Authentic 1960's Harry Bertoia for Knoll Bird Lounge Chair in Black Metal Wire
By Harry Bertoia
Located in Bedford Hills, NY
An icon of 20th-century furniture, the Bird Chair (Model 423LU) is crafted from bent and welded steel rods in a black powder-coated finish. Its organic, high-backed form is designed ...
Metal
Original 1960's Herman Miller Charles & Ray Eames Bikini Wire Chairs set of 4
By Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Las Vegas, NV
Set of 4 Herman Miller "Bikini" chairs in factory white with aluminum bases and dark green vinyl cover. Circa early 1960's. Well loved and cared for. One has been reweld repaired and...
Aluminum, Iron
Mid-Century Bistro Set with Scrolling Wire Chairs, 1940s-1960s
Located in London, England
A sweet Mid-Century bistro set. Featuring 3 scrolling wire detail chairs and an accompanying table. Recently repainted in brilliant white. Table: H76 x D60 cm Chair Dimensions: D37...
Iron
Bent Steel Wire & Wicker Modernist Lounger by Frederic Weinberg - USA 1960's
By Frederic Weinberg
Located in New York, NY
Modernist armchair made of bent steel wire and rattan core painted off-white. In good vintage condition. A few strands of rattan are broken or missing. This chair will ship from Fran...
Steel
Post-Modern Pair of Easy Chairs in Chrome & Plastic Wire, 1960s
By René Herbst
Located in Antwerp, BE
Postmodern piece, reminiscent of a closed chaise longue, with its sleek design. The subtle translucency of the plastic wire imparts an elegant nude color effect, evoking the image of...
Chrome
Pastoe "Sm05" Black Wire Chair by Cees Braakman, Netherlands 1960
By Knoll, Harry Bertoia, Pastoe, Cees Braakman
Located in DE MEERN, NL
PASTOE "SM05" BLACK WIRE CHAIR BY CEES BRAAKMAN, NETHERLANDS 1960S The PASTOE SM05 black wire chair by renowned Dutch designer Cees Braakman is a mid-century modern masterpiece that...
Metal, Metallic Thread
Original Eames DKX-1 Side Chair in Orange Leather for Herman Miller, 1960s
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Aramits, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Charles and Ray Eames side chair DKX-1 in orange leather for Herman Miller, circa 1960s. The chair is in very good vintage condition, no damage to the leather, very solid chair.
Wire
Set of Two (2) Mid Century Modern Iron Wire Swiveling Patio Chairs, c. 1960's
Located in Deland, FL
Constructed from steel wire this set of two period patio chairs boast the original plaid outdoor cushions.
Metal
Mid century modern wire chair, armchair, red painted steel, Sweden, 1960s
By Harry Bertoia
Located in Forserum, SE
The chair is constructed from a sled shaped base holding a sculptural wire seat.
Steel
Pair of Russell Woodard Style Black Wrought Iron Linai Lounge Chairs, 1960's
By Russell Woodard
Located in Bainbridge, NY
Pair of Russell Woodard Style black enamel Wrought Iron Linai Armchairs. Featuring rugged, balanced frameworks, handcrafted in black enameled wrought iron, with comfortable woven wir...
Wrought Iron, Wire
John Risley Sculptural Patio Set with Two Lady Chairs and Wire Tulip Table 1960s
By John Risley
Located in Dallas, TX
Two solid steel lady chairs by mid-century sculptor John Risley (1919-2002). Handmade in his studio in Middletown, Ct circa 1960. Freshly powder-coated in a Calder red finish and r...
Steel
Swedish Mid-Century Brio Ferie Cantilever Patio Chair, 1960s
By BRIO - Bröderna Ivarsson i Osby
Located in Los Angeles, CA
White painted tubular metal cantilever armchair from the Brio Ferie outdoor line, attributed to the Swedish Brio company, 1960s. The frame forms a continuous cantilever loop from fro...
Metal, Wire
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.
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.
Modern icons are showing up in gracefully layered dining nooks, living rooms and lounges — proof that great design only gets better with context.
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
The enduring appeal of the Barcelona chair is in the details.
The brand that turned Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi and George Nelson into mid-century household names is just as relevant today as it was six decades ago.
Our feed is filled with the world's most beautiful spaces. See the rooms our followers have deemed the best of the best this month.
Our feed is filled with the world's most beautiful spaces. See the 10 our followers have deemed the best of the best this month.
There are many lessons to be learned from the lofts, apartments and townhouses of architects and decorators in Manhattan and beyond.
Having created extravagant homes for reality TV’s biggest stars, the designer is stepping into the spotlight with his first book.