Founders Furniture Company On Sale
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Stools
Faux Leather, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Wicker, Wood
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Rosewood
20th Century American Modern End Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Game Tables
Steel
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
Vintage 1960s American Club Chairs
Aluminum
People Also Browsed
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Teak, Glass
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Glass, Teak
2010s South African Minimalist Night Stands
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers an...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Brutalist Night Stands
Oak
2010s Modern Tables
Hardwood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Machine Age Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Textile, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Credenzas
Hardwood
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery, Wood
Vintage 1970s French Stools
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Glass, Teak
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Industrial and Work Tables
Wood
2010s American Table Lamps
Brass
Recent Sales
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Metal, Steel, Aluminum
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Side Tables
Brass
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel, Chrome
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks
Steel
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Wood
Late 20th Century Credenzas
Late 20th Century Canadian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Teak
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Metal
Founders Furniture Company On Sale For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Founders Furniture Company On Sale?
Founders Furniture Company for sale on 1stDibs
Founders Furniture Company was a short-lived 20th-century American brand that produced enduring mid-century modern designs. The company's streamlined dressers, lounge chairs and coffee tables feature solid wood construction and simple but elegant designs.
The history of Founders Furniture Company began in 1946 when it was established as a subsidiary of Knoll Inc., an esteemed manufacturer known mainly at the time for its pioneering workplace furniture — largely owing to the work of visionary designer Florence Knoll — so it launched Founders as its residential division.
During its years of operation, Founders hired celebrated American modernist designers like Milo Baughman and David Parmelee, who created sleek commodes and sideboards in mahogany and rosewood for the brand. Michigan native Jack Cartwright, a designer at Heritage during the 1950s, also worked at Founders as head designer before moving on to start his eponymous furniture company in 1963.
Founders continued operations until 1965 when Thomasville Furniture acquired it. Established in 1904 in North Carolina — home to other iconic mid-century brands such as Drexel and Broyhill — Thomasville expanded significantly during the 1960s and purchased several other American furniture manufacturers.
Today, the timeless styles and exceptional craftsmanship associated with Founders Furniture Company pieces continue to render them desirable even for today’s interiors.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Founders case pieces, seating, tables and more.
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
- 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
- Eames lounge chair
- Nelson daybed
- Florence Knoll sofa
- Egg chair
- Womb chair
- Noguchi coffee table
- Barcelona chair
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.