Geneve, CH
Console table by Gentner Design Dimensions: D 177.8 x W 37.5 x H 85 cm Materials: brass, glass Part of Christopher Gentner's 2018 Fraction Collection, the console table combines mul...
Brass
Vertigo Console Table by Memoir Essence
Located in Geneve, CH
Vertigo Console Table by Memoir Essence Dimensions: D 50 x W 150 x H 90 cm. Materials: Brushed brass and lacquer. Vertigo console presents a com...
Brass
Altus Hall Table by Lost Profile Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Altus Hall Table by Lost Profile Studio Dimensions: W 180 x D 40 x H 90 cm Materials: Brass, Aluminium (substrate under stone), Four Seasons Quart...
Brass, Aluminum, Other
$21,955Sale Price / item|20% Off
H 34.26 in W 70.87 in D 20.87 in
Partenon Console Table with Black Marble Central Top
Located in Paris, FR
Console table Partenon with black marble central top, Nero Marquina Marble. Top's frames are in black lacquered solid wood. Structure in polished brass.
Marble, Brass
Hollywood Regency Console Table
Located in Westwood, NJ
In a dark wood mink finish, the table brings sculptural elegance to refined interiors. Its waterfall-edge silhouette is accented with delicate diamond-pattern inlays across the top a...
Brass
Michael Taylor "Far East" Collection Console Table for Baker, 1960s
By Michael Taylor, Baker Far East Collection
Located in Palm Desert, CA
An exceptional and rare "Far East" console table designed by Michael Taylor for Baker Furniture, circa 1960s. Crafted in mahogany with a book matched Rosewood inlay, the piece exempl...
Mahogany
Italian Table in the Style of Guglielmo Ulrich
By Guglielmo Ulrich
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A wonderful example of Italian design. This table is composed of lacquered wood, black glass top, and brass accents. It would make a wonderful desk as seen in the last photo. In very...
Brass
Pair of Black Lacquered Neo Classic Style Consoles with Labradorite Tops
Located in Palm Desert, CA
This pair of neo classic style consoles feature a gorgeous slab of labradorite stone on each top. Known for its iridescent properties, the labradorite slabs on these consoles contain...
Granite, Brass
Specimen Marble Cocktail Table with a Custom Iron Base
Located in Palm Desert, CA
This table is comprised of multiple specimen marble squares measuring 1.75" X 1.75". The table top rests inset the base and is raised .75" from the base. The marble specimens represe...
Marble, Iron
French Iron and Marble Nesting Tables with Curved Bases
Located in Palm Desert, CA
This elegant set of French iron and marble nesting tables exemplifies refined European craftsmanship and timeless decorative appeal. The trio features richly veined marble tops in wa...
Marble, Iron
William Haines Modern Table with Tortoise Leather Wrapped Top and Modernist Base
By William Billy Haines
Located in Palm Desert, CA
This exceptional modern table by William Haines features a refined leather-wrapped top finished in a rich tortoise stain. Clean, architectural lines define the base, which exhibits a...
Leather, Mahogany
Since leaving Los Angeles, Patrick Dragonette is experiencing a new kind of creative freedom.
Mallery Roberts Morgan practices a singular brand of creative fluidity as a writer and a quietly influential interior designer.
