Nawaaz Saldulker
2010s South African Modern Shelves
Plastic
2010s South African Modern Stools
Plastic
2010s South African Modern Rocking Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Chaise Longues
Steel
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Rattan, Teak
Mid-20th Century Burkinabe Tribal Chairs
Wood
Mid-20th Century Tribal Slipper Chairs
Hardwood
2010s Italian Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Upholstery
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Steel, Brass
20th Century American Abstract Sculptures
Walnut
Early 20th Century Malian Tribal Chairs
Wood
Early 20th Century American Folk Art Signs
Wood
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Maple
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
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Walnut
Early 20th Century Indian Anglo-Indian Tribal Art
Wrought Iron
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Wood
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Steel
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Oak
Vintage 1910s German Posters
Paper
Materials: Plastic Furniture
Arguably the world’s most ubiquitous man-made material, plastic has impacted nearly every industry. In contemporary spaces, new and vintage plastic furniture is quite popular and its use pairs well with a range of design styles.
From the Italian lighting artisans at Fontana Arte to venturesome Scandinavian modernists such as Verner Panton, who created groundbreaking interiors as much as he did seating — see his revolutionary Panton chair — to contemporary multidisciplinary artists like Faye Toogood, furniture designers have been pushing the boundaries of plastic forever.
When The Graduate's Mr. McGuire proclaimed, “There’s a great future in plastics,” it was more than a laugh line. The iconic quote is an allusion both to society’s reliance on and its love affair with plastic. Before the material became an integral part of our lives — used in everything from clothing to storage to beauty and beyond — people relied on earthly elements for manufacturing, a process as time-consuming as it was costly.
Soon after American inventor John Wesley Hyatt created celluloid, which could mimic luxury products like tortoiseshell and ivory, production hit fever pitch, and the floodgates opened for others to explore plastic’s full potential. The material altered the history of design — mid-century modern legends Charles and Ray Eames, Joe Colombo and Eero Saarinen regularly experimented with plastics in the development of tables and chairs, and today plastic furnishings and decorative objects are seen as often indoors as they are outside.
Find vintage plastic lounge chairs, outdoor furniture, lighting and more on 1stDibs.
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