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Environ Sofa

Ennio Chiggio 'Environ One' Sofa for Nikol International, Italy, 1970s
By Ennio Chiggio
Located in Melbourne, VIC
The Environ One Sofa by Ennio Chiggio for Nikol International, 1970, is a rare vintage piece of
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas

Materials

Wool

Environ Zero sofa by Ennio Chiggio for Nikol International, Italy, 1970's
By Ennio Chiggio
Located in Melbourne, VIC
Environ Zero sofa by Ennio Chiggio for Nikol International, Italy, 1970's. Newly Restored and
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas

Materials

Fabric

Rare Environ Tre Sculptural Sofa by Edoardo Landi, Gruppo N, Nikol, Italy 1971
By Edoardo Landi, Ennio Chiggio
Located in Den Haag, NL
Rare Sculptural sofa by Edoardo Landi for Nikol Internazionale, Italy 1971 With this sofa you not
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas

Materials

Fabric, Foam

Ennio Chiggio Floor lamp for LumenForm, Italy 1973.
By Lumenform, Ennio Chiggio
Located in Almelo, NL
multidisciplinary artist, sculptor, and designer famous for his Space Age lamps and Environ sofas. He was also known
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps

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Ennio Chiggio sofa, environ one , Nikol international , Italiy 70s
By Ennio Chiggio
Located in PARIS, FR
Canapé Ennio Chiggio environ one , italie , année 70 Tissu en Alpaga de chez Bisson Bruneel
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Canapes

Materials

Alpaca, Plastic, Foam

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Alberto Rosselli for Saporiti 'Confidential' Sofa
By Saporiti, Alberto Rosselli Saporiti
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Superb "Environ One" Sofa by Ennio Chiggio
By Ennio Chiggio
Located in Saint-Ouen (PARIS), FR
This "Environ One" sofa by Ennio Chiggio from 1969 has been totally reupholstered with a Dedar
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Superb "Environ One" Sofa by Ennio Chiggio
Superb "Environ One" Sofa by Ennio Chiggio
H 23.63 in W 112.6 in D 49.61 in
Ennio Chiggio, Environ One Sofa by Nikol International, 1970s
By Ennio Chiggio
Located in Lasne, BE
Sofa composed of two fabric elements and 6 cushions. Measures: Seat height 36cm.
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Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas

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Environ One sofa by Ennio Chiggio for Nikol International, 1970s
By Ennio Chiggio
Located in amstelveen, NL
Ennio Chiggio for Nikol Internazionale, Italy, 1970s This important canapé Environ One is designed
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Ennio Chiggio 'Environ Sofa' Gruppo N for Nikol, Italy, 1969
By Ennio Chiggio
Located in Den Haag, NL
Ennio Chiggio 'Environ sofa' Gruppo N for Nikol, Italy, 1969. Complete surrounding for
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Ennio Chiggio White Faux Leather 'Environ One' Sofa
By Ennio Chiggio
Located in Waalwijk, NL
your drinks or glasses. The sofa could be the centre piece of a modern living room. The couch consists
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Ennio Chiggio White Faux Leather 'Environ One' Sofa
Ennio Chiggio White Faux Leather 'Environ One' Sofa
H 24.41 in W 179.93 in D 125.99 in
Superstudio Group, Bazaar Sofa 1968 by Giovanetti, Italy
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Located in Munster, NRW
The first fiberglass sofa that can close like a spaceship - to be found in the Design collection of
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Ennio Chiggio for Nikol Internetional “Environ Zero” Sofa Modulae
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Sofa Ennio Chiggio For Nikol Total Original Fabric Original Big Sofa Prod. Nikol
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Amazing Ennio Chiggio "Environ One" Modular Sofa Nikol, Italy, 1970s
By Ennio Chiggio
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Beautiful and very rare Ennio Chiggio Environ One modular sofa for Nikol International, Italy
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A Close Look at Mid-Century Modern Furniture

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

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

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 celebrated 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.

Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. 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.

Finding the Right Seating for You

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.