Salterini Grapevine

There is rare surviving furniture from ancient Greece, yet this classical style has informed design for centuries. Interiors of houses in antiquity were minimal, with much of a room’s color coming from frescoes on the walls and mosaics on the floors. Classical Greek furniture was sparing but finely crafted and influenced by Egyptian furniture design through Mediterranean trade.

Furnishings of the period were usually made from local wood like cypress, cedar, oak and willow from ancient Greece’s plentiful forests, although some pieces were carved from marble, such as a 300–200 B.C. throne with lion legs and a curved back now at the Getty Villa. Comfort and clean lines characterized designs during the Classical era, the symmetry and thoughtful proportions reflecting the architecture of Greek temples.

Some pieces of ancient Greek furniture were simple, rectangular platforms like the klinē, a multipurpose ancestor of today’s couches or daybeds that held cushions stuffed with wool, dry grass or down. These structures were used for both sleeping and dining, which wealthy Greeks did while reclining. At night, oil lamps illuminated rooms that frequently surrounded a garden courtyard.

Most of what scholars have learned about Greek furniture design owes to its representations in art like vases and stelae. The portable diphros stool, with its backless design and four turned legs, was one of the more common types of seating in daily Greek life — it appears as such for the gods on the Parthenon frieze. Stools without backs have been found in early Roman tombs, while benches were also common Greek seating furniture created for use in theaters. In houses of the Hellenistic period, benches seemingly functioned as tables, too.

Some designs evolved through adaptations by the Romans, including the klismos chair. After prominent archaeological excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, the klismos chair — with its four saber legs and the elegant curves that define its back — was a source of inspiration for aesthetics in eras ranging from 18th-century neoclassicism to 20th-century Art Deco.

Find a collection of Classical Greek decorative objects, wall decorations and building and garden elements on 1stDibs.

Whether you're sitting around a firepit, playing games or enjoying a meal, outdoor furniture is crucial for a successful social gathering.

We’ve come a long way from the rudimentary patio and garden furniture of yore, which, in the Ancient Roman and Greek eras, meant stone slabs. Back then, your grandiose patch of outdoor greenery was a place to relax and admire the manicured hedges and fruit orchards. Fortunately, advancements in the design of outdoor furniture as well as the burgeoning of artisan landscape designers have made it easier to do so since then.

The need for outdoor chairs, tables and benches to withstand varying weather conditions means that many contemporary offerings prioritize durability over form. For a touch of glamour in your garden, antique and vintage pieces from France or Italy, which have already proven they can stand the test of time, can introduce an elegant sensibility to your outdoor space.

In the late 1940s, Hawaii-based architect Walter Lamb began fashioning outdoor furniture from nautical rope and metal tubing rescued from sunken Pearl Harbor ships. Although his designs were originally intended as gifts for returning GIs, his creations gained such popularity that they were picked up by the then-new Brown Jordan furniture company of California.

Lamb’s adventurous creations inspired many designers who followed. The seating and tables crafted by other mid-century furniture makers noted for their seminal patio and garden works — a list that includes Hendrik Van Keppel and Taylor Green, Russell Woodard and Woodard Furniture, Maurizio Tempestini and Richard Schultz — remain highly sought after by collectors today.

Whether it’s wicker couches for your screened porch or wrought-iron armchairs for fireside drinks, find the antique and vintage patio and garden furniture you need to wind down the day or welcome the morning sun on 1stDibs.