Lucite Chair Herman Miller

Antique, new and vintage Lucite furniture has been on design editors’ radars for several seasons now, but thanks to a renewed interest in Lucite coffee tables, chairs and other pieces from the late 1960s and ’70s, the trend has reached fever pitch.

“I think there’s a freshness and cleanness to it,” says Fawn Galli, an interior designer based in New York. Not only is Lucite, or transparent plastic, practical, since it can work in nearly any environment, it’s incredibly stylish.

Some of the most acclaimed furniture designers share the same love for Lucite as an effective and practical material for use in any interior.

“I think there’s something really nice about the simplicity of anything Lucite or acrylic — it feels lightweight,” says Tamara Eaton, whose eponymous firm deftly balances traditional and modern designs. Even in the most historical setting, “you can still introduce some Lucite or something kind of lightweight and not have it feel like a distinct interjection, but a playful one that’s more about the shape,” she says.

For the living room in a mid-century modern townhouse in Park Slope, Brooklyn, Eaton chose a pair of box-shaped Lucite tables with copper handles from Jamie Dietrich. “We didn’t want anything to be too heavy, and that area was a place where [the family] would sometimes move those tables so the kids could play,” she says. The tables doubled as snack trays since the kitchen is nearby. “They have this transportable feel to them that I think was really fun.”

Browse a range of antique, new and vintage Lucite side tables, table lamps and other furniture now on 1stDibs.

An essential part of every office or home workstation, office chairs and desk chairs are critically important to your comfort and getting the job done.

Desk chairs have evolved over time. While writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson pined for a wider range of motion and introduced some improvements to his English-style Windsor chair, inventing the swivel chair along the way. So the next time you roll, recline or swivel at your vintage desk, remember: The third president of the United States had a lot to do with that functionality.

Changes in the availability of resources have also led to innovations in desk chair design. After World War II, for example, optimistic American designers made use of wartime materials in their efforts to create practical domestic goods.

Mid-century modernism is the name given to the broad postwar time period that prioritized thoughtful design. Journalist Cara Greenberg, who coined the term “mid-century modernism,” cites “ergonomic wisdom” as part of the reason for the longevity of the era’s furnishings, and when it comes to sitting in a desk chair for hours at a time, what could be more important than ergonomic support?

As mid-century modernism was marked by resourcefulness and boundless creativity — and produced designers who, in most cases, prioritized comfort and support — it follows that all mid-century chairs are not the same. Nowhere is this perhaps more evident than at Herman Miller. The legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer got its start in the office, with design director George Nelson enlisting the likes of Charles and Ray Eames to produce desk chairs and lounge chairs that are still celebrated today. Elsewhere at the time, the numerous pieces Florence Knoll created for Knoll’s office furniture line were envisioned as design solutions for the changing needs of residential and office spaces.

If you’re working remotely and streamlined seating isn’t your thing, don’t be afraid of making a statement with your office chair. Introduce a touch of drama to your video calls by way of 19th-century desk accessories and the alluring forms we typically associate with antique desk chairs designed in the Empire and Regency styles. For a minimalist touch, a spare, utilitarian Industrial-style office chair can work in any space but will fit in particularly well amid the exposed brick and steel architecture that characterizes a loft apartment.

An inspiring home office cleverly mixes materials and styles to create a welcoming place of productivity and comfort, and if you’re gathering with colleagues at your company HQ, an array of wood, leather and metal office chairs can help integrate disparate textures in a conference room or any other collaborative space. On 1stDibs, explore a diverse collection of office and desk chairs today.