Midcentury Modern Shelf
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Formica
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
Formica, Beech
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Oak
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Glass, Teak
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Glass, Teak
Vintage 1970s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Marble, Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Pine
Mid-20th Century Danish Shelves
Brass, Iron
Vintage 1960s English Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
Mahogany
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Cane, Teak
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Plastic, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Stone
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Metal
2010s Romanian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Steel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Hardwood
Vintage 1960s Scandinavian Modern Night Stands
Hardwood
Vintage 1960s Scandinavian Modern Night Stands
Hardwood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Coat Racks and Stands
Wood
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Teak
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Brass
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Wood, Teak
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Wood, Teak
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
Iron
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Brass
20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Chrome
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Hardwood
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Steel
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Ceramic, Mirror, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Teak
Vintage 1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Oak, Mirror
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Teak
20th Century Spanish Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Wicker, Wood, Rattan
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Teak
Vintage 1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Tables
Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Chrome
Late 20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Wood
Vintage 1950s European Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
Metal
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Teak
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Metal
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Teak
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Walnut
Vintage 1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Iron
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Metal, Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Aluminum
Vintage 1960s Czech Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets
Glass, Wood
Vintage 1960s Czech Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets
Glass, Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Wood
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Teak
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Midcentury Modern Shelf For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Midcentury Modern Shelf?
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.
- What is midcentury modern?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertFebruary 22, 2021Organic shapes, clean lines and elegant simplicity describe mid-century modern American furniture well. The style, which emerged primarily in the post-World War II era, is characterized by furniture that was crafted by creators who believed that good design was key to good living.Today, mid-century modern is by far the largest category of furnishings on 1stDibs.
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