The first "Greek taste" furniture in France, made in 1756 and 1757 to designs by Jean-François de Neufforge (1714-1791) and Jean-Charles Delafosse (1734-1791), was massive, rectangular and heavily decorated, with gilded columns, friezes and hanging garlands.
 However, soon afterwards the royal cabinet maker Jean-Francois Oeben produced much lighter and more graceful works for Louis XV and Madame Pompadour.
 These were a hybrid of the curves of rococo with the right angles of neoclassicism.
The chairs had curving à cabriolet legs and cartouche-shaped backs, combined with neoclassic garlands and friezes.
Oeben refurnished Versailles and other royal palaces with innovative new kinds of furniture;  the cylinder, or roll-top desk; the table with a mechanical writing surface that could be raised; and the drop-front desk.

After the death of Oeben, his place was taken by two of his disciples, Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806) (who married Oeben's widow); and Jean-François Leleu.
 Riesener and Leleu produced furniture with superb wood-inlay, or marquetry,  often in floral designs; and cabinets of mahogany decorated with glided bronze floral decor and column legs.

In Louis XVI furniture, particularly in the 1780s, the furniture styles became lighter, more geometric, and more simply ornamented, following the tastes of Marie Antoinette.
The leading French designers during this period were Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené (1748-1803) and Georges Jacob (1739-1814).
 At the very end of the reign of Louis XVI, Sené and Jacob were producing highly original and imaginative forms, including chairs with lyre-shaped carved wooden backs and the "Etruscan chair", a type conceived by the painter Hubert Robert for the fantasy "rural hamlet" of Marie-Antoinette at Versailles.
The ornament on the chair, which remained popular long after the period ended, was borrowed from ancient Grecian vases.

The furniture craft was upended by the French Revolution; the aristocratic clients fled, and the furniture of the royal palaces was sold in enormous auctions; a large part went abroad.
 One positive development for furniture-makers was the abolition of the old guild rules; after 1791 the makers of furniture frames could collaborate with those who did the marquetry inlay.
 The Etruscan taste disappeared, but the neoclassic style flourished under the French Directory (1793–99), the French Consulate (1799-1804), and the Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The last leading furniture designer for Louis XVI, Georges Jacob, formed a new firm with his two brothers, and, between 1796 and 1803,  became the most prominent designer of the later neoclassical period.
 He made an effort to find classical forms that were more authentic.
 The type of Greek chair called the klismos became especially popular; Jacob produced a variety of neoclassical divans and stools, as well as the Lit de Repos, or day bed, which appeared in Jacques-Louis David's portrait of Madame Recamier.
 Another popular form was the folding stool, modeled after those that were used in Roman army encampments.
 After Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798, Egyptian designs, in stylized geometric form, appeared on furniture.
 Gilded bronze ornaments of extremely fine craftsmanship were made in Paris workshops and exported to the royal houses of Europe.
 The continual European wars and blockades made it difficult to import exotic woods, and sometimes local woods such as lemon trees were used; mahogany remained the choice for prestige furniture.
The master furniture craftsmen of the late Empire style included Bernard Molitor, who made the furniture for the Chateau of Saint Cloud, and
the architects Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, who made furniture as authentic as possible to Greek and Roman models for the residences of Napoleon and for clients of the new Napoleonic aristocracy.
The first "Greek taste" furniture in France, made in 1756 and 1757 to designs by Jean-François de Neufforge (1714-1791) and Jean-Charles Delafosse (1734-1791), was massive, rectangular and heavily decorated, with gilded columns, friezes and hanging garlands.  However, soon afterwards the royal cabinet maker Jean-Francois Oeben produced much lighter and more graceful works for Louis XV and Madame Pompadour.  These were a hybrid of the curves of rococo with the right angles of neoclassicism. The chairs had curving à cabriolet legs and cartouche-shaped backs, combined with neoclassic garlands and friezes. Oeben refurnished Versailles and other royal palaces with innovative new kinds of furniture;  the cylinder, or roll-top desk; the table with a mechanical writing surface that could be raised; and the drop-front desk.
After the death of Oeben, his place was taken by two of his disciples, Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806) (who married Oeben's widow); and Jean-François Leleu.  Riesener and Leleu produced furniture with superb wood-inlay, or marquetry,  often in floral designs; and cabinets of mahogany decorated with glided bronze floral decor and column legs.
In Louis XVI furniture, particularly in the 1780s, the furniture styles became lighter, more geometric, and more simply ornamented, following the tastes of Marie Antoinette. The leading French designers during this period were Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené (1748-1803) and Georges Jacob (1739-1814).  At the very end of the reign of Louis XVI, Sené and Jacob were producing highly original and imaginative forms, including chairs with lyre-shaped carved wooden backs and the "Etruscan chair", a type conceived by the painter Hubert Robert for the fantasy "rural hamlet" of Marie-Antoinette at Versailles. The ornament on the chair, which remained popular long after the period ended, was borrowed from ancient Grecian vases.
The furniture craft was upended by the French Revolution; the aristocratic clients fled, and the furniture of the royal palaces was sold in enormous auctions; a large part went abroad.  One positive development for furniture-makers was the abolition of the old guild rules; after 1791 the makers of furniture frames could collaborate with those who did the marquetry inlay.  The Etruscan taste disappeared, but the neoclassic style flourished under the French Directory (1793–99), the French Consulate (1799-1804), and the Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte.
The last leading furniture designer for Louis XVI, Georges Jacob, formed a new firm with his two brothers, and, between 1796 and 1803,  became the most prominent designer of the later neoclassical period.  He made an effort to find classical forms that were more authentic.  The type of Greek chair called the klismos became especially popular; Jacob produced a variety of neoclassical divans and stools, as well as the Lit de Repos, or day bed, which appeared in Jacques-Louis David's portrait of Madame Recamier.  Another popular form was the folding stool, modeled after those that were used in Roman army encampments.  After Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798, Egyptian designs, in stylized geometric form, appeared on furniture.  Gilded bronze ornaments of extremely fine craftsmanship were made in Paris workshops and exported to the royal houses of Europe.  The continual European wars and blockades made it difficult to import exotic woods, and sometimes local woods such as lemon trees were used; mahogany remained the choice for prestige furniture. The master furniture craftsmen of the late Empire style included Bernard Molitor, who made the furniture for the Chateau of Saint Cloud, and
the architects Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, who made furniture as authentic as possible to Greek and Roman models for the residences of Napoleon and for clients of the new Napoleonic aristocracy.
Neoclassicism in France