• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Atelier Viollet

Custom Furniture Design specializing in exotic materials and rare wood.

  • Portfolio
    • Materials
      • Gypsum
      • Horn
      • Lacquer
      • Mica
      • Parchment
      • Shagreen
      • Straw Marquetry
      • Wood Veneers
    • Furniture Types
      • Sideboards
      • Coffee & Side Tables
      • Cabinets & Armoires
      • Consoles
      • Dining Tables
      • Desks
      • Screens
      • Beds
    • Interiors
    • Collections
      • Gotham Collection
      • Williamsburg Collection
      • Charpente Collection
      • Seyssel Collection
      • Palmwood Collection
    • Awards
    • Sample Library
    • Care & Maintenance
      • Gypsum
      • Horn
      • Lacquer
      • Mica
      • Parchment
      • Shagreen
      • Straw Marquetry
      • Wood Veneers
  • Profile
    • Viollet Family Tradition
    • Jean-Paul Viollet
    • The Process
    • Workshop
  • Blog
  • Designer Collaborators
  • Press
  • Contact
    • Workshop Information
    • Quote Request
    • Employment Inquiries
  • Portfolio
    • Materials
      • Gypsum
      • Horn
      • Lacquer
      • Mica
      • Parchment
      • Shagreen
      • Straw Marquetry
      • Wood Veneers
    • Furniture Types
      • Sideboards
      • Coffee & Side Tables
      • Cabinets & Armoires
      • Consoles
      • Dining Tables
      • Desks
      • Screens
      • Beds
    • Interiors
    • Collections
      • Gotham Collection
      • Williamsburg Collection
      • Charpente Collection
      • Seyssel Collection
      • Palmwood Collection
    • Awards
    • Sample Library
    • Care & Maintenance
      • Gypsum
      • Horn
      • Lacquer
      • Mica
      • Parchment
      • Shagreen
      • Straw Marquetry
      • Wood Veneers
  • Profile
    • Viollet Family Tradition
    • Jean-Paul Viollet
    • The Process
    • Workshop
  • Blog
  • Designer Collaborators
  • Press
  • Contact
    • Workshop Information
    • Quote Request
    • Employment Inquiries

Introducing: The Charpente Collection

February 22, 2013 By Nicolas Viollet

“The French have a word for it!” And for the centuries-old craft of framing roofs, with no nails, screws, or glue of any kind, ˜Charpente‘ is that word. Instead, intricate mortise-and-tenon joinery holds an edifice together. Altogether unseen, each precision-cut form locks into its corresponding groove, resulting in an unshakable and long-lasting structure.

In the 19th century, Charpente reached its apogee. It was a time of incredible achievement and consummate mastery of the trade of woodworking. Charpente required not only the study of spatial geometry but a precise knowledge of wood’s extraordinary possibilities. Without it, the awesome Gothic churches, mansions, or sailing ships of the 1800’s could not have existed.

These self-same techniques, transformed into hand cut and hand assembled furniture, lie at the heart of Jean-Paul Viollet’s unequalled Charpente Collection.

charpente classic table

atelier viollet charpente collection

charpente tripod table

charpente star table

charpente console

charpente chairs

charpente stool

See the scale model versions of the Charpente Collection.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: 19th century, atelier viollet, Charpente, Charpente technique, Jean-Paul Viollet

Primary Sidebar

Jean-Paul Viollet

Jean-Paul Viollet Headshot

Jean-Paul Viollet has spent a lifetime mastering Art Deco design. All that labor is clearly reflected in his Brooklyn furniture showroom.

Click here to read his story.

Our Blog Archives

Access the complete Atelier Viollet Blog Archives.

Connect

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • pinterest
  • google

© Copyright Atelier Viollet, 2025. All rights reserved.
505 Driggs Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11211 • 718.782.1727 • MAIL@ATELIERVIOLLET.COM • Instagram
Site Design by Milton Glaser, Inc • Built by OfficeThug • Photography by Vincent Soyez


MENU
  • Portfolio
    • Materials
      • Gypsum
      • Horn
      • Lacquer
      • Mica
      • Parchment
      • Shagreen
      • Straw Marquetry
      • Wood Veneers
    • Furniture Types
      • Sideboards
      • Coffee & Side Tables
      • Cabinets & Armoires
      • Consoles
      • Dining Tables
      • Desks
      • Screens
      • Beds
    • Interiors
    • Collections
      • Gotham Collection
      • Williamsburg Collection
      • Charpente Collection
      • Seyssel Collection
      • Palmwood Collection
    • Awards
    • Sample Library
    • Care & Maintenance
      • Gypsum
      • Horn
      • Lacquer
      • Mica
      • Parchment
      • Shagreen
      • Straw Marquetry
      • Wood Veneers
  • Profile
    • Viollet Family Tradition
    • Jean-Paul Viollet
    • The Process
    • Workshop
  • Blog
  • Designer Collaborators
  • Press
  • Contact
    • Workshop Information
    • Quote Request
    • Employment Inquiries