After studying under Théodore Devilly and Charles Pêtre at the École des Beaux-Arts in Nancy, Louis Majorelle was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1877, where he worked in the studio of the painter Aimé Millet. Two years later, the death of his father forced him to return to Nancy. Together with his brother Jules, he took over the family furniture and earthenware business. The history of the Majorelle company began with Auguste Majorelle, who opened a shop in Toul in 1858. He was both a decorator and a businessman. In 1860, wanting to be closer to his customers, Auguste Majorelle moved to rue des Dominicains in Nancy, where he opened a furniture and objets d'art shop.

When Auguste Majorelle died in 1879, his eldest son, Louis, took over the business alongside his mother. The shop was set up at 26 rue Saint-Georges in Nancy. For several years, Majorelle trained with his father's workers, which gave him a solid practical knowledge. In 1884, he became artistic director of Majorelle, which employed around twenty workers, while his mother ran the shop where he exhibited his first piece of furniture.

In 1885, he married Jeanne Kretz. Their only son, Jacques Majorelle, was born the following year.

At the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889, he was awarded a silver medal in the affordable and luxury furniture category. The following year, he set up a workshop devoted to metalwork.

In 1894, following a period of historically inspired production, Louis Majorelle replaced the varnished or painted decoration of Rococo and Japanese furniture with inlaid decor featuring naturalist and symbolist references. His stand at the decorative art exhibition at the Galeries Poirel in Nancy featured 12 pieces of furniture in the Louix XV, Louis XVI and Empire styles, as well as pieces of modern inspiration: a tabletop in pyrographed wood and the La Source table, designed by Jacques Gruber, and a piece of furniture created by Camille Gauthier. Known primarily for his cabinetmaking, Louis Majorelle developed a two-tiered furniture production: the first involved luxury furniture, manufactured in Nancy on rue du Vieil Aître, and the second, affordable mass-produced furniture, which from 1905 onwards was produced in Pierre Majorelle's workshops in Bouxières, near Nancy, under the name Peltier, Misserey et Cie.

In 1897, Lucien Weissenburger built his workshops on rue du Vieil Aître in Nancy. Metalwork was developed in his workshops for the bronzes that adorned the furniture, as well as for the lighting fixtures in collaboration with Daum from 1898. That same year, Majorelle collaborated for the first time with Henri Sauvage on the furnishings and decoration of the Café de Paris (avenue de l'Opéra, Paris). Majorelle called on Sauvage again for the construction of Villa Jika - or Villa Majorelle - which began in 1901.

At the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900, Louis Majorelle was a member of the jury for his category. One of his exhibits was the water lily furniture set (mobilier aux nenuphars, Musée de l'École de Nancy).

When the École de Nancy association was officially founded in 1901, Louis Majorelle was one of its vice-presidents.

He had his ceramics published in various workshops in the Lorraine region and produced models of stoneware objects for Alphonse Cytère (Rambervillers) and the Mougin brothers.

His many activities led him to open a number of showrooms, notably in Paris, Lyon, Lille, Oran and Algiers.

In 1916, bombing destroyed the shops and workshops in Nancy, as well as part of the Villa Majorelle. Louis moved to Paris and took up painting again, attending the Académie Julian and working with metal. During this period, he created cloisonné glassware in collaboration with Antonin Daum and began rebuilding his Nancy workshops despite the threat of persistent bombing.

Louis Majorelle died in 1926. His brother, Jules, took over the administrative management of the Majorelle company and the artistic direction was taken over by Alfred Levy, a loyal collaborator of the company since 1888 when he joined as a decorator. The shop on rue Saint-Georges closed in 1951 and the workshops ceased trading five years later.