$961
H 20.48 in W 11.03 in D 12.6 in
Midcentury Hexagonal Ice Lucite Italian Umbrella Stands after Willy Rizzo, 1980s
By Willy Rizzo
Located in Roma, IT
object that will enrich a mid-century entrance hall or corridor. Dimensions (cm): Width - 32 Depth
Lucite, Plexiglass
$1,443
H 16.34 in W 15.56 in D 15.56 in
Midcentury Cubic Chromed Steel, Wood and Glass Dry Bar, Italy 1970s
By Willy Rizzo
Located in Roma, IT
the pair relocated to Rome. It was here that Rizzo began his work in furniture design, starting with
Steel, Metal, Chrome
Pair of Carved Italian Borghese Lamps with Parchment Shades
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pair of custom lamps made with carved wood antique Borghese finished bases crowned with hand
Parchment Paper, Wood
Sold
H 29.93 in W 18.9 in L 29.93 in
Willy Rizzo Midcentury Italian Wooden and Fabric Chairs for Mario Sabot, 1970
By Willy Rizzo, Mario Sabot
Located in Roma, IT
Beautiful set of four mid-century wooden chairs with original fabric seats. These chairs were
Fabric, Wood
Sold
H 29.93 in W 18.9 in D 20.48 in
Willy Rizzo Midcentury Italian Wooden and Orange Fabric Chairs, Mario Sabot 1970
By Willy Rizzo, Mario Sabot
Located in Roma, IT
suicide a few weeks later. In 1968, Rizzo married Italian actress Elsa Martinelli, and the pair
Fabric, Wood
Sold
H 28.75 in W 70.87 in D 35.44 in
Exclusive Italian Dining Table in Brass by or in the style of Rizzo, Italy 1970s
Located in Pijnacker, Zuid-Holland
actress Elsa Martinelli, and the pair relocated to Rome. It was here that Rizzo began his work in
Brass
Sold
H 30.32 in W 19.69 in D 18.12 in
6x Willy Rizzo dining chairs Gold-plated New Velvet, Italy, 1970s
By Willy Rizzo, Mario Sabot
Located in Pijnacker, Zuid-Holland
a few weeks later. In 1968, Rizzo married Italian actress Elsa Martinelli, and the pair relocated
Gold Plate
Sold
H 31.89 in W 17.72 in D 18.51 in
Willy Rizzo Gold-Plated Dining Chairs by Mario Sabot, Italy, 1970s
By Willy Rizzo, Mario Sabot
Located in Pijnacker, Zuid-Holland
actress Elsa Martinelli, and the pair relocated to Rome. It was here that Rizzo began his work in
Gold Plate
Sold
H 28.75 in W 70.87 in D 35.44 in
Exclusive Willy Rizzo Gold-Plated and Brass Dining Set, Italy, 1970s
By Willy Rizzo, Mario Sabot
Located in Pijnacker, Zuid-Holland
actress Elsa Martinelli, and the pair relocated to Rome. It was here that Rizzo began his work in
Gold Plate, Brass
Sold
H 16.34 in W 15.56 in D 15.56 in
Midcentury Cubic Steel and Glass Dry Bar Attributed to Willy Rizzo, Italy 1970s
By Willy Rizzo
Located in Roma, IT
1968, Rizzo married Italian actress Elsa Martinelli, and the pair relocated to Rome. It was here that
Steel
Pair of Borghese Fluted Urn Lamps w/ Linen Shades
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pair of carved wood fluted urn shaped lamps in a silvery gold finish. The lamps are crowned with
Wood
Midcentury Willy Rizzo Style Brass and Cork Table Lamp, 1970s
By Willy Rizzo
Located in Roma, IT
Incredible Willy Rizzo style mid-century brass and cork table lamp. This fantastic table lamp was
Brass, Metal
Sold
H 18.12 in W 9.85 in D 15.75 in
Midcentury Brown Formica and Chrome French Table Lamp in Willy Rizzo Style 1970s
By Willy Rizzo
Located in Roma, IT
Incredible midcentury brown Formica and chrome in Willy Rizzo style. This amazing table lamp was
Chrome, Metal
Sold
H 30.32 in W 19.69 in D 18.12 in
5x Willy Rizzo attributed Gold-Plated and Suede Dining Chairs, Italy, 1970s
By Mario Sabot, Willy Rizzo
Located in Pijnacker, Zuid-Holland
a few weeks later. In 1968, Rizzo married Italian actress Elsa Martinelli, and the pair relocated
Gold Plate
Pair of Gilt Metal Palmette Lamps
By Borghese
Located in Atlanta, GA
Pair of Gilt Metal Palmette Lamps, each one two tiers of stylized palm motif raised on a gilt wood
$10,707
H 89.77 in W 60.63 in D 43.31 in
Italian 1970's Cocktail Dry Bar in Joe Colombo Style, Italy - circa 1975
By Joe Colombo
Located in Pijnacker, Zuid-Holland
Vintage 1970s Italian Mobile Dry Bar / Cocktail Bar – Mid-Century Modern Elegance The colour of the dark lacquered wood is an amazing very dark purple / aubergine (almost black). Th...
Chrome
$2,225
H 15.95 in W 31.5 in D 31.5 in
Chromed Steel and Tortoiseshell Effect Lucite Square Coffee Table, Italy 1970s
By Christian Dior
Located in Roma, IT
Fantastic Mid-Century square Italian coffee table in chromed steel with a stunning tortoiseshell-effect lucite top. This gorgeous and unique piece was designed in Italy during the 19...
Steel, Chrome
Marcel Breuer Laccio Coffee Table by Gavina
By Marcel Breuer
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Beautiful 1980s Laccio Coffee Table by Marcel Breuer for Gavina. This coffee table is in good vintage condition with only some very minor pitting to the chrome base and a couple sm...
Steel, Chrome
$13,835 / item
H 49.22 in Dm 70.87 in
Brass and Parchment Paper Chandelier by Diego Mardegan for Glustin Luminaires
By Diego Mardegan
Located in Saint-Ouen, IDF
Impressive chandelier made of white enameled brass arms holding six beautiful parchment paper shades, which can be adjusted thanks to the handle of each socket. Signed by the arti...
Brass
$1,590 / set
H 17 in W 24 in D 17 in
Unusual Modernist Space Age Nightstands, Melamine Rosewood and Aluminum
By (after) Raymond Loewy
Located in Buffalo, NY
Unusual Modernist Space Age Nightstands, Melamine Rosewood and Aluminum.Elegance blended with Space Age design.Most unusual rosewood melamine laminate and aluminum. Pair 2-drawer nig...
Aluminum
$1,203 / item
H 12.21 in Dm 16.54 in
Castiglioni Midcentury Metal "Light Ball" Italian Sconce for Flos, 1960s
By Flos, Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Located in Roma, IT
Incredible mid-century "Light Ball large size" applique in smatised ivory metal and opal glass for Flos. This fantastic lamp was designed by Achille Castiglioni and produced in Italy...
Metal
1950s Wood Screen with Glass Inlays
Located in Toronto, CA
The 1950s four-panel wood screen with amber-hued glass windows is both architectural and whimsical. Featuring rich, patinated wood, brass hinges and a sturdy base - use it to divide ...
Glass, Wood
Large Versatile Italian Wall Unit in Teak
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Wall unit, teak, maple, lacquered wood, brass, glass, Italy, 1950s. This Mid-Century Italian wall unit seamlessly integrates form and function, captivating with its aesthetic allure...
Brass
LUfo Ceiling Light
By Lumfardo Luminaires
Located in Los Angeles, CA
LUFO perforated brass dome ceiling light by Lumfardo Luminaires. Part of our contemporary collection the LUFO ceiling light is in a darkened patina finish. Hand perforations frame ar...
Brass
2 parts sofa in stainless steel by Studio Glustin
By Glustin Creation
Located in Saint-Ouen (PARIS), FR
2 parts sofa in stainless steel with seating upholstered with a fabric by Dédar. Creation by Studio Glustin. France, 2023.
Stainless Steel
$168,431
H 110.24 in W 127.56 in D 127.56 in
1 BANGA space age micro architecture prefab house bungalow by Carlo Zappa, 1971
By Carlo Zappa
Located in Frankfurt am Main, DE
here we offer one of 2 bangas, with black interior. the second one with light grey interior is offered in another listing. a banga shows ways in which we could live more sustainably...
Fiberglass
$23,460
H 27.56 in Dm 118.12 in
Rare and Exceptional 'Gilda' Circle Sofa in Velvet by Michel Ducaroy, 1972
By Michel Ducaroy, Ligne Roset
Located in Echt, NL
Very rare extra large 'Gilda' circle sofa in excellent condition. Designed by Michel Ducaroy in 1972. The sofa is manufactured by 'Roset' the company name of Ligne Roset prior to 1...
Metal
$30,000
H 24.25 in W 78.5 in D 9.25 in
Clairtone Project G2 Series T11 Console Stereo System & Garrard Turntable
By Clairtone
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
On offer is a rare completely original Clairtone G2 Series Home Stereo System from 1966 featuring two distinct exotic wooden boxes one that houses the tuner and the turntable both pr...
Aluminum
$11,700
H 85.04 in W 144.1 in D 22.84 in
Vittorio Introini for Saporiti Wall Unit in Lacquered Ash and Chrome
By Vittorio Introini
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Vittorio Introini for Saporiti, multifunctional wall unit, black lacquered ash, chrome and white fabric, Italy, 1980s. Rare multifunctional wall unit designed by the Italian design...
Chrome
Rare 1970's Jorge Zalszupin L'atelier Space-Age Plastic Desk
By Jorge Zalszupin, L'Atelier San Paulo
Located in Norwalk, CT
Rarely seen and even more rarely available Space-Age molded plastic desk manufactured by L'atelier, São Paulo, Brazil. Design attributed to Jorge Zalszupin a Polish naturalized Brazi...
Metal
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.
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.
It's hard to resist the allure of a beautiful pool. So, go ahead and daydream about whiling away your summer in paradise.
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.