Get inspired by Shagreen furniture

Classical designs, whether art deco or 1970s, exude an exotic opulence when clad in this tactile finish. The Blog Buffets and Cabinets is going to show you Shagreen furniture. We bet you are going to love it!

Get inspied by Shagreen furniture — A 1970s Maitland-Smith stone-veneered cabinet, £17,000, from Talisman

If a single material can be the essence of art deco-style extravagance, it’s shagreen. What’s the firstaspect that makes it unique? It uses unusual materials that you have neverdreamd of such as skin of sharks and rays, shagreen that can be polished to the finish of plaster or tinted to showcase its stippled patina of round “denticles”.

The hands of an exceptionally skilled craftsman can turn to clad furniture, from beds to desks. Shagreen rose to prominence as a luxury finish in Europe in the 18th century, but the tactile material’s greatest hits were composed later, by designers of the 20th century: art-deco stars such as Jean-Michel Frank and his aesthetic heir Karl Springer. These are the pieces for which collectors are angling.

A 1970s Karl Springer Regency chair with silk upholstery, sold by Todd Merrill for about $15,000 | Image: Todd Merrill 20th Century.

Since we are talking about unusual material, we also would like to present you D. Heritage Cabinet which is made with tiles. Heavily inspired in Portuguese history and culture, the Dom Heritage is a cross between two of Boca do Lobo’s most iconic design pieces, keeping the form of the Dom Manuel cabinet, with the use of the tiles finish found on the Heritage pieces.

See also: The Fly Cabinet of Andrea Felice