Midcentury Modern Chess Sets
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desk Sets
Travertine
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Games
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
Iron
Vintage 1960s Czech Mid-Century Modern Desk Sets
Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Games
Metal
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Game Boards
Marble
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Games
Metal
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Games
Brass
Vintage 1960s English Mid-Century Modern Games
Enamel
Vintage 1960s Israeli Mid-Century Modern Games
Metal, Brass, Copper, Zinc
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Games
Iron, Nickel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Games
Wood
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Games
Aluminum
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Games
Leather, Wood
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Games
Metal, Bronze
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Games
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Games
Nickel
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Games
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Games
Onyx, Marble
20th Century Pakistani Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Games
Aluminum
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Center Tables
Plastic
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Games
Onyx, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Games
Iron, Nickel
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Games
Alabaster
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Games
Malachite, Onyx, Marble
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Games
Wood, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Games
Nickel
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Games
Alabaster
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Games
Felt, Plastic
20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Velvet, Beech
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Center Tables
Plastic
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Games
Nickel
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Games
Alabaster
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Games
Maple, Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Stools
Composition
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Game Tables
Brass, Pewter
Early 20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Games
Wood
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Games
Bronze
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Games
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Games
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Games
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Games
Steel
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Games
Gold Leaf
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Games
Brass, Chrome
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Ceramic
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Games
Metal
Vintage 1950s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Game Boards
Lead
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Games
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Barware
Metal, Chrome
2010s South African Mid-Century Modern Game Tables
Brass, Copper
2010s South African Mid-Century Modern Game Tables
Brass, Copper
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Games
Gold, Silver
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Games
Synthetic, Plastic
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Games
Paper
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Games
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Games
Lucite
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Games
Malachite, Marble
Vintage 1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Games
Bronze
20th Century Unknown Art Deco Figurative Sculptures
Bronze, Cut Steel
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Midcentury Modern Chess Sets For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Midcentury Modern Chess Sets?
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 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.
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End Your Quest for Fire with This Handmade Majolica Chimney
Prehistoric motifs give the mid-century Italian fireplace an elemental feel.
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39 Incredible Swimming Pools
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The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
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Iconic Furniture Makes This 1958 Midwestern Home a True Mid-Century Gem
Designer Susan Yeley turned to 1stDibs to outfit an Indiana home with standout pieces that complement its modernist style.
The Ultimate Guide to Types of Tables for the Home
Whether you’re just moving in or ready to give your home a makeover, our guide will give you pointers on tables that are fitting for every room, nook and hallway.
Why Is Italy Such a Hotbed of Cool Design?
Patrizio Chiarparini of Brooklyn’s Duplex gallery sheds light on the lasting legacy of Italy’s postwar furniture boom.