Castiglioni Fiberglass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Chrome
Vintage 1980s German Space Age Floor Lamps
Plexiglass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
Brass
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Cut Steel
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Fiberglass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
Brass
People Also Browsed
Vintage 1970s North American Organic Modern Dining Room Tables
Hardwood, Olive
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Stools
Wrought Iron
2010s American Flush Mount
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile, Wood
2010s Modern Tables
Hardwood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Velvet
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Organic Modern Center Tables
Travertine
2010s Austrian Jugendstil Chandeliers and Pendants
Silk
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather, Fiberglass, Foam
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
2010s British Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Bouclé, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Swedish Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Recent Sales
Vintage 1970s Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood, Fiberglass
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Steel
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Fiberglass
20th Century Italian Floor Lamps
Marble, Nickel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Fiberglass
Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Fiberglass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Cut Steel
Vintage 1960s Italian Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
Italian Chandeliers and Pendants
Steel
20th Century Italian Table Lamps
Metal
20th Century Italian Table Lamps
Steel
20th Century Italian Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1960s Italian Chandeliers and Pendants
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Plastic, Fiberglass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Plastic
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Plastic
Early 2000s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Crystal, Carrara Marble
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Table Lamps
Fiberglass
Vintage 1960s European Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Fiberglass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Fiberglass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Fiberglass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Steel
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Cut Steel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Fiberglass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass, Steel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Fiberglass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Steel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Plastic
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Cut Steel
Vintage 1960s Italian Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Metal
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 lighting for You
The right table lamp, outwardly sculptural chandelier or understated wall pendant can work wonders for your home. While we’re indebted to thinkers like Thomas Edison for critically important advancements in lighting and electricity, we’re still finding new ways to customize illumination to fit our personal spaces all these years later. A wide range of antique and vintage lighting can be found on 1stDibs.
Today, lighting designers like the self-taught Bec Brittain have used the flexible structure of LEDs to craft glamorous solutions by working with what is typically considered a harsh lighting source. By integrating glass and mirrors, reflection can be used to soften the glow from LEDs and warmly welcome light into any space.
Although contemporary innovators continue to impress, some of the classics can’t be beat.
Just as gazing at the stars allows you to glimpse the universe’s past, vintage chandeliers like those designed by Gino Sarfatti and J. & L. Lobmeyr, for example, put on a similarly stunning show, each with a rich story to tell.
As dazzling as it is, the Arco lamp, on the other hand, prioritizes functionality — it’s wholly mobile, no drilling required. Designed in 1962 by architect-product designers Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, the piece takes the traditional form of a streetlamp and creates an elegant, arching floor fixture for at-home use.
There is no shortage of modernist lighting similarly prized by collectors and casual enthusiasts alike — there are Art Deco table lamps created in a universally appreciated style, the Tripod floor lamp by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Greta Magnusson Grossman's sleek and minimalist Grasshopper lamps and, of course, the wealth of mid-century experimental lighting that emerged from Italian artisans at Arredoluce, FLOS and many more are hallmarks in illumination innovation.
With decades of design evolution behind it, home lighting is no longer just practical. Crystalline shaping by designers like Gabriel Scott turns every lighting apparatus into a luxury accessory. A new installation doesn’t merely showcase a space; carefully chosen ceiling lights, table lamps and floor lamps can create a mood, spotlight a favorite piece or highlight your unique personality.
The sparkle that your space has been missing is waiting for you amid the growing collection of antique, vintage and contemporary lighting for sale on 1stDibs.
Read More
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Patrizio Chiarparini of Brooklyn’s Duplex gallery sheds light on the lasting legacy of Italy’s postwar furniture boom.
See How New York City Designers Experiment on Their Own Homes
There are many lessons to be learned from the lofts, apartments and townhouses of architects and decorators in Manhattan and beyond.
Jeff Andrews Captures Old Hollywood Glamour in His Cinematic Spaces
Having created extravagant homes for reality TV’s biggest stars, the designer is stepping into the spotlight with his first book.
New Orleans’ Lee Ledbetter Makes Design Magic by Mixing Past and Present
The Louisiana-born and -bred architect talks to 1stdibs about the art of making timeless places that matter.
Desert Modern Designer Arthur Elrod Finally Gets His Day in the Sun
The Palm Springs interior decorator developed a mid-century style that defined the vacation homes of celebrities and other notables, including Bob Hope and Lucille Ball.
From the Hamptons to Palm Springs, FormArch’s Homes Embody Both Comfort and Cool
The houses from this New York studio cloak modernist tendencies within what are often more traditional trappings.