Disclaimer. Collectalia is not a legal, tax or insurance advice site. The information on this page is general and based on French legislation in force as of 09/11/2026: it may change, does not necessarily apply outside France and does not take your situation into account. Always have it checked by a notary, a lawyer, an accountant or your insurer before acting on it.
Key points
- For a designer piece of furniture, the publisher and the year of production matter as much as the name of the creator.
- A reissue is not a period edition: always note which one you own.
- Attribution rests on markings, documents and provenance, to be kept with the piece.
Vintage design furniture: what to keep track of
A chair, a lamp, a coffee table: vintage design furniture lives in the home, it is used, it is moved. That is what makes it hard to follow as a collection. A designer light may have been rewired, a seat reupholstered, a top replaced. For each piece, record the same information.
- The designer and the model: name, reference, year of design.
- The publisher and the year of production: period edition or reissue, original publisher or under licence.
- The materials: wood, metal, leather, fabric, glass, and their finish.
- The markings: labels, stamps, plates, numbers.
- The condition: restorations, replaced parts, rewiring.
Publisher, reissue and attribution
Many famous models were produced for decades, by one or several successive publishers. A period piece, an authorised reissue and a copy can look very much alike. The attribution to a designer rests on a body of clues: markings, manufacturing details, period documents, publisher’s catalogues, provenance. Note on the record where each piece of information comes from (invoice, expert, catalogue): a sourced attribution is worth more than an assertion.
For important pieces, a certificate or a written expert report is valuable. Store it with the record, and photograph the markings as soon as you buy: they fade or peel off over time.
What a designer furniture record contains
| Field | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Designer, model, year of design | Identify the piece. |
| Publisher, year of production | Tell a period edition from a reissue. |
| Materials and finishes | Describe the piece and spot a variant. |
| Markings, signature, inscriptions | The markers of attribution. |
| Dimensions, weight, number of elements | Prepare transport; check a complete set. |
| Condition, restorations, maintenance costs | Track what has been redone, and at what cost. |
| Provenance, publications, certificate, invoices | Prove origin and support the attribution. |
| Location | Know in which house, which room each piece of furniture is. |
Missing a piece of information specific to your pieces? Custom fields let you add it, for example a publisher’s catalogue number.
Value and insurance
Designer furniture is often insured as ordinary furniture, and therefore poorly. Tell your insurer about the valuable pieces, with photos, invoice and valuation. To have a piece valued, prepare a file as you would for a painting: our guide preparing a valuation applies largely to design. Keep the successive valuations: the value of design pieces changes.
Succession
In an estate, the boundary between ordinary household furnishings (meuble meublant) and collectors’ items matters: furnishings fall within the 5% flat-rate allowance for furnishings, while works of art and collectors’ items are excluded from it. For a designer chair, the classification is discussed case by case with the notary (notaire). An inventory that documents the designer, publisher, year and provenance helps them decide and prevents an important piece from going with the rest of the furniture.
Photos from your phone and sharing
Photograph each piece from the front, the side and the back, then the markings, the joinery and the defects. To offer a piece to a buyer or submit it to an expert, share a selection through a password-protected link. For all your works, see the art inventory page.
With Collectalia
Collectalia inventories your designer furniture and lights: one record per piece with designer, publisher, model, years of design and production, materials, markings, dimensions, provenance and certificates, photos taken from your phone by scanning a QR code, restoration costs, successive valuations and location by house and by room. Custom fields, insurance policies with a reminder before renewal, a Succession module and free read-only access. Free trial.
Disclaimer. Collectalia is not a legal, tax or insurance advice site. The information on this page is general and based on French legislation in force as of 09/11/2026: it may change, does not necessarily apply outside France and does not take your situation into account. Always have it checked by a notary, a lawyer, an accountant or your insurer before acting on it.