Mid-Century Modern Lighting

MID-CENTURY MODERN STYLE

Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.

ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Emerged during the mid-20th century
Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
A heyday of innovation in postwar America
Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
Promotion of functionality

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

Charles and Ray Eames
Eero Saarinen
Milo Baughman
Florence Knoll
Harry Bertoia
Isamu Noguchi
George Nelson
Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa

ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.

Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.

Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.

Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.

The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.

As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.

Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.

As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.

Style: Mid-Century Modern

Creator: Kalmar Lighting

Kalmar Frosted Square Glass Wall Lights, Austria, 1970

By Kalmar Lighting, J.T. Kalmar

Located in Bronx, NY

Pair of wall lights by Kalmar Austria 1970s white back plates one piece of glass shade with a structure to the glass, two chrome fittings, two candelabra socket each.

Category

Late 20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Materials

Metal

Kalmar Frosted Square Glass Wall Lights, Austria, 1970

Stunning Brass, Crystal Glass Light Fixture Floria, Kalmar, Austria, 1970

Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Late 20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Kalmar Frosted Square Glass Wall Lights, Austria, 1970

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stunning Brass, Crystal Glass Light Fixture Floria, Kalmar, Austria, 1970

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Large Murano Ice Glass Flushmount by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stunning Gilt Brass, Crystal Glass Light Fixture Palazzo, Kalmar, Austria, 1970

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Pair of Large Kalmar Crystal Glass Sconces Wall Lights, Austria, 1970s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1 of 5 Large Tulipan Glass Chandelier by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Large Kalmar Square Flushmount Murano Organic Glass, Austria, 1960s

Late 20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Midcentury Kalmar Ice Glass Chandelier and 2 Wall Mount Lamps, 1960s

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Murano Glass Ceiling Light from Kalmar, 1960s

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Colorful Ultra Swanky Kalmar Ice Glass Chandelier, Austria, 1970

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Pendant by Kalmar Austria Structured Glass Aluminium, Vienna, 1960s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1 of 5 Large Tulipan Glass Chandelier by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stunning Gilt Brass, Crystal Glass Light Fixture Palazzo, Kalmar, Austria, 1970

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1 of 4 Pairs of Large Kalmar Wall Lights Murano Glass by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1 of 3 Pairs of Kalmar Sconces Wall lights, Austria, 1960s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Large Catena Ceiling Fixture with Murano Glasses by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Huge Kalmar 'Granada' Chandelier Flush Mount Light Brass Glass 1970, One of Four

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stunning Gilt Brass, Murano Glass Chandelier Palazzo, Kalmar, Austria, 1970s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1 of 2 Huge Murano Glass Flushmount by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1 of 4 Large Austrian Textured Glass Wall Lights or Sconces by JT Kalmar c. 1955

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Pair of Murano Ice Glass Pendants by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1 of 6 Large Glass Wall Light Designed by Carlo Nason for Kalmar, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1 of 3 Huge Murano Glass Flush Mount by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1of 2 Large Kalmar Flushmount Lights, Austria, 1970s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Murano Glass Pendant Light Chome Designed, Carlo Nason for Kalmar, Catena, Aust

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1 of 3 Huge Murano Glass Flushmount by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Pair of Kalmar Sconces Flush Mount Lights 'RS 6 WA', Glass Brass, 1970

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

One of the Three Brass Kalmar Modern Ice Glass Pedants, 1970

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Large Murano Ice Glass Flushmount by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Pair of Large Kalmar Sconces Wall Lights 'Palazzo', Austria, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Pair of Large Kalmar Sconces Wall Lights, Austria, 1960s

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

A Kalmar Midcentury Height-Adjustable Counterweight Pendant Lamp, Austria, 1950s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

One of Two Height Adjustable Kalmar Brass Floor Lamps 'Cavador' No. 2098, 1960

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

J. T. Kalmar floor lamp Vienna circa 1950s with original shades

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Pair of Large Kalmar Sconces Wall Lights 'Palazzo', Austria, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1 of 3 Pairs of Large Kalmar Sconces Wall Lights, Austria, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1 of 3 Huge Murano Glass Flush Mount by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1 of 3 Huge Murano Glass Flushmount by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stunning Gilt Brass, Murano Glass Light Fixture Palazzo, Kalmar, Austria, 1970

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting