Arne Vodder Armchair Model 51

Along with Vernor Panton, cabinetmaker and architect Arne Vodder was a leading light of what might be called the “second generation” of forward-thinking 20th-century Danish furniture designers — those who, following in the footsteps of Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen, Finn Juhl and others, first applied the skills, traditions and philosophical tenets of Scandinavian craftsmanship to a modern furniture idiom.

Vodder was a graduate student in architecture trained by Juhl, a pioneer of furniture design credited with igniting the Scandinavian modernist movement that swept like wildfire across the United States in the postwar era. Vodder made his mark in the 1960s, when modern design had gained wide acceptance, particularly in the business world. Accordingly, many of Vodder's chairs, created for manufacturers such as France & Søn, Fritz Hansen and Sibast, are quiet in form — projecting an air of sturdiness and strength, rather than avant-garde styling.

Vodder’s aesthetic flair is very pronounced in his vintage cabinets and storage pieces — sideboards, bookcases, credenzas and buffets. In such pieces, the designer liked to play with asymmetry. 

Vodder’s bookcases often have a seemingly random array of variously sized shelves and nooks. A typical Vodder sideboard of the mid-century period — his classic Model 29 case piece is known to collectors — might have four sections, each different in purpose and look: an open stack of vertical shelves, and other cupboards covered with sliding panels in contrasting colored laminates and wood veneers.

As you will see from the works on 1stDibs, Vodder had a sense of what kind of design was appropriate for which space: sobriety in the boardroom; playfulness at home.

Find vintage Arne Vodder furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Armchairs have run the gamut from prestige to ease and everything in between, and everyone has an antique or vintage armchair that they love.

Long before industrial mass production democratized seating, armchairs conveyed status and power.

In ancient Egypt, the commoners took stools, while in early Greece, ceremonial chairs of carved marble were designated for nobility. But the high-backed early thrones of yore, elevated and ornate, were merely grandiose iterations of today’s armchairs.

Modern-day armchairs, built with functionality and comfort in mind, are now central to tasks throughout your home. Formal dining armchairs support your guests at a table for a cheery feast, a good drafting chair with a deep seat is parked in front of an easel where you create art and, elsewhere, an ergonomic wonder of sorts positions you at the desk for your 9 to 5.

When placed under just the right lamp where you can lounge comfortably, both elbows resting on the padded supports on each side of you, an upholstered armchair — or a rattan armchair for your light-suffused sunroom — can be the sanctuary where you’ll read for hours.

If you’re in the mood for company, your velvet chesterfield armchair is a place to relax and be part of the conversation that swirls around you. Maybe the dialogue is about the beloved Papa Bear chair, a mid-century modern masterpiece from Danish carpenter and furniture maker Hans Wegner, and the wingback’s strong association with the concept of cozying up by the fireplace, which we can trace back to its origins in 1600s-era England, when the seat’s distinctive arm protrusions protected the sitter from the heat of the period’s large fireplaces.

If the fireside armchair chat involves spirited comparisons, your companions will likely probe the merits of antique and vintage armchairs such as Queen Anne armchairs, Victorian armchairs or even Louis XVI armchairs, as well as the pros and cons of restoration versus conservation.

Everyone seems to have a favorite armchair and most people will be all too willing to talk about their beloved design. Whether that’s the unique Favela chair by Brazilian sibling furniture designers Fernando and Humberto Campana, who repurposed everyday objects to provocative effect; or Marcel Breuer’s futuristic tubular metal Wassily lounge chair; the functionality-first LC series from Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret; or the Eames lounge chair of the mid-1950s created by Charles and Ray Eames, there is an iconic armchair for everyone and every purpose. Find yours on 1stDibs right now.