1970s ''Silvi'' Atomic Orange Vanity by Fanini Fain S.P.A and Studio Kastilia
By Silvi Fanini Fain S.P.A
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1970s rare atomic orange “Silvi” vanity mounted on wheels with pull-out chair and adjustable mirror.
Fabric, Mirror, Plastic
Vintage Space Age furniture captured post–World War II optimism with swooping shapes, bowed lines and experimentation with new materials including plastic and fiberglass.
From the launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite in 1957 to the landing of Apollo 11 astronauts on the moon in 1969, the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States propelled advancements in technology that transformed culture. Space Age design encompassed fashion, architecture, cars, furniture and objects for the home, bringing wonder and hope for the future into everyday life.
Coinciding with Pop art, Space Age style featured bold colors and forms. Eero Aarnio’s Ball chair, which debuted in 1966, used molded fiberglass for a capsule-like space while Verner Panton’s 1959 Panton chair was a single piece of molded plastic for a gravity-defying S shape. Red versions of Olivier Mourgue’s 1964 Djinn chair were futuristic enough to appear on the space station in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Today, Joe Colombo is revered as a master of modern Italian design thanks to the provocative modular furniture pieces he created, such as the Tube chair and the Elda armchair, both of which embody the future-forward spirit of the Space Age.
The Space Age spirit extended to home building too. The futuristic Case Study Houses, which were designed by the likes of Pierre Koenig, Charles and Ray Eames, Richard Neutra and Whitney R. Smith, are considered a high point of modernism and the Southern California lifestyle.
Sometimes the nods to space exploration were more literal, like moon and star motifs or the 1965 Eclisse lamp by Vico Magistretti that saw the mid-century Italian designer integrating a movable inner shade to “eclipse” the light source. Alongside the pioneering moon missions, JVC manufactured the Videosphere portable television reminiscent of the Apollo 11 space helmets.
Although the style faded in the 1970s — with the 1975 joining of the Apollo and Soyuz spacecrafts signaling a new era of cooperation and the global oil crisis impacting the availability of plastics — the era’s innovations influenced designers into the 21st century such as Zaha Hadid and Djivan Schapira.
Find a collection of vintage Space Age seating, tables, lighting and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Vintage vanities trace back to the dressing tables of 18th-century France, where the poudreuse held powders and mirrors for a lady's toilette. The look later split in two: the gilded flourish of Art Deco and Louis XV, and the pared-back simplicity of the mid-century makeup vanity.
Styles to Know
Mid-century makeup vanities with slim tapered legs are seeing strong search interest, though Art Deco vanities with mirrored or lacquered finishes remain a popular choice for more formal bedrooms. A vintage mirror completes the piece if it doesn't already include one, and a vintage table lamp adds flattering light.
How to Choose the Right Vintage Vanity
A vanity works best near a window or another source of natural light, worth keeping in mind when planning where it will sit, and the knee-clearance height is worth checking against the stool you intend to pair with it. Each piece comes from a vetted 1stDibs seller, with era, designer and condition detailed. Backed by the 1stDibs Promise on every order.