Midcentury Italian Small Sofa
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet, Beech
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet, Beech
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Hardwood
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Suede, Plastic
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Wood
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Metal
Vintage 1970s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Steel
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Iron
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric, Velvet, Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Metal
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Brass
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Foam, Upholstery
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Sofas
Wicker, Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather, Hardwood
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Bamboo
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Bouclé, Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Fabric, Foam, Wood
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Chrome
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet, Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather, Hardwood
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Beech, Leather
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass, Iron
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric, Foam, Wood
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet, Wood
Vintage 1950s Italian Modern Sofas
Wood, Fabric, Rosewood
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Bouclé
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet, Beech
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Animal Skin, Sheepskin, Beech
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather, Foam
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather, Foam
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Bouclé, Beech
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Bouclé, Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Steel, Chrome
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather
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Midcentury Italian Small Sofa For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Midcentury Italian Small Sofa?
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.
Read More
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Chair Shook Modernism and Charmed Hollywood
The enduring appeal of the Barcelona chair is in the details.
Herman Miller Got Its Start in the Office, but Its Legacy Is in the Home
The brand that turned Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi and George Nelson into mid-century household names is just as relevant today as it was six decades ago.
May’s Most Popular Interiors on Instagram
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April’s Most-Liked Interiors on Instagram
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See How New York City Designers Experiment on Their Own Homes
There are many lessons to be learned from the lofts, apartments and townhouses of architects and decorators in Manhattan and beyond.
Jeff Andrews Captures Old Hollywood Glamour in His Cinematic Spaces
Having created extravagant homes for reality TV’s biggest stars, the designer is stepping into the spotlight with his first book.
New Orleans’ Lee Ledbetter Makes Design Magic by Mixing Past and Present
The Louisiana-born and -bred architect talks to 1stdibs about the art of making timeless places that matter.