Lucite Wing Chair
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary American Carts and Bar Carts
Lucite
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21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Velvet, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Center Tables
Wood, Birdseye Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Center Tables
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Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Chairs
Lucite
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
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21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Plastic
Vintage 1970s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
20th Century American Dining Room Tables
Marble, Aluminum
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Lucite, Wood
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
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Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Velvet, Lucite
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
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Vintage 1970s American Swivel Chairs
Lucite, Upholstery
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Faux Leather, Lucite
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Chairs
Velvet, Lucite
American Wingback Chairs
Canvas, Acrylic
20th Century Italian Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Materials: plastic Furniture
Arguably the world’s most ubiquitous man-made material, plastic has impacted nearly every industry. In contemporary spaces, new and vintage plastic furniture is quite popular and its use pairs well with a range of design styles.
From the Italian lighting artisans at Fontana Arte to venturesome Scandinavian modernists such as Verner Panton, who created groundbreaking interiors as much as he did seating — see his revolutionary Panton chair — to contemporary multidisciplinary artists like Faye Toogood, furniture designers have been pushing the boundaries of plastic forever.
When The Graduate's Mr. McGuire proclaimed, “There’s a great future in plastics,” it was more than a laugh line. The iconic quote is an allusion both to society’s reliance on and its love affair with plastic. Before the material became an integral part of our lives — used in everything from clothing to storage to beauty and beyond — people relied on earthly elements for manufacturing, a process as time-consuming as it was costly.
Soon after American inventor John Wesley Hyatt created celluloid, which could mimic luxury products like tortoiseshell and ivory, production hit fever pitch, and the floodgates opened for others to explore plastic’s full potential. The material altered the history of design — mid-century modern legends Charles and Ray Eames, Joe Colombo and Eero Saarinen regularly experimented with plastics in the development of tables and chairs, and today plastic furnishings and decorative objects are seen as often indoors as they are outside.
Find vintage plastic lounge chairs, outdoor furniture, lighting and more on 1stDibs.
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.
- What is a wing chair used for?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertOctober 5, 2021A wing chair is another name for a wingback chair, which features long armchair protrusions that were initially designed to shield the chair’s occupant from the drafts and intense heat radiating from a fireplace. It has a long backrest with sides at the top that point out like wings. On 1stDibs, you can find a variety of antique and vintage wingback chairs.
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