Curved executive desk by Jules Wabbes, Belgium 1950's
By Mobilier Universel, Jules Wabbes
Located in Brussels, BE
Designed by Belgian modern design pioneer Jules Wabbes (1919 - 1974) and manufactured by Le Mobilier Universel in the late 1950s, this desk embodies structured charm. Its sturdy chro...
Wood
1950's Italian Oak Executive Desk by Vittorio Dassi with Black Glass Top
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Reading, Berkshire
Mid Century Modern Oak Glazed Desk by Italian Designer Vittorio Dassi 1893-1973 Italian Mid-Century Desk and Chair Designed by Vittorio Dassi in the 1950s This stunning Italian Mid...
Hardwood, Glass
Widdicomb Kneehole Executive Desk Cherry Brass Mid Century 1950s
By Widdicomb Furniture Co.
Located in Forest Grove, PA
An unmarked Widdicomb kneehole executive desk. Excellent wood choice, book matched throughout.
Brass
Ico Parisi "Urio" Executive Desk, MIM Roma, Italy 1950s
By Ico Parisi, MIM Roma
Located in Roma, IT
Extraordinary and incredibly rare "Urio" executive desk designed by the mastery of Ico Parisi and produced by MIM (Mobili Italiani Moderni) in Italy during the 1950s.
Aluminum, Steel, Metal
Large executive desk, design Vittorio Dassi, Italy, 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Napoli, IT
This is a large executive desk that is featured in several furniture magazines.
Brass
Italian Mid-Century Executive Desk by Vittorio Dassi, 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Buccinasco, MI
An exceptionally refined Italian executive desk designed by Vittorio Dassi in the 1950s, a piece that perfectly reflects the sophisticated dialogue between architectural modernism an...
Brass
Italian Mid-Century Executive Desk Set by EPMC, 1950s
By Esposizione Permanente mobili Cantù
Located in Buccinasco, MI
An exceptional and increasingly rare Italian Mid-Century executive desk set, produced in the 1950s and officially marked by Esposizione Permanente Mobili Cantù, a benchmark of post-w...
Glass, Wood
Large Executive Desk by Anonima Castelli, Italy 1950s
By Anonima Castelli
Located in Roma, IT
An elegant and architecturally balanced executive desk attributed to Anonima Castelli, Bologna, dating from the late 1940s to early 1950s—a period in which the company was engaged in...
Wood
Mid-Century Large Executive Desk by Vittorio Dassi, 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century Large Executive Desk by Vittorio Dassi, 1950s
Wood
Mid-Century Executive Desk by Friso Kramer & Coen de Vries, 1950s
By EEKA, Coen de Vries, Friso Kramer
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A striking example of Dutch mid-century modern design, this executive desk was designed by Friso Kramer and Coen de Vries for EEKA (Eindhovense Eisen- en Kantoorartikelenfabriek) in ...
Steel
Mid-Century Modern Walnut Executive Desk by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, 1950s
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Magnificent and ultra rare Mid-Century Modern executive desk. Design by Edward Wormley for Dunbar Furniture United States.
Walnut
Rare Sculptural Walnut Executive Desk by Arturo Roversi, Italy, 1950s
By Arturo Roversi
Located in Buccinasco, MI
A rare and highly architectural executive desk designed by Arturo Roversi and produced in Italy during the 1950s.
Glass, Wood, Walnut
Italian Mid-Century Presidential Executive Desk designed by Vittorio Dassi 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Traversetolo, IT
Rare executive desk designed by Vittorio Dassi and produced in Italy during the 1950s.
Brass
Italina Mid-Century Executive Table Desk designed by Vittorio Dassi, 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Traversetolo, IT
This remarkable Italian executive desk, attributed to Vittorio Dassi and produced around 1957, perfectly embodies the refined aesthetic that distinguished the finest Italian furnitur...
Brass
1950s Walnut and cane executive desk by Edward Wormley for Dunbar Furniture
By Edward Wormley, Dunbar Furniture
Located in Cedar Falls, IA
Walnut, cane, brass, and rosewood executive desk by Edward Wormley for Dunbar Furniture, circa 1950s.
Brass
Rare Restored Executive Desk in Walnut, Edward Wormley for Dunbar, USA, c. 1950s
By Edward Wormley
Located in Deland, FL
This commanding teak executive desk by Edward Wormley for Dunbar is a quintessential example of sophisticated 1950s American modernism.
Walnut
Italian Mid Century Executive Desk designed by Vittorio Dassi in 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Traversetolo, IT
Stunning desk designed by Vitoro Dassi in the 1950s, featuring a black glass top beneath which is a wooden band shaped like a gull's wing that connects to the central section. This r...
Brass
Italian Mid century Executive Table Desk attributed to Osvaldo Borsani , 1950s
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Traversetolo, IT
Mid-century Italian desk attributed to Osvaldo Borsani, crafted in the 1950s. This elegant piece features six front drawers with the distinctive “grissinato” motif and original brass...
Brass
1950s Florence Knoll Double Pedestal Walnut Chrome and Laminate Executive Desk
By Florence Knoll, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is a double pedestal desk, model 1503, designed by Florence Knoll and produced by Knoll Associates. This is an original example dating to circa late 1950s. It is cons...
Chrome
Italian Mid Century Executive Desk Table designed by Vittorio Dassi in 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Traversetolo, IT
Stylish Executive desk designed by Vittorio Dassi in 1950s,truly unique design characterized by a sinuous top with an arched line in contrast with the central part convex in the oppo...
Glass, Teak
Italian Mid Century Executive Table Desk designed by Paolo Buffa in 1950s
By Paolo Buffa
Located in Traversetolo, IT
Elegant Executive Desk designed by Paolo Buffa in the 1950s.
Walnut
$2,250Sale Price|25% Off
Mid Century Executive Swivel Office Chair by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, 1950s
By Edward Wormley, Dunbar Furniture
Located in Chino Hills, CA
Picture this stunning piece anchoring a mid-century-inspired office, its blue leather standing out against warm wood tones and complementing the sleek lines of a classic executive de...
Metal
Mid-Century Wood and Brass Desk by Vittorio Dassi, Italy, 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Argelato, BO
Large wood and brass desk by Vittorio Dassi, Italy, 1950s This impressive executive desk, designed by the renowned Italian designer and cabinetmaker Vittorio Dassi, stands out for i...
Brass
$85,000
Jacques Quinet Desk
By Jacques Quinet
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Incredible Jacques Quinet Executive desk, circa 1950s Rich caramel leather with contrast open stitching and fully swiveling drawers on both sides including a filing cabinet with lea...
Leather, Walnut
1950s Harvey Probber (attr.) Mid Century Walnut Advent Executive Desk mid centur
Located in Virginia Beach, VA
A vintage Advent executive desk designed by Harvey Probber. Featuring a curved boomerang surface with criss crossed veneers each end culminating in wings. Tapered and angled legs o...
Walnut
Unavailable
H 30.32 in W 122.05 in D 33.47 in
Executive Desk by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno Milano, Italy, 1950s
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Wilnis, UT
Beautiful large executive desk designed by Osvaldo Borsani, manufactured by Tecno Milano in Italy, circa 1950. This eye-catching desk has a unique design with the integrated drawe...
Metal, Chrome
Unavailable
H 30 in W 58 in D 28 in
Milo Baughman Executive Desk with Floating Top, Glenn of California, 1950s
By Milo Baughman, Glenn of California
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Quintessential California Modern executive desk in walnut veneer with drawers and open front in an architectural case study style, designed by Milo Baughman and made by Glenn of Cali...
Walnut, Wood
Unavailable
H 31 in W 63 in D 32 in
Gio Ponti: Monumental Executive Desk in Reeded Walnut and Brass, Italy 1950s
By Gio Ponti
Located in New York, NY
Gio Ponti (1891-1979) A rare and important executive desk by Gio Ponti, in dramatically carved and reeded walnut with polished brass details.
Brass
Unavailable
H 29.93 in W 86.62 in D 37.01 in
Mid-Century Modern Italian Executive Desk by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, 1950s
By Osvaldo Borsani, Tecno
Located in Milano, IT
Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani executive desk for Tecno. Rosewood top and adjustable shelf on castaluminium feet. Techno label on the structure.
Aluminum
Danish Teak Executive Desk, 1950s
By Svend Åge Madsen
Located in Nyborg, DK
This Danish executive desk from the 1950s features 8 drawers (2 lockable) with solid teak orange slice handles.
Beech, Teak
1950s Executive Desk by Ico Parisi for Mim Roma
By Ico Parisi, MIM Roma
Located in Rome, IT
Italy, 1958, executive “Terni series” desk by Ico Parisi for MIM Roma Exotic wood with metal details Completely restored, sanded and finished with shellac This table has two...
Metal
Italian Rosewood Executive Desk by Dassi
By Paolo Buffa, Dassi
Located in Miami, FL
An important Italian circa 1950's executive desk attributed to Paolo Buffa for Dassi.
Sven Ivar Executive Desk
By Dokka Mobler, Sven Ivar Dysthe
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Amazing 1950s Executive desk by Norwegian designer Sven Ivar Dysthe for Dokka Møbler.
Chrome
Executive American desk, 1950's
Located in Stratford, CT
Chrome legs, 3 drawers.
Italian 1950's Executive Walnut Desk
Located in New York, NY
A sharp walnut and brass 3-drawer desk with sculptural legs capped off with brass sabots. The drawers have wonderful asymmetrical brass pulls. Two pull out wood boards for extra surf...
Brass
Italian 1950's Executive Walnut Desk
Located in New York, NY
A sharp walnut and brass 3-drawer desk with sculptural legs capped off with brass sabots. The drawers have wonderful asymmetrical brass pulls. Two pull out wood boards for extra surf...
Brass
Exceptional 1950s Italian Executive Desk.
Located in Miami, FL
Rare 1950s rosewood executive desk with inset burgundy glass top floating on seven-drawer double pedestal.
Executive Desk by Hadar Schmidt, 1950s-1960s
Located in Greding, DE
Scandinavian desk on black tapered legs, with four lockable drawers and a pentagonal large tabletop. The desk was designed for an all-round view. The desk is hand-polished and profes...
Brass
Executive Desk Attributed to Silvio Cavatorta, Italy, 1950s
By Silvio Cavatorta
Located in Greding, DE
Elegant executive desk on slightly angled legs. The writing surface is covered with a green-tinted glass pane. Underneath is a shelving area and four drawers. The table shows a beaut...
Wood
Danish Mahogany Executive Writing Desk by Ole Wanscher, c. 1950's
By Ole Wanscher
Located in Norwalk, CT
Rich mahogany takes on a glowing, satin-like luminescence in this breathtaking and rare writing desk by Ole Wanscher. The simple form is perfectly proportioned, with elegant squared ...
Wood
Executive Walnut Desk by Harvey Probber, C. 1950s
By Harvey Probber
Located in Westport, CT
A large-scale desk executed in walnut, designed by Harvey Probber, circa 1950-1959. Completely restored to its original finish and functionality, featuring a con-cave top and nickel ...
Nickel
Executive Desk by Dassi, Italy, 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Greding, DE
Large executive desk with four drawers by Dassi with its original thick glass top, supported by slender feet with brass sabots. The corpus with concave recesses has a dark tinted gla...
Glass, Wood
Sold
H 28.25 in W 60 in D 29 in
Danish Teak Executive Desk by Svend Aage Madsen for HP Hansen, Circa 1950's
By H.P. Hansen
Located in Puslinch, ON
Condition: Fair Vintage Condition Dimensions: 60” L x 29” D x 28.25” H (24.5” H LR 22” L LR) Description: A vintage teak desk by Svend Aage Madsen for HP Hansen, circa 1960s. Exce...
Teak
Baker Furniture Georgian Walnut Leather Top Executive Desk, 1950s
By Baker Furniture Company
Located in South Bend, IN
A stately Georgian or Chippendale style executive desk By Baker Furniture USA, 1950s Gorgeous burled walnut, with original brass pulls and inlaid embossed leather top.
Brass
1950s Nanna Ditzel Rosewood Executive Desk by Søren Willadsen
By Nanna Ditzel, Søren Willadsen
Located in Knebel, DK
Elegant freestanding executive desk in rosewood designed by Nanna Ditzel in 1955 for Søren Willadsens Møbelfabrik. The desk is a fine example of Nanna Ditzels ability to create si...
Rosewood
1950s Cees Braakman Pastoe L-Shaped Executive Desk, Netherlands
By Pastoe, Cees Braakman
Located in London, GB
Large teak executive’s desk in an L-shape with useful cabinet with black laminate doors. Designed by Cees Braakman for his modular custom built series for Pastoe, Netherlands. Shows ...
Stainless Steel
Sold
H 28.5 in W 59 in D 29.5 in
Expertly Restored - Danish Modern Executive Teak Desk with Raised Edges 1950's
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Danish modern executive teak desk with raises edges. ________________________________________ Transforming a piece of Mid-Century Modern furniture is like bringing history back to ...
Brass
Sold
H 29.93 in W 86.03 in D 36.82 in
Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Executive Desk for Tecno, Italy, 1950s
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani executive desk for Tecno, Italy 1950s.
Wood
Sold
H 31.5 in W 70.87 in D 34.65 in
Italian Midcentury Walnut Executive Desk by Vittorio Dassi, 1950s
By Dassi et Figli, Vittorio Dassi
Located in Traversetolo, IT
Very rare executive desk designed by Vittorio Dassi in the 1950s.
Brass
Abraham A. Patijn Executive Desk Poly Z Serie 1950s
By Zijlstra, Abraham A. Patijn
Located in Den Haag, NL
Wonderful dark Walnut executive office desk. From the wanted Poly Z serie looks like the top is Floating. Brass handles and feet. On the left Three anti dusk drawers, and the origina...
Walnut
Osvaldo Borsani ‘T95’ Executive Desk for Tecno, Italy, 1950s
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Hellouw, NL
Produced by Tecno in the 1950s, this desk embodies the architectural clarity and modular thinking that defined Borsani’s oeuvre.
Teak
Sold
H 30.71 in W 70.87 in D 35.04 in
Italian Midcentury Rosewood Executive Desk by Vittorio Dassi, 1950s
By Dassi Lissone, Vittorio Dassi
Located in Traversetolo, IT
This stunning and impressive Italian executive desk is one of the masterpieces of the Italian designer Vittorio Dassi, a model type produced in Italy in the 1950s and specifically de...
Brass
Sold
H 29 in W 71 in D 35.5 in
Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Floating Top Walnut Executive 1950s Desk
By Herman Miller, George Nelson
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
For your consideration is a marvelous, office desk, with five drawers, by George Nelson for Herman Miller, circa the 1950s. Walnut wood with floating top. In very good condition. The...
Walnut
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
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
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 celebrated 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.
Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. 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.
It's hard to resist the allure of a beautiful pool. So, go ahead and daydream about whiling away your summer in paradise.
Modern icons are showing up in gracefully layered dining nooks, living rooms and lounges — proof that great design only gets better with context.
With its grid-like doors and wavy trim, the 1940s design feels as fresh as ever.
The alluring pendant light exemplifies the designer’s winsome mid-career work.
Prehistoric motifs give the mid-century Italian fireplace an elemental feel.
Their charming solid-oak pieces offer homes utility and comfort.
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
Designer Susan Yeley turned to 1stDibs to outfit an Indiana home with standout pieces that complement its modernist style.