Miguel Milá 'Wally Cesta' Wall Lamp in Opal and White for Santa & Cole
By Santa & Cole, Miguel Milà
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Miguel Milá 'Wally Cesta' wall lamp in opal and white for Santa & Cole Founded in 1985 in Barcelona, Santa & Cole produces iconic pieces by such luminaries as llmari Tapiovaara, Mig...
Metal
Miguel Milá 'Wally Cesta' Wall Lamp in Opal and Black for Santa & Cole
By Santa & Cole, Miguel Milà
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Miguel Milá 'Wally Cesta' wall lamp in opal and black for Santa & Cole Founded in 1985 in Barcelona, Santa & Cole produces iconic pieces by such luminaries as llmari Tapiovaara, Mig...
Metal
$462Sale Price|20% Off
Pedant Lamp from Doria in Opal Glass with Braidet Rattan, Germany 1960s
By Doria Leuchten Germany
Located in Hannover, DE
This hanging lamp is simple and timeless, handcrafted combined with excellent glass art. The lampshade was made by hand by select craftsmen and has acquired a beautiful patina over t...
Rattan, Opaline Glass
Pair of White Opal Glass and Teak Wall Lamps, 1970s, Germany
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Pair of wall lamps made in Germany in the 1970s. It is fascinating with its glass ornaments. Textured opaline glass with teak body. The lights require one E14 light bulb. Works w...
Opaline Glass, Teak
Opal Glass with Yellow Decoratives Ceiling or Wall Lamp by VEB, 1950s, Germany
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Opal Glass with Yellow Decoratives Ceiling or Wall Lamp by VEB, 1950s, Germany Very elegant and Minimalist ceiling lamp. Lamp is in very good condition. These lamps works with E27...
Metal
'Filigrana' S2 Cylinder Lamp in Blue and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons
By Sebastian Wrong, Established & Sons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Filigrana' S2 Cylinder Lamp in Blue and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons The iconic Filigrana collection, created by former Established & Sons Creative Director Sebastian Wr...
Blown Glass, Acrylic
Pair of Extra Large Brass and Opal Glass Wall Lamps, Europe 1960s
Located in Utrecht, NL
The mid-20th century brought about a revolution in design throughout Europe, where function and form merged in the most intriguing ways. One such example of this era’s creativity is ...
Brass
Italian Modern Square Prism Opal Glass and Wood Top Pendant Lamp, 1960s, Italy
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Italian Modern Square Prism Opal Glass and Wood Top Pendant Lamp, 1960s, Italy Very elegant and Minimalist ceiling lamp. Lamp is in very good condition. These lamps works with E27...
Glass, Wood
'Filigrana' S2 Cylinder Lamp in Red and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons
By Sebastian Wrong, Established & Sons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Filigrana' S2 Cylinder Lamp in Red and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons The iconic Filigrana collection, created by former Established & Sons Creative Director Sebas...
Blown Glass, Acrylic
'Filigrana' S5 Globe Lamp in Black and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons
By Established & Sons, Sebastian Wrong
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Filigrana' S5 Globe Lamp in Black and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons The iconic Filigrana collection, created by former Established & Sons Creative Director Sebast...
Blown Glass, Acrylic
'Filigrana' S5 Globe Lamp in Red and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons
By Established & Sons, Sebastian Wrong
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Filigrana' S5 Globe Lamp in Red and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons The iconic Filigrana collection, created by former Established & Sons Creative Director Sebastia...
Blown Glass, Acrylic
'Filigrana' S5 Globe Lamp in Blue and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons
By Established & Sons, Sebastian Wrong
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Filigrana' S5 Globe Lamp in Blue and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons The iconic Filigrana collection, created by former Established & Sons Creative Director Sebasti...
Blown Glass, Acrylic
Michael Bang for Holmegaard — P&T Pendant Lamp, Black Opal Glass, Denmark 1970s
By Holmegaard, Michael Bang
Located in Rødekro, DK
A striking pendant lamp designed by Michael Bang for Holmegaard, Denmark. The P&T is one of Bang's most iconic works — mouth-blown opaline glass, deep black on the outside, white...
Opaline Glass
Triple Opal Glass & Teak Ceiling Lamp by Uno & Östen Kristiansson, 1960s Sweden
By Uno & Östen Kristiansson, Luxus Vittsjö
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Triple opal glass & teak ceiling lamp by Uno & Östen Kristiansson for Luxus Vittsjö, 1960s Sweden Scandinavian Modern chandelier. The lamp is in very good vintage condition. ...
Glass, Teak
Teak and Opal Glass Pendant Lamp by Uno & Östen Kristiansson for Luxus Sweden
By Luxus of Sweden, Uno & Östen Kristiansson
Located in Hagenbach, DE
This elegant pendant lamp, designed by Uno & Östen Kristiansson for Luxus Sweden in the 1960s, epitomizes mid-century modern design.
Opaline Glass, Teak
Teak and Opal Glass Pendant Lamp by Uno & Östen Kristiansson for Luxus Sweden
By Luxus of Sweden, Uno & Östen Kristiansson
Located in Hagenbach, DE
This elegant pendant lamp, designed by Uno & Östen Kristiansson for Luxus Sweden in the 1960s, epitomizes mid-century modern design.
Opaline Glass, Teak
Danish Modern 'Opal Lamella' Pendant Lamp by Svend Aage Holm Sorensen, 1950s
By Holm Sørensen
Located in Esbjerg, DK
This rare ceiling lamp was designed by Svend Aage Holm Sorensen for his own company Holm Sorensen Belysning in 1959. The name of this piece is 'Opal Lamella' and it is composed of a ...
Aluminum, Brass
Teak and Opal Glass Pendant Lamp by Uno & Östen Kristiansson for Luxus Sweden
By Luxus of Sweden, Uno & Östen Kristiansson
Located in Hagenbach, DE
This elegant pendant lamp, designed by Uno & Östen Kristiansson for Luxus Sweden in the 1960s, epitomizes mid-century modern design.
Opaline Glass, Teak
'Filigrana' S3 Ellipse Lamp in Blue and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons
By Established & Sons, Sebastian Wrong
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Filigrana' S3 Ellipse Lamp in Blue and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons The iconic Filigrana collection, created by former Established & Sons Creative Director Sebastian Wro...
Blown Glass, Acrylic
'Filigrana' S3 Ellipse Lamp in Black and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons
By Established & Sons, Sebastian Wrong
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Filigrana' S3 Ellipse Lamp in Black and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons The iconic Filigrana collection, created by former Established & Sons Creative Director Sebastian Wr...
Blown Glass, Acrylic
'Filigrana' S3 Ellipse Lamp in Red and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons
By Established & Sons, Sebastian Wrong
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Filigrana' S3 Ellipse Lamp in Red and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons The iconic Filigrana collection, created by former Established & Sons Creative Director Sebastian Wron...
Blown Glass, Acrylic
'Filigrana' S4 Ellipse Lamp in Blue and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons
By Sebastian Wrong, Established & Sons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Filigrana' S4 Ellipse Lamp in Blue and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons The iconic Filigrana collection, created by former Established & Sons Creative Director Sebastian Wro...
Blown Glass, Acrylic
'Filigrana' S4 Ellipse Lamp in Red and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons
By Sebastian Wrong, Established & Sons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Filigrana' S4 Ellipse Lamp in Red and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons The iconic Filigrana collection, created by former Established & Sons Creative Director Sebastian Wron...
Blown Glass, Acrylic
'Filigrana' S4 Ellipse Lamp in Black and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons
By Sebastian Wrong, Established & Sons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Filigrana' S4 Ellipse Lamp in Black and Opal Blown Glass for Established & Sons The iconic Filigrana collection, created by former Established & Sons Creative Director Sebastian Wr...
Blown Glass, Acrylic
Miguel Milá 'Wally Cestita' Wall Lamp in Opal Glass and Black for Santa & Cole
By Miguel Milà, Santa & Cole
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Miguel Milá 'Wally Cestita' wall lamp in opal glass and black for Santa & Cole Founded in 1985 in Barcelona, Santa & Cole produces iconic pieces by such luminaries as llma...
Metal
Miguel Milá 'Wally Cestita' Wall Lamp in Opal Glass and White for Santa & Cole
By Santa & Cole, Miguel Milà
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Miguel Milá 'Wally Cestita' wall lamp in opal glass and white for Santa & Cole Founded in 1985 in Barcelona, Santa & Cole produces iconic pieces by such luminaries as llmari Tapiova...
Metal
Small Teak and Opal Glass Pendant Lamp by Bent Karlby for Lyfa, Denmark, 1960s
By Stilnovo
Located in Hagenbach, DE
An exceptional example of mid-century Danish lighting design, this pendant is well suited above a dining table, in an entryway, or as a statement piece in a living space.
Opaline Glass, Wood, Teak
Large Teak and Opal Glass Pendant Lamp by Bent Karlby for Lyfa, Denmark, 1960s
By Stilnovo
Located in Hagenbach, DE
An exceptional example of mid-century Danish lighting design, this pendant is well suited above a dining table, in an entryway, or as a statement piece in a living space.
Opaline Glass, Wood, Teak
Very Large White Opal Hanging Lamp by Peill and Putzler, 1970s, Germany
By Peill & Putzler
Located in Hagenbach, DE
A Peill and Putzler hanging lamp made in Germany in the 1970s. It is fascinating with its glass ornaments. Textured opaline glass with aluminum top. The lamp has a beautiful cylinder...
Aluminum
Carlo Nason Three Shade Large Opal Glass Flush Mount Lamp, Italy, 1960
By Carlo Nason, Mazzega
Located in Vienna, AT
Rare Carlo Nason three Shade glass flush mount for Mazzega, Italy, 1960 Enormous Carlo Nason ceiling light with 22 inches in diameter in wonderful, undamaged condition. This light...
Brass
Rare Spin Top Shaped Pendant Lamp Opal Glass Attributed to Lelli, circa 1950
By Arteluce, Angelo Lelii
Located in Vienna, AT
Rare spin top shaped pendant lamp opal glass attributed to Lelli, circa 1950 Beautiful opal glass light, circa 1950, Italy featuring a double conical glass shade made from two parts...
Brass, Aluminum, Steel
Chrome and Opal Glass Pendant Lamp by P.G. Crippa for Lumi, Italy, 1960s
By Lumi, Pia Guidetti Crippa
Located in Hagenbach, DE
This elegant Italian ceiling lamp by Pia Guidetti Crippa for Lumi from the 1960s is a stunning example of mid-century modern design. The centerpiece is a beautifully crafted opaline ...
Metal
AM/AS ceiling lamp in opal glass & metal by Franco Albini for Sirrah Italy 1969
By Franco Albini and Franca Helg
Located in Arezzo, Italy
Rare AM/AS ceiling lamp designed by Franco Albini & Franca Helg for Sirrah, 1969. Opal white glass diffuser, chromed metal details, 2 pieces available. Excellent conditions. Fra...
Metal
Hans-Agne Jakobsson ceiling lamp, brass and opal glass, Sweden, 1960s, Set of 2
By Hans-Agne Jakobsson
Located in Göteborg, SE
These elegant ceiling lamps are designed by the very famous Hans-Agne Jacobsson. The ceiling lamps are made of brass and opaline glass. These lights are like jewelry for your ceilin...
Brass
Chandelier Lamp Style Lelii Opal Glass Steel Grid Mesh By G.C.M.E 1960, Italy
By Memphis Milano, G.C.M.E
Located in Vienna, AT
Rare suspension lamp by G.C.M.E Italy, circa 1960- Wonderful and large 35“ x 20“ example of a radical design chandelier G.C.M.E suspension light. So many things come to mind seeing...
Brass, Steel
Wall Lamp Around, 1950s
Located in Wien, Au
Wall lamp around 1950s 2 bulbs.
Opal
Model "1010" Ceiling Lamp by Sähköliikkeiden Oy, Finland 1950s
By SLO Sähköliikkeiden Oy
Located in Utrecht, NL
Their work sits alongside the broader mid-century Scandinavian approach, where lighting was treated as part of everyday architecture rather than exclusively decoration.
Opal
Wall Lamp Around 1950s 'White Color'
Located in Wien, Au
Wall lamp around 1950s (white color) Original condition 2 Bulbs.
Opal
Paavo Tynell Model "1612" Hanging Lamp for Taito, Finland 1930s
By Taito Oy, Paavo Tynell
Located in Utrecht, NL
Paavo Tynell is regarded as one of the most influential voices in Finnish lighting. As co-founder and artistic director of Taito, he shaped a new idea of domestic illumination. He so...
Opal, 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.
The right table lamp, outwardly sculptural chandelier or understated wall pendant can work wonders for your home. While we’re indebted to thinkers like Thomas Edison for critically important advancements in lighting and electricity, we’re still finding new ways to customize illumination to fit our personal spaces all these years later. A wide range of antique and vintage lighting can be found on 1stDibs.
Today, lighting designers like the self-taught Bec Brittain have used the flexible structure of LEDs to craft glamorous solutions by working with what is typically considered a harsh lighting source. By integrating glass and mirrors, reflection can be used to soften the glow from LEDs and warmly welcome light into any space.
Although contemporary innovators continue to impress, some of the classics can’t be beat.
Just as gazing at the stars allows you to glimpse the universe’s past, vintage chandeliers like those designed by Gino Sarfatti and J. & L. Lobmeyr, for example, put on a similarly stunning show, each with a rich story to tell.
As dazzling as it is, the Arco lamp, on the other hand, prioritizes functionality — it’s wholly mobile, no drilling required. Designed in 1962 by architect-product designers Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, the piece takes the traditional form of a streetlamp and creates an elegant, arching floor fixture for at-home use.
There is no shortage of modernist lighting similarly prized by collectors and casual enthusiasts alike — there are Art Deco table lamps created in a universally appreciated style, the Tripod floor lamp by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Greta Magnusson Grossman's sleek and minimalist Grasshopper lamps and, of course, the wealth of mid-century experimental lighting that emerged from Italian artisans at Arredoluce, FLOS and many more are hallmarks in illumination innovation.
With decades of design evolution behind it, home lighting is no longer just practical. Crystalline shaping by designers like Gabriel Scott turns every lighting apparatus into a luxury accessory. A new installation doesn’t merely showcase a space; carefully chosen ceiling lights, table lamps and floor lamps can create a mood, spotlight a favorite piece or highlight your unique personality.
The sparkle that your space has been missing is waiting for you amid the growing collection of antique, vintage and contemporary lighting for sale 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.