Interior design has taken center stage over these past few years. Before the proven ability for mass-remote living, the home was… taken for granted? Not by everyone, let’s be clear, but with the lingering air of home confinement and the shadowing fear of housing insecurity, the craft of making a home out of blank space is a privileged activity that everyone wants to be participating in right now. Whether acquiring furniture is in the budget or you are simply in the market for daydreamy inspiration, there is no one more equipped to satisfy the desire than Montreal vintage retailer, Le Centeriece. The philosophy and collections found at Le Centerpiece truly deserve a spot at the center of every interior enthusiast’s vision board. The store was founded in December of 2020 by current curator Julie Johnson and former partner Jade Moison. Four years of Le Centerpiece has garnered an international following, home furnishing stock, and Le Centerpiece sustainably sourced original pieces.
The name is a nod to the Soriana-style pouf chair that Johnson purchased from the now-closed store, Reixue. The piece was the starting point, the centerpiece, of her apartment. Johnson’s obsession with interior design grew when she found herself with a new apartment (post-break-up), a blank space, and a pouf. With an educational background in graphic design and a long-time personal pursuit of fashion, styling and fitting together art within a blank space was not a new concept for Johnson. It started with this pouf, this centerpiece for her interior styling direction. She designed the interiors of her apartment around that single object and it prompted the foundational philosophy of Le Centerpiece: That beginning to build the interiors of your home with a single object, a centerpiece, is the easiest and best way to approach crafting the home. “You have a blank canvas, and then you have one thing and you have everything else orbit around it” (eastroom 2023). In short, Le Centerpiece is in the market of designing universes.
When curating the collections, Johnson tries to remain eclectic, placing pieces together that may not have been considered by her clients, allowing both shoppers and Le Centerpiece-obsessed window shoppers alike to understand the true heart of taking singular items of furniture and crafting one’s home. The collections vary. There is a revolving theme of Mid-Century Modernism but also an eclectic take on styles and expressions. Some collections that have graced the store come with subdued textures and colours, others have been angular and futuristic. There have been curations that inspire open windows on a warm day and curations that evoke nights illuminated by the toasty glow of a wood fireplace. In a resellers market where anyone can source pre-owned pieces on their own, it is the discernible dedication to authenticity and impressive curation from Johnson that makes Le Centerpiece stand apart from its competitors.
Le Centerpiece, like many 2020 businesses, began its journey with a mostly digital community. Johnson has expressed in previous interviews that shopping for vintage furniture can often be disillusioning. The spaces of the store in person and the pieces being sold in person can often look drastically different than what is styled for buyers online. It is the vein of the digital landscape, truly, however, Le Centerpiece (though finding its origins in e-commerce) is immensely concerned with the real-life experience of furniture. The sourcing for Le Centerpiece begins with diligent research. Knowing the designers and their signatures down to the most minute ornament or figure leads to thorough authentication which is paramount to what Le Centerpiece offers to its clients. From collectors’ donations, estate sales, and online bids, the sourcing of vintage furniture requires skill, taste, and knowledge – qualities that Johnson thrives on. Quality supersedes designer pieces at every moment. Sticking to elements with high levels of craftsmanship is paramount.
There is always a focus on comfortability – furniture that can be lived in, not tip-toed around, or positioned like artifacts that make a museum out of the home. Le Centerpiece wants seats that can be lounged in by their owners, tables that can be cluttered, and shelves that can be stocked. This promise of quality, unique, and authenticated furniture that you can also build a home with is a refreshing approach to interior design. When so much of current interior design in the digital age is built around core trends and ephemeral aesthetics that favour virality, upholding functionality is the sustainable and pragmatic design ethos that really sets Le Centerpiece apart as a forerunner in vintage furniture retail.
Hannah Verina White is a Montreal and Toronto-based writer. She has a deep love for the melodramatic and nostalgic, both of which influence the way she writes and the subjects she chooses to write about.