$1,650Sale Price|40% Off
H 105 in Dm 18.5 in
Mid Century Brass Triple Light Floor to Ceiling Tension Pole Lamp
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Mid-century brass triple light floor-to-ceiling tension pole lamp with a heavy Googie style. This
Brass
$2,680
H 104 in W 15 in D 15 in
Mid Century Danish Modern Tension Pole Lamp 1950s , Lightolier 3 Glass Shades
By Lightolier
Located in Buffalo, NY
deserving interior! This Danish Modern Tension Pole Lamp is one of the hardest to come by and one of the
Metal, Brass
$5,400
H 94.49 in Dm 15.36 in
Mid Century Tension Pole Lamp with three shades attr. to Stilnovo, Italy 1960s
By Stilnovo
Located in Beograd, RS
In this listing you will find an exceptionally rare Mid Century Modern Tension Pole Lamp with 3
Metal, Brass
$1,800Sale Price|20% Off
H 86 in W 9 in D 7 in
Three-Light Pole Lamp with Polished and Pierced Brass Shades
Located in Chicago, IL
Polished brass three light tension-pole floor lamp, with mounted sconce in the manner of Tommi
Metal, Brass
Stiffel Tension Pole Floor Lamp
By Stiffel
Located in Dallas, TX
Great looking authentic tension pole floor lamp by Stiffel. Brass and walnut pole. Three lights
Brass
Brass Triple Light Floor to Ceiling Tension Pole Lamp
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Mid-century brass triple light floor to ceiling tension pole lamp. This lamp features a unique
Brass
Midcentury Danish Modern Walnut Brass Three-Way Tension Pole Lamp
Located in Wilmington, DE
Offered is a retro Mid-Century Modern tension pole lamp. This is an adjustable three-way lamp
Metal, Brass
Unusual Tension Pole Floor Lamp with Brass Bird Cage Enclosure
Located in Hanover, MA
Sophisticated tension pole floor lamp with an elegant brass 'birdcage' design and three opaline
Metal, Brass
Sold
H 104 in W 15 in D 15 in
1955! Mid Century Modern Tension Pole Lamp Brass Stiffel Era Starlight Shades
By Stiffel
Located in Peoria, AZ
HIGHLY COVETED! PURIST'S DREAM 1955 EARLY MID CENTURY MODERN TENSION POLE LAMP! THREE "STARLIGHT
Metal
Sold
H 100 in W 15 in D 15 in
Mid Century Modern Pink Tension Pole Lamp. Atomic 1950s Floor Brass Stiffel
By Stiffel
Located in Peoria, AZ
AMAZING! ATOMIC SPACE AGE MID CENTURY MODERN TENSION POLE LAMP! Pink enamel, Brass & Perspex
Metal
Sold
H 97 in W 13.25 in D 14.25 in
Mid-Century Modern Brass and Walnut Tension Pole Lamp with Cased Glass Fixtures
Located in Brooklyn, NY
American Modern tension lamp composed of a brass and walnut veneer pole supporting a tubular brass
Brass
Mid-Century Modern Stiffel Pole Tension Lamps Room Divider, 1950s
By Stiffel
Located in Chattanooga, TN
Set of five Mid-Century Modern pole tension pole lamps by Stiffel, 1950s. This atomic style room
Metal, Brass
Gerald Thurston Three-Shade Tension Pole Floor Lamp for Lightolier
By Gerald Thurston, Lightolier
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Three shade tension pole floor lamp by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier. Distinguished by the unique
Brass, Enamel
Sold
H 104 in W 20 in D 20 in
Mid Century Danish Modern Tension Pole Lamp Brushed Brass Maple Stiffel Era 50s
By Stiffel
Located in Peoria, AZ
ICONIC! 1958 MID CENTURY MODERN TENSION POLE LAMP! TWO "STARLIGHT" SHADES PLUS ONE SAUCER TOP 3
Metal
Mid Century Modern 3 Light Tension Pole Lamp 50s 60s Stiffel Era Brass
By Stiffel
Located in Peoria, AZ
CLASSIC! ATOMIC AGE MID CENTURY MODERN ALUMINUM CONE SHADE TENSION POLE LAMP! GOOD DESIGN! CIRCA
Metal
Sold
H 88.59 in W 17.72 in D 5.91 in
Mid Century Teak Tension Pole Floor to Ceiling Triple Lights Lamp Germany, 1950s
By Vereinigte Werkstätten München
Located in Antwerp, BE
A Mid-Century set of two German Vereinigte Werkstätten München 1950's tension pole lamp. This is an
Brass
Three Light Pole Lamp With Polished & Pierced Brass Shades
Located in Chicago, IL
Polished brass three light tension-pole floor lamp, with mounted sconce in the manner of Tommi
Brass, Metal
Sold
H 104 in W 15 in D 15 in
Space Age All Brass Tension Pole Lamp! Mid Century Modern 1950s Stiffel Era
By Stiffel
Located in Peoria, AZ
ICONIC! SPACE AGE MID CENTURY MODERN GLEAMING BRASS TENSION POLE LAMP! Incredible Quality! In
Metal
Sold
H 104.34 in Dm 13.78 in
Mid-Century Brass Tension Pole Lamp by Stiffel with Spiral Arms and Cone Shades
By Stiffel
Located in Stockholm, SE
A sophisticated mid-century tension pole lamp attributed to Stiffel, crafted in the 1950s. This
Brass
Sold
H 96 in W 30 in D 30 in
Mid Century Modern Italian Tension Pole Lamp by Tempestini for Laurel! Teak 50s
By Laurel Lamp Company, Maurizio Tempestini
Located in Peoria, AZ
MAGNIFICENT Mid Century Tension Pole Lamp Maurizio Tempestini for Laurel Lamp Company! Incredible
Metal, Brass
Pair of Unusual Tension Pole Lamps by Stiffel
By Lightolier
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
A great pair of vintage brass pole lamps. In the style of Lightolier or Stilnovo made by Stiffel
Brass
Sold
H 98.43 in W 23.63 in D 7.88 in
Vintage Midcentury Multi-Color Lucite Tension Pole Floor Lamp, 1970s
Located in The Hague, NL
Rare modern midcentury 1970s multi-color shade floor to ceiling tension pole light. You can adjust
Metal, Brass
Sold
H 96.46 in W 21.66 in D 15.75 in
Midcentury Adjustable Tension Floor Pole Lamp by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier
By Lightolier
Located in Lisboa, PT
This pole lamp was designed by Gerald Thurston and manufactured by Lightolier, in USA, during the
Metal, Brass
Sold
H 106 in Dm 6 in
Stiffel Raymond Loewy Style White & Brass Three Shade Extension Pole Lamp, 1950s
By Raymond Loewy, Stiffel
Located in Bainbridge, NY
American midcentury Raymond Loewy style, Stiffel white and brass tension pole reading floor lamp
Brass, Metal
Rare Stiffel Futura Four Light Tension Pole Lamp
By Stiffel
Located in Long Beach, CA
Stiffel Futura 4 Light Tension Pole Lamp. Excellent original condition with an expected patina to
Aluminum, Brass
Mid Century Modern Brass & Black Enamel Floor Lamp w/Tension Pole by Stiffel
By Stiffel
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Ultra modernist floor lamp with lengthened pole design and tension rods at either end. The lamp has
$19,500 / set
H 28.35 in W 24.41 in D 21.66 in
Gianni Moscatelli Dining Chairs for Formanova, 1968, Set of 10
By Gianni Moscatelli, Formanova
Located in Lonigo, Veneto
Gianni Moscatelli dining chairs for Formanova, faux-fur and iron, Italy, 1968, set of ten. These chairs represent timeless items designed by Gianni Moscatelli for Formanova in the 1...
Faux Fur
Leather Meander Flexible Wall Sconce
Located in Pound Ridge, NY
Leather wrapped flexible arm wall light you can pose and adjust as you wish. This is our updated Meander Reader light with larger cone shade and new upward angled arm. Lamping: Sing...
Metal, Brass, Nickel
Murano Sputnik Spherical Green Glass and Brass Chandelier
Located in Roma, Lazio
A fantastic emerald green sputnik, with a surprising design and for its very low height, which allows it to fit in both high and low ceilings. Very elegant, it will furnish and decor...
Brass
Akari Model 1AG Light Sculpture by Isamu Noguchi
By Isamu Noguchi, Akari
Located in Glendale, CA
Akari model 1AG light sculpture by Isamu Noguchi. This table lamp has a shade made from handmade washi paper, ink and bamboo ribs with the original Noguchi Akari manufacturer's sta...
Metal
Chic 'Méandre' Gilt Bronze Side Chair by Design Frères
By Design Frères
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Undulating 'Méandre' gilt bronze finish side chair by Design Frères. Gilt bronze finish over steel frame. Natural linen upholstered cushion with contrasting piping. Chic and unders...
Steel
LUrman Sconce LALB
By Lumfardo Luminaires
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Part of our Lumfardo Luminaires contemporary collection, the LUrman Sconce LALB is an adjustable reading sconce in a lightly aged lacquered brass finish. Single E12 based socket. Max...
Brass
$1,155Sale Price / item|30% Off
H 16.1 in Dm 11.5 in
'Plissé White Edition' Pleated Textile Table Lamp by Folkform for Örsjö
By Örsjö Industri AB
Located in Glendale, CA
'Plissé White Edition' pleated textile table lamp by Folkform for Örsjö. This unique table lamp was awarded “Lighting of the Year 2022” by Residence Magazine Sweden, who called it “...
Textile
$2,074 / item
H 80.7 in Dm 6.7 in
Tito Agnoli Model #387 'Agnoli' Floor Lamp in Nickel and Travertine for Oluce
By Tito Agnoli, Oluce
Located in Glendale, CA
Tito Agnoli model #387 'Agnoli' floor lamp in nickel and travertine for Oluce. Designed in 1954, this ultra-refined lamp is now considered to be a key forerunner of minimalism. Exe...
Travertine, Metal, Nickel
$2,800 / set
H 14.75 in W 8.5 in D 4 in
Pair of Art Deco Style Murano Glass Demi Lune Wall Sconces, in Stock
Located in Miami, FL
Pair of Art Deco style Murano glass demi lune wall sconces, in stock Black glass sphere and brass fittings. Textured Murano glass, Wired to the American standard Multiple available ...
Brass
$1,141 / item
H 54.73 in Dm 7.49 in
Contemporary Brass and Leather Floor Lamp with Pleated Shade, De-light f2
By Jonathan Amar
Located in Paris, FR
The De.Light F2 designed by Jonathan Amar is a sculptural floor lamp that merges French design sensibility with artisanal Moroccan craftsmanship. Built on a directional pear-shaped b...
Brass
Large LUhans Indoor Outdoor Sconce
By Lumfardo Luminaires
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Part of our Lumfardo Luminaries contemporary collection, this larger version LUhans patinated un-lacquered copper indoor outdoor sconce is inspired by Scandinavian mid-century design...
Copper
$704 / item
H 4.73 in W 10.63 in D 11.82 in
Pair of Beige Modern Italian Wall Lights "Maxina" Vintage Design Moderne
Located in Ternay, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Pair of modern Italian sconces "Maxina" in beige half moon shape made by our Italian craftsman in the style of Stilnovo's work. Wall plate and arm in solid brass, lampshade adjustabl...
Brass, Metal
Lisa Johansson-Pape 'Lisa' Floor Lamp for Innolux Oy
By Lisa Johansson-Pape, Innolux Oy
Located in Glendale, CA
Lisa Johansson-Pape 'Lisa' floor lamp for Innolux Oy. Originally produced in the 1950s by Orno, this newly authorized re-edition of the iconic lamp is made by Innolux in Finland usi...
Brass
Early Marco Zanuso Lady Chair, Italy, 1960s, New Pure Mohair
By Marco Zanuso
Located in Lewes, East Sussex
An early, authentic Marco Zanuso lady chair, Arflex, Italy, 1960s. Newly reupholstered in a luxurious, premium, burnt orange / rust coloured 100% mohair fabric. Brass feet with nat...
Brass
Pair of Delord & Garrault Floor to Ceiling Lamps
By Garrault-Delord
Located in Saint-Ouen, IDF
Pair of rare "Sol au plafond" (floor to ceiling) lamps, made of different section of metal tubes holding an enlightnen plexi globe. Adjustable height both at the top and bottom thank...
Metal, Chrome
Basurto 01 Contemporary Wooden and Fabric Stool
By Colección Estudio, Difane
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
A tribute to the architectural style that characterized Mexico City during the mid-20th century. Inspired by its lines, symmetry, volumes and shapes, each piece is a miniature abstra...
Hardwood
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.
The modern floor lamp is an evolution of torchères — tall floor candelabras that originated in France as a revolutionary development in lighting homes toward the end of the 17th century. Owing to the advent of electricity and the introduction of new materials as a part of lighting design, floor lamps have taken on new forms and configurations over the years.
In the early 1920s, Art Deco lighting artisans worked with dark woods and modern metals, introducing unique designs that still inspire the look of modern floor lamps developed by contemporary firms such as Luxxu.
Popular mid-century floor lamps include everything from the enchanting fixtures by the Italian lighting artisans at Stilnovo to the distinctly functional Grasshopper floor lamp created by Scandinavian design pioneer Greta Magnusson-Grossman to the Paracarro floor lamp by the Venetian master glass workers at Mazzega. Among the more celebrated names in mid-century lighting design are Milanese innovators Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, who, along with their eldest brother, Livio, worked for their own firm as architects and designers. While Livio departed the practice in 1952, Achille and Pier Giacomo would go on to design the Arco floor lamp, the Toio floor lamp and more for legendary lighting brands such as FLOS.
Today’s upscale interiors frequently integrate the otherworldly custom lighting solutions created by a wealth of contemporary firms and designers such as Spain’s Masquespacio, whose Wink floor lamps integrate gold as well as fabric fringes.
Visual artists and industrial designers have a penchant for floor lamps, possibly because they’re so often a clever marriage of design and the functions of lighting. A good floor lamp can change the mood of any room while adding a touch of elegance to your entire space. Find yours now on 1stDibs.
The alluring pendant light exemplifies the designer’s winsome mid-career work.
Patrizio Chiarparini of Brooklyn’s Duplex gallery sheds light on the lasting legacy of Italy’s postwar furniture boom.
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.
The Louisiana-born and -bred architect talks to 1stdibs about the art of making timeless places that matter.
The Palm Springs interior decorator developed a mid-century style that defined the vacation homes of celebrities and other notables, including Bob Hope and Lucille Ball.
The houses from this New York studio cloak modernist tendencies within what are often more traditional trappings.
In the market for a fantastic fixture from the 1940s, ’50s or ’60s? Here are some names to know.
