$2,400
H 30 in W 22.5 in D 18 in
Early Mid-Century Modern Spindle Back George Nakashima Straight Chair for Knoll
By George Nakashima
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A classic & very early George Nakashima design, the spindle back straight chair. This 1940's
Wood
George Nakashima Straight Back Chair
By George Nakashima
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
George Nakashima Straight Back Chair Walnut and Hickory Construction Single Board carved Sap
Walnut
$2,950
H 29.25 in W 16 in D 17.5 in
George Nakashima Studio Straight Back Chair Mid Century American Craft
By George Nakashima
Located in Atlanta, GA
Vintage Original "Straight Back" Model Chair, made by George Nakashima Studio, American, circa 1961
Hickory, Walnut
1949 George Nakashima for Knoll N19 Straight Chair in Walnut
By George Nakashima
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an N19 Straight Chair, originally designed by George Nakashima in 1946. This particular
Walnut
Vintage Mid Century "Straight Chair" by George Nakashima
By Knoll, George Nakashima
Located in Oxnard, CA
Here is a beautiful, early "Straight Chair" by George Nakashima. "Introduced in 1946, the Straight
Birch
$2,000
H 30 in W 22.5 in D 17.75 in
C. 1947 George Nakashima for Knoll N19 Straight Chair in Light Wood
By George Nakashima
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an N19 Straight Chair, originally designed by George Nakashima for Knoll in 1946. This
Wood
$4,000 / item
H 30.25 in W 23.75 in D 17.75 in
1947 George Nakashima for Knoll N19 Straight Chair in Natural Birch 3x Available
By George Nakashima
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an N19 Straight Chair, initially designed by George Nakashima for Knoll Associates in 1946
Birch, Lacquer
Straight Chair by George Nakashima for Knoll & Associates
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in Sagaponack, NY
An early production straight chair with spindles and a shaped seat on four splayed, tapered dowel
Hickory
$14,000 / set
H 28.25 in W 16.25 in D 17.5 in
1940's PAIR George Nakashima N19 Straight Chairs for Knoll With Original Labels
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in Jersey City, NJ
George Nakashima's wonderful interpretation of the Windsor chair. This is a fabulous pair of the
Walnut
$2,000
H 30.25 in W 26 in D 17.75 in
C. 1949 George Nakashima for Knoll N19 Straight Dining Chair in Birch
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a N19 Straight-Back Chair, originally designed by George Nakashima for Knoll in 1946. This
Birch
1947 George Nakashima for Knoll N19 Straight Chair in Natural Birch
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is a gorgeous early George Nakashima for Knoll N19 birch straight chair, produced
Birch
$8,000 / set
H 28 in W 21.5 in D 19 in
1947 Pair of George Nakashima for Knoll N19 Straight Chairs in Natural Birch
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is a gorgeous pair of early George Nakashima for Knoll N19 birch straight chairs
Birch
Set of Four George Nakashima Straight Chairs for Knoll
By George Nakashima
Located in Nashville, TN
Classic vintage George Nakashima for Knoll Straight Chairs.
Maple
George Nakashima Walnut Straight Chair (Set of Four)
By George Nakashima
Located in Portland, OR
Nakashima Straight chairs in a set of four. A modern, tweaked take on a Shaker-style chair.
Walnut
Early George Nakashima Straight Chair for Knoll Associates
By Knoll, George Nakashima Woodworkers
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Beautiful early version of the N19 straight back chair in birch. Designed and made by George
Birch
Pair of George Nakashima Hickory Straight Chairs for Knoll, 1940s
By George Nakashima
Located in Coronado, CA
A stunning and very early production pair of George Nakashima "Straight" chairs in solid birch
Hickory
George Nakashima Attributed "Straight" Chairs, 1950s
By George Nakashima
Located in Coronado, CA
A stunning pair of George Nakashima attributed "Straight" chairs in solid oak, likely produced by
Oak
Straight Chair by George Nakashima for Knoll International
By George Nakashima
Located in Dronten, NL
Straight Chair by George Nakashima for Knoll International. Remnants of early Knoll label, circa
Maple
George Nakashima Straight Back Chair for Knoll
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in San Diego, CA
A rare and beautifully restored example of George Nakashima’s iconic Straight Chair, designed for
Walnut
Set of 6 George Nakashima Studio Straight Back Chairs Solid Cherry
By George Nakashima
Located in Virginia Beach, VA
A set of 6 straight back chairs designed by George Nakashima Studios c. 1960s. Hand carved spindles
Cherry
Sold
H 29.88 in W 21.63 in D 18.25 in
George Nakashima for Knoll Walnut and Hickory Windsor Straight Chair
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in South Bend, IN
An exceptional Mid-Century Modern Windsor side chair By George Nakashima for Knoll USA, 1948
Hickory, Walnut
Straight Chair
By George Nakashima
Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
4 straight chairs George Nakashima, 1946 Edition Knoll American walnut and hickory Perfect
Walnut
the Straight-Backed chair designed by George Nakashima 1947
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A set of six walnut side chairs with hand-hewn hickory spindles and shaped seats, on four splayed
Walnut, Hickory
George Nakashima Straight Chair for Knoll
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Designed by master craftsman George Nakashima for Knoll in 1946, the N19 chair was intended as a
Walnut
Sold
H 30 in W 22.5 in D 17.5 in
Set of Four George Nakashima "Straight Chair" Dining Chairs for Knoll Model N19
By George Nakashima
Located in Bedford Hills, NY
Designed by master craftsman George Nakashima for Knoll in 1946, the N19 chair was intended as a
Walnut
Sold
H 30 in W 22.5 in D 18 in
Mid-Century Modern Spindle Back George Nakashima Straight Chair for Knoll
By George Nakashima
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A classic George Nakashima design, the spindle back straight chair. This early 1960s example is
Wood
1940s Straight Chair by George Nakashima
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nice early production, Straight chair designed by George Nakashima for Knoll,, Nine spindles and a
Hickory
George Nakashima Knoll N19 Straight Chairs
By Knoll, George Nakashima
Located in Hyattsville, MD
Early Production by George Nakashima, these Straight Chairs, made for Knoll & Associates, and
Birch, Cherry, Maple
Early Set of Four Straight Back Chairs by George Nakashima
By George Nakashima
Located in Atlanta, GA
This rare set of chairs were handcrafted by George Nakahsima (1905-1990) in his New Hope studio
Cherry, Hickory
1949 George Nakashima for Knoll N19 Straight Chair in Walnut
By Knoll, George Nakashima
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an N19 Straight Chair, designed by George Nakashima for Knoll Associates in 1946. This is
Walnut
Sold
H 30 in W 22 in D 18 in
George Nakashima for Knoll Attr. Straight Chairs Mid Century Modern - Set of 4
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in Roanoke, VA
Designed by George Nakashima for Knoll in 1946, the N19 chair was intended as a mass-produced
Walnut
George Nakashima Straight Chair
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in San Francisco, CA
Original straight back chair (N19) designed by George Nakashima and produced by Knoll from 1946 to
Maple
George Nakashima Straight Chair for KNOLL
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Knoll Associates 1948
Set of 6 George Nakashima 'Straight' Chairs for Knoll
By George Nakashima
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Nice early set of Nakashima's chair, in natural walnut and birch, with original finish.
Walnut
Sold
H 29.88 in W 18 in D 16.75 in
Thonet Mid Century Modern Black Lacquered Spindle Back Chairs, Set of 4
By Thonet
Located in Morgan, UT
a Hans Wagner's "Wishbone" Chair and George Nakashima's "Straight" Chair. Professionally
Oak
George Nakashima Vintage Studio-Production Straight Chairs
By George Nakashima
Located in San Francisco, CA
. The straight chair continued to be produced by Nakashima and his assistants along the original lines
Pair of Straight Chairs by George Nakashima for Knoll
By George Nakashima
Located in Maastricht, NL
rare pair of black Nakashima straight chairs in excellent vintage condition with no breaks and
Wood
Nakashima for Knoll Straight Back Chair
By George Nakashima
Located in San Francisco, CA
George Nakashima "Straight Back Chair" for Knoll 1946. This example a new and current production
Walnut, Hickory
Set of Straight Back Chairs by Nakashima Studio
By George Nakashima Studio
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Set of of six Straight back chairs by George Nakashima, Nakashima Studio production. Black walnut
Hickory, Walnut
Pair of Straight Chairs by George Nakashima in Cherry Wood
By George Nakashima
Located in Maastricht, NL
Rare pair of Nakashima straight chairs in excellent vintage condition with no breaks and strong
Wood
Set of Six Black Nakashima for Knoll N19 Straight Dining Chairs
By George Nakashima
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
Stunning set of six dining chairs by George Nakashima for Knoll, Model N19 called the straight
LU Swing Sconce
By Lumfardo Luminaires
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Beautiful brass LU swing sconce made by Lumfardo Luminaires in patinated brass. Wired with an E26 medium based socket. Light bulb provided as well as all mounting hardware. Priced in...
Brass
$2,360 / item
H 33.47 in W 17.72 in D 20.08 in
Giraffe dining Chair in Solid Brazilian Wood by Juliana Vasconcellos
By Juliana Lima Vasconcellos
Located in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais
The Giraffe dining chair was designed with soft curves and slender, but with volume, bringing comfort and elegance. The base structure was thought with three feet. The upholstered se...
Wood
Stingray Chandelier Brass by 101 Copenhagen
Located in Geneve, CH
Stingray chandelier brass by 101 Copenhagen Designed by Kristian Sofus Hansen & Tommy Hyldahl. Dimensions: L 152 cm x W 121 cm x H 70 cm Materials: Brass Lampshade & Ceiling cup: 100...
Aluminum, Brass
$1,275 / item
H 28.5 in W 20 in D 17 in
Superb Midcentury Hans Wegner FH4103 Chairs ( Up To Six Available)
By Hans J. Wegner, Fritz Hansen
Located in BROOKLYN, NY
For your consideration are these beautiful dining chairs designed by Hans Wegner. Having gorgeous original patina with splendid craftsmanship while utilizing a space saving design. U...
Oak, Teak
$2,546 / item
H 15.75 in Dm 21.66 in
Mustard Mohair Velvet Round Ottoman with Oak Feet, Modern UK Design
Located in London, England
Dagmar Design - Round Ottoman Custom-made ottoman developed & produced at our workshops in London using the highest quality materials. These examples are upholstered in a mustar...
Oak, Mohair, Velvet
$3,916
H 29.14 in W 15.75 in D 22.05 in
Pierre Chapo S34 Dining Chair in Solid Elm, Chapo Creation, France
By Pierre Chapo, Chapo Creation
Located in The Hague, NL
This striking four-legged chair is the model S34 designed by Pierre Chapo in 1973. This iconic design is marked by its four bundled legs, polygonal shaped seat and asymmetrical backr...
Elm
Akari Model 7AD Light Sculpture by Isamu Noguchi
By Isamu Noguchi, Akari
Located in Glendale, CA
Akari model 7AD light sculpture by Isamu Noguchii. The shade is made from handmade washi paper, wood and bamboo ribs with authentic Noguchi Akari manufacturer's stamp. Akari light sc...
Metal
Gino Sarfatti Model No. 2065 Ceiling Light for Astep
By Astep, Gino Sarfatti, Flos
Located in Glendale, CA
Gino Sarfatti model no. 2065 ceiling lamp for Astep. Designed in 1950, this is an authorized re-edition by Alessandro Sarfatti, grandson of Gino Sarfatti, who applies his grandfathe...
Aluminum
Isamu Noguchi Akari Light Sculpture, Model 31N Ceiling Lamp
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in Centreville, VA
Akari Light Sculptures by Isamu Noguchi are considered icons of 1950s modern design. Designed by Noguchi beginning in 1951 and handmade for a half century by the original manufacture...
Bamboo, Paper
$58,500
H 14.25 in W 66.75 in D 28 in
George Nakashima, Coffee Table, American Black Walnut, New Hope, USA, 1982
By George Nakashima, George Nakashima Studio
Located in High Point, NC
An American black walnut coffee table designed by George Nakashima and produced by Nakashima Studio, New Hope, Pennsylvania, United States, 1982.
Walnut
$134,000
H 14.97 in W 61.82 in D 20.08 in
George Nakashima 'Minguren II' Coffee Table in English Walnut
By George Nakashima Studio, George Nakashima
Located in Waalwijk, NL
George Nakashima for George Nakashima Studio, 'Minguren II' coffee table, English walnut, American black walnut, United States, 1973 The Minguren II coffee table was developed in t...
Walnut
$8,670 / set
H 24.01 in Dm 13.78 in
Pair of Constant Night Stands in Poplar Burl wood by Master for Lemon
By Lemon
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Envisioned by designer Yaniv Chen, the Constant nightstand exudes an air of refined luxury, celebrating the inherent splendor of Poplar burl wood. Meticulously crafted with impeccabl...
Burl, Poplar
$16,850 / item
H 53.15 in W 125.99 in D 59.06 in
Oval Brass and Parchment Chandelier by Diego Mardegan for Glustin Luminaires
By Diego Mardegan
Located in Saint-Ouen, IDF
Beautiful chandelier by Diego Mardegan for Glustin Luminaires, this other version of the spider chandelier has longer arms on the sides giving the oval shape. The metal arms paint...
Metal, Brass
Capiz Shell Table Lamp, Model Cornelia
By Dusty Deco
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Cornelia Table Lamp is a lamp that is made from capiz shells which gives the material an irregular structure. This makes each lamp unique, something that adds to its character and pe...
Brass
$6,170
H 28.35 in W 70.08 in D 38.59 in
Le Bambole sofa in velvet By Mario Bellini For B&B Italia, 1970s
By Mario Bellini, B&B Italia
Located in ABCOUDE, UT
Beautiful Le Bambole sofa in coral/pink coloured velvet designed by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia in the 1970s. This beautiful edition is reupholstered in a high quality cotton velve...
Velvet
Mawu Chair in Printed by Laura Gonzalez
By laura gonzalez
Located in Paris, FR
Made in France with hand-turned, flared oak legs in golden satin finish. Upholstered backrest and seat in textured jacquard velvet fabric (LG.FB-31).
Fabric, Oak, Cotton, Linen
A master woodworker and M.I.T.-trained architect, George Nakashima was the leading light of the American Studio furniture movement. Along with Wharton Esherick, Sam Maloof and Wendell Castle, Nakashima was an artisan who disdained industrial methods and materials in favor of a personal, craft-based approach to the design of chairs, coffee tables and other pieces. What sets Nakashima apart is the poetic style of his work, his reverence for wood and the belief that his furniture could evince — as he put it in the title of his 1981 memoir — The Soul of a Tree.
Born in Spokane, Washington, to Japanese immigrants, Nakashima traveled widely after college, working and studying in Paris, Japan and India, and at every stop he absorbed both modernist and traditional design influences.
The turning point in Nakashima’s career development came in the United States in 1942, when he was placed in an internment camp for Asian-Americans in Idaho. There, Nakashima met a master woodcarver who tutored him in Japanese crafting techniques. A former employer won Nakashima’s release and brought him to bucolic New Hope, Pennsylvania, where Nakashima set up a studio and worked for the rest of his life. (Master craftsperson Mira Nakashima keeps her father’s legacy alive at the George Nakashima Studio in New Hope today. She has been the artistic director of George Nakashima Woodworkers since her father's death, in 1990.)
Nakashima’s singular aesthetic is best captured in his custom-made tables and benches — pieces that show off the grain, burls and whorls in a plank of wood. He left the “free edge,” or natural contour, of the slab un-planed, and reinforced fissures in the wood with “butterfly” joints.
Almost all Nakashima seating pieces have smooth, milled edges. Nakashima also contracted with large-scale manufacturers to produce carefully supervised editions of his designs. Knoll has offered his Straight chair — a modern take on the spindle-backed Windsor chair — since 1946; the now-defunct firm Widdicomb-Mueller, the result of a merger between Widdicomb and Mueller Furniture, issued the Shaker-inspired Origins collection in the 1950s.
Nelson Rockefeller in 1973 gave Nakashima his single largest commission: a 200-piece suite for his suburban New York estate. Today, Nakashima furniture is collected by both the staid and the fashionable: his work sits in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as in the homes of Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Diane von Furstenberg and the late Steve Jobs.
Find vintage George Nakashima furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
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.