Moraine Sofa

Zaha Hadid left an indelible mark on the architectural world, transforming the look of contemporary architecture with her striking abstract and modernist designs. Fluid forms and Constructivist aesthetics — such as bold colors and softly angular edges — are the keynotes of her buildings and her furniture. Hadid’s work is the essence of energy and drama.

Born in Baghdad, Iraq, Hadid studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and made that city her home for much of her life. Hadid’s design sensibility was formed more by art than architecture. In college, she was first inspired by the Russian avant-garde school of artists. The influence of painters such as Wassily Kandinsky and Kazimir Malevich is apparent in Hadid’s early work, in which she created abstract paintings and drawings to convey her ideas. The distortion of geometric shapes is a particularly prominent and recurring theme in her work. Hadid founded her firm in 1980, from which she launched architectural triumphs like the MAXXI Museum in Rome and the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art at Cincinnati's Contemporary Arts Center.

Hadid’s furniture and sculptures provide her admirers with the chance to bring the beauty and drama of her architecture into their homes. These designs are true centerpieces that fill even staid rooms with fluidity and rhythm. The organic forms of her designs bring a sweeping sense of movement to stationary objects. The furniture exhibits a kind of playfulness and creates a relationship with the user. Hadid transformed furniture into fine art.

Find authentic Zaha Hadid tables, lighting and other works on 1stDibs.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”

Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.

Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.

It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.

Vintage couches and antique sofas have anchored living rooms for generations. The pieces most sought after today carry the deep-buttoned tufting of a Chesterfield or the low, sculptural ease of mid-century modern and Hollywood Regency design.

Styles to Know

Rolled arms and tufted backs point to Mid-Century Modern or Hollywood Regency pieces, while tight backs and turned legs skew more traditional. Velvet is enjoying a renewed moment across most of these silhouettes; see our velvet chesterfield sofa trend report for examples. A mid-century modern coffee table within reach and a vintage mirror nearby round out the seating area.

How to Choose the Right Vintage Sofa

A sofa's frame and upholstery history can be difficult to judge from photographs alone. Ask a seller for more information when a listing doesn't show the fabric or joinery clearly, and confirm whether the upholstery is original or has been redone. Each piece comes from a vetted 1stDibs seller, with era, designer and condition detailed, and the 1stDibs Promise stands behind every purchase.