Brueton Habana

Initially known as Spanish Metal Arts — a supplier of fencing for stately homes on Long Island — the principals at New York furniture manufacturer Brueton were artistically minded from the start, ensuring that their furniture company would become a major player in the world of stylish, modern stainless steel-based design. The company’s sculptural glass-topped dining tables and vintage mid-century modern chrome-framed armchairs are welcome additions to any contemporary interior.

Brueton got its start with the Manufacturers Hanover Trust building in Manhattan. When award-winning architect Gordon Bunshaft of engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) was designing what would become a modernist marvel in the 1950s — a structure that traded sleek glass facades for the stone columns typically associated with banks — SOM worked with Spanish Metal Arts’s Bruno Saudino and Tony Vitale to furnish the property.

For Bruno and Tony, it marked the start of the aptly named Brueton — the pair produced understated side tables and seating made of glass and aluminum for SOM’s project. Revolutionary for its time, instead of traditional narrow windows, the Manufacturers Hanover Trust building was practically transparent — allowing passers-by to see the vault from the outside. (Celebrated photographer Ezra Stoller, who chronicled iconic New York buildings like Mies van der Rohe’s Seagram Building and the soaring silhouette of Eero Saarinen’s TWA Terminal, shot the building in 1954.)

Much like the material associated with so many of its offerings, Brueton built a reputation of being a strong, dependable and polished manufacturer. The brand worked with designers such as J. Wade Beam, who created cylindrical tables of polished chrome and exquisite marble mirrors during the 1970s, as well as Massimo and Lella Vignelli, a pair of innovative polymaths who ​​left a profound mark on design and wider visual culture.

On 1stDibs, find vintage Brueton case pieces and storage cabinets, tables and seating on 1stDibs.

With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.

Fortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture — since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors — has evolved considerably.

Among the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility.

The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest.

Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs.

With respect to the latest obsessions in design, cane seating has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, while bouclé fabric, a staple of modern furniture design, can be seen in mid-century modern, Scandinavian modern and Hollywood Regency furniture styles.

Admirers of the sophisticated craftsmanship and dark woods frequently associated with mid-century modern seating can find timeless furnishings in our expansive collection of lounge chairs, dining chairs and other items — whether they’re vintage editions or alluring official reproductions of iconic designs from the likes of Hans Wegner or from Charles and Ray Eames. Shop our inventory of Egg chairs, designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the Florence Knoll lounge chair and more.

No matter your style, the collection of unique chairs, sofas and other seating on 1stDibs is surely worthy of a standing ovation.