Pastoe Cube
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Plywood
Late 20th Century Dutch Minimalist Lounge Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Club Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1980s Dutch Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Steel
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21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Benches
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2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
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2010s Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Alabaster, Brass
2010s Mexican Brutalist Sideboards
Oak
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Table Lamps
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2010s Swedish Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
2010s Belgian Modern Club Chairs
Linen
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Stools
Wood, Pine
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
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Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
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2010s French Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Ceramic
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Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
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Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century Dutch Lounge Chairs
Leather, Upholstery
Vintage 1970s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal
Late 20th Century Dutch De Stijl Armchairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Post-Modern Chairs
Metal, Steel
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Metal
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1980s Dutch Minimalist Chairs
Bentwood
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Dutch De Stijl Lounge Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Side Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1980s Dutch De Stijl Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1980s Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch De Stijl Armchairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Laminate
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Laminate
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Dutch Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1970s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Dutch Modern Chairs
Pastoe Cube For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Pastoe Cube?
Pastoe for sale on 1stDibs
Dutch furniture company UMS Pastoe was established in 1913 by German-Jewish entrepreneur Frits Loeb and became rapidly successful largely owing to its reputation for well-made tables and chairs. Today, however, the brand is best known by collectors for the modular sideboards, storage cabinets and other spare, streamlined case pieces that it produced during the postwar years.
Influential mid-century modernist designer Cees Braakman had been creating furniture since his teenage years when he was promoted to head of design at Pastoe in 1948. The Utrecht-born designer took over for his father, Dirk Braakman, who had by then been managing the company for more than 20 years and had designed a variety of furnishings for the manufacturer by himself. A year before he assumed his new role at Pastoe, Cees visited the United States where he became enamored with the designs of Charles and Ray Eames and the other creative minds associated with legendary American furniture manufacturer Herman Miller.
While many Dutch designers who are now celebrated by vintage furniture collectors — names like Gerrit Rietveld and Friso Kramer are in this list — found inspiration in Piet Mondrian and the country’s De Stijl art movement, they also looked to Scandinavian modernists such as Alvar Aalto and Americans such as the Eameses. Cees Braakman was no different.
Braakman’s 1940s-era tour to the States included a visit to the Herman Miller factory in Zeeland, Michigan. At the time, architect-designer-journalist George Nelson was director of design at the firm and had enlisted a range of designers to collaborate with Herman Miller and create what are now icons of mid-century modernism. Braakman took notice of industrial manufacturing techniques at HM and in particular, the company’s innovations in furniture design owing to experimentation with molded plywood and fiberglass-reinforced plastic.
The Dutch designer introduced the first line of modern furniture at UMS Pastoe thereafter — a table, a chair, a bed and more created in molded plywood and featuring oak veneers, specifically tailored for smaller living spaces. Braakman was convinced that Pastoe should move on from the restrictions that a collection or set of furniture presented to consumers. Furniture for a bedroom, for example, should be practical and built as individual pieces that could be adapted as more space became available. New production methods and creative marketing came into focus under Braakman’s leadership, and his own lines of oak and birch furniture — which were created around cupboards that could be reconfigured as needed, or armchairs that could be combined to form a sofa — earned acclaim and were commercially very successful.
UMS Pastoe was recognized for its innovative furniture at the Milan Triennial in 1957 and Le Signe d’Or in Belgium, and Cees Braakman’s work can today be found at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Over the years, designers such as Jan van Grunsven, Radboud Van Beekum and Rob Eckhardt collaborated with UMS Pastoe.
Find vintage UMS Pastoe furniture 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.