Herman Miller Black Plywood Eames Dining Chairs
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Walnut, Plywood
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
Antique Mid-19th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Ta...
Aluminum, Steel
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Aluminum, Steel
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Aluminum, Steel
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Aluminum, Steel
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Walnut
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Metal, Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Metal, Aluminum
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Steel
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Conference Tables
Aluminum, Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Bentwood, Cowhide
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Stools
Chrome
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21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Cane, Teak
2010s German Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Stainless Steel
20th Century French Desks
Metal
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century German Modern Chairs
Metal, Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1940s American Side Chairs
Ash
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
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Early 2000s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
20th Century American Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
Recent Sales
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Ash, Plywood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Plywood
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Aluminum, Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum, Steel
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Beech
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Teak
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Teak
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Stools
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
Rosewood
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
Rosewood
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
Rosewood
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Buffets
Metal
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
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Vintage 1940s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Ash
Vintage 1940s German Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
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Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Metal, Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Metal, Aluminum
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Conference Tables
Aluminum, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Conference Tables
Aluminum, Steel
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
Chrome
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Plywood
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20th Century American Side Chairs
Rubber
Vintage 1940s American Chairs
Herman Miller Black Plywood Eames Dining Chairs For Sale on 1stDibs
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A Close Look at mid-century-modern Furniture
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
- Emerged during the mid-20th century
- Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
- A heyday of innovation in postwar America
- Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
- A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
- Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
- Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
- Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
- Promotion of functionality
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
- Charles and Ray Eames
- Eero Saarinen
- Milo Baughman
- Florence Knoll
- Harry Bertoia
- Isamu Noguchi
- George Nelson
- Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
- Eames lounge chair
- Nelson daybed
- Florence Knoll sofa
- Egg chair
- Womb chair
- Noguchi coffee table
- Barcelona chair
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 legendary 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.
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.
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The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
A Guide to Herman Miller’s Most Iconic Furniture
The prolific manufacturer has partnered with many of the world’s top designers since opening its doors in 1923. Here are some of the company’s greatest hits, which helped transform the American home and office.
6 Surprisingly Modern Houses of Mid-Century Hollywood Stars
The innovative homes that once belonged to some of Tinseltown’s brightest stars prove that creative design is as daring as it is limitless.
Explore the Playful Side of Timeless Mid-Century Modern Design
A new exhibit takes a lighthearted look at the work of 40 American designers and architects.
1970s Corporate America Has Never Looked So Chic
Photographer Susan Ressler revisits the office life of decades past, whose style still resonates.