About Moissonnier

Moissonnier luxuriates in the best woods. French native species sourced from sustainably managed woodlands, including oak, walnut, cherry, beech, lime and checker tree wood. Each log is patiently seasoned in the workshop before being selected to become a solid component of a piece of furniture or high-quality detailing. Often sourced from much further afield, burr elm, burr walnut, ebony and boxwood are used in the form of veneers applied using traditional marquetry techniques.

Gently iconoclastic, Moisonnier marries the touch of wood with the visual vibrancy of colour. Its range of colours is incomparable. It coins names ranging from the noble to deliciously indulgent to delight the forms of the past by giving them a totally contemporary vitality.

Moissonnier sees every piece of furniture as a surface for artistic expression. Its painted decoration transcends the object. It draws us into prolifically imaginative worlds. Delicately applied by hand, its inspiration may evoke the eternal spirit of China, the Mexico of Frida Kahlo or even summer in Palm Springs. There is no limit to the potential of line, stroke and colour.

The EPV label marks national recognition of French companies whose traditional skills perpetuate the living heritage. Moissonnier brings those skills together within a unified culture of innovation. By combining colours, paint finishes and details the cabinetmaker reinvents the heritage of form to interpret it for today’s world.

A touch of haute couture, a soupçon of audacy and a sip from the cup of history. Moissonnier remixes French and even European heritage. With its roots in the history of furniture, the company launches new fashion trends with furniture evolved for a lifestyle that is deeply knowledgeable, modern and always exceptionally inspired.

The template is to the cabinetmaker what the pattern is to the tailor. In its quest for the most beautiful forms of French and European furniture, Moissonnier has amassed an enormous collection of templates taken from historic styles. Its craftsmen are able to use these templates to recreate the precise proportions of these pieces, or evolve them to respond unendingly to the most beautiful and architectural styles.

Haute couture runway shows are a continually reinvented source of inspiration for Moissonnier. The cabinetmaker-designer draws on these glittering events not only for patterns and colours, but also for the choice of fabrics to be used in order to match its flagship pieces to the look of every new season.

Moissonnier covers the world. 80% of its sales are made in international markets, and the brand has showrooms in Paris, Moscow, Shanghai and Seoul. 

A dresser covered with denim, stickers from the other side of the world or flashy colours: energy is an important part of Moissonnier style, and one that brings joy to the heart of the Happy Few. 

Never less than eclectic, Moissonnier style builds bridges between the decorative arts and designer fashion. At the crossroads of style, every piece is itself a new source of inspiration ready to dialogue with a multitude of trends.

The Moissonnier stamp is the very imprint of French luxury. Achieved through a combination of painstaking expertise and constantly renewed creativity, it conveys a particular lifestyle that prefers sophisticated detail to gratuitous ostentation.

Moissonnier pieces are designed and crafted entirely in Bourg-en-Bresse,  South East of France using carefully selected materials sourced nationally, wherever possible. Because they have total control over their own production, the workshops of Moissonnier are able to offer an extremely responsive service and maintain an exceptional level of quality down to the finest detail.

In addition to the colours that have come to characterise Moissonnier style, the company also produces pieces that celebrate the natural beauty of the finest woods, such as walnut, oak and cherry, waxed or stripped with real care. Similarly, when it comes to creating its patinas, Moissonnier searches for effects that mimic the work of time to convey the feeling of ageing that is both charming and spontaneous in equal measure.

Sculpture and bronze details cast using the lost wax method, perhaps gilded, silvered or oxidised, are just some examples of the ornamentation that puts the precious final touches to Moissonnier pieces, which also creates its own bespoke wooden details for architectural ornamentation.

One of the most distinctive trademarks of Moissonnier. Ever since the 1950s, the cabinetmaker has specialised in painted decoration and patinas that give its pieces the expression of authentic ageing. This expert work makes every piece unique and facilitates subtle gradations of colour and effects to create a level of charm associated with age.

The quality is in the detail. Dovetail joints are a clear sign of strong construction in a piece where components are united by a mechanical joint. Solidly interlocking with each other, their distinctive bird’s tail shape has given rise to their name. The birds that were referred to as doves in the Middle Ages are what we refer to today as swallows; a fact that reminds us of the centuries-old tradition of this technique.

Tasteful contrast lining is one of those details that gives Moissonnier pieces their unmistakable elegance. Rechampis is a technique that further enhances this quality through the choice of a background colour that will bring out the beauty of the sculpture or moulding applied to a piece.

Moissonnier expertise does not end with the creation of unique furniture pieces. Right around the world, the cabinetmaker delivers comprehensively bespoke interior decoration projects. In addition to furniture, panelling and other decorative features in wood, it works alongside fellow artisans and brands to define comfortable, personalised interiors with typically French touches.

Like the dovetail joint, mortise and tenon assembly is a traditional cabinetmaking technique. It is used exclusively with solid wood. Combining clean aesthetics with real strength, it delivers a particularly sophisticated finish.

Every Moissonnier piece is produced to order in response to the particular desires of individual clients. Their size, colour and patina are all adaptable, and every piece can be further personalised with exclusive paint finishes. Like every art object, they are individually distinctive for the subtle variations that make each piece unique.

This cherished finish demands expertise and patience in equal measure. An essential craft in the world of stringed instrument making, it gives antique furniture its characteristic soft shine. The technique involves a series of stages using ingredients as unexpected as shellac, which is made from a resin secreted by insects living in the forests of India and Thailand.

Just like an art piece, a Moissonnier furniture piece brings any interior decorative style together and takes it to another level. This ‘Wow’ effect is made possible only by pieces whose quality is instinctively perceptible.

In its constant quest for perfection that typifies the very best counterfeiters, Moissonnier takes care to reproduce the damage caused by wood-boring insects (xylophages) by creating the tiny holes seen in all antique furniture.

Moissonnier loves nothing better than a new twist. This aspect of its character is what makes the difference, amazes and delivers real emotion. Just like the zazous of Saint-Germain-des-Prés from whom the house borrows its chic extravagance.