Philippe Starck Black Enameled Metal "John Ild" Bookshelf, 1977
By Disform, Philippe Starck
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Produced by Italian manufacturer Disform in 1977, the John Ild bookshelf is one of Philippe Starck's earliest documented furniture designs. Five ascending black lacquered metal shelv...
Metal, Enamel
Roma Bookshelf by Somaschini
Located in Geneve, CH
Roma Bookshelf by Somaschini Dimensions: W 65 x D 65 x H 161 cm Materials: Solid Roman Travertine structure. Boookshelf in solid Roman Travertine. About: Somaschini is a new-born ...
Travertine
$8,750
H 105.91 in W 123.23 in D 13 in
“Abracadabra” Shelving Unit by De Pas, D’Urbino & Lomazzi for Zerodisegnio 1990
By Gionathan de Pas & Donato D’Urbino & Paolo Lomazzi
Located in Almelo, NL
An iconic large-scale postmodern shelving unit from the “Abracadabra” series, designed by De Pas, D’Urbino & Lomazzi and manufactured by Zerodisegnio, Italy, 1990s. A striking archit...
Metal, Aluminum
$3,881 / item
H 35.83 in W 10.63 in D 16.54 in
W2343 Vertical Bookcase in Oak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W2343 Vertical Bookcase in Oak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 42 x W 27 x H 91 cm. Materials: Oak wood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries were part of a ...
Oak
$3,881 / item
H 45.28 in W 10.24 in D 11.42 in
W2355 Decorative Vertical Bookcase in Oak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W2355 Decorative Vertical Bookcase in Oak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 29 x W 26 x H 115 cm. Materials: Oak wood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries wer...
Oak
$8,704 / item
H 39.38 in Dm 39.38 in
Zafira Boiserie Wall Panel in Leather with Horn & Silk Detailing by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Zafira Boiserie Wall Panel in Leather with Horn & Silk Detailing by Arcahorn Dimensions: L 100 x H 100 cm. Materials: Horn, leather, and silk. Colours and shades of horn processed b...
Other
Foundation Bookshelf by Goons
Located in Geneve, CH
Foundation bookshelf by Goons Dimensions: W 74 x D 30 x H 150 cm Materials: Birch plywood. Oak finish. Dimensions can be adjusted +/- 10 cm Goons is located in Paris, France. All o...
Wood
$20,326 / item
H 90.56 in W 124.41 in D 19.3 in
Ariadne, Black and White Library Wall Units by Ultramobili
Located in Geneve, CH
Ariadne, Black and White Library Wall Units by Ultramobili Dimensions: W 316 x D 49 x H 230 cm Materials: Black Oak. Library with artistic door facades with volumetric abstract d...
Oak
$21,714 / item
H 76.38 in W 128.35 in D 18.12 in
Unique, Neutral Grey 3 Modular Library Wall Units by Ultramobili
Located in Geneve, CH
Unique, Mina Int 3 Modular Library Wall Units by Ultramobili Dimensions: W 326 x D 46 x H 194 cm Materials: Lacquered structure, wooden, ceramic or inox inserts. Bookcase compositi...
Wood, Lacquer
Memphis Milano Carlton Shelf by Ettore Sottsass
By Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Milano
Located in Toronto, ON
An absolute icon of Memphis designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1981, Carlton fully represents the programmatic intention of the group: the desire to transgress with an irreverent, unorth...
Laminate, Wood
$31,172 / item
H 76.38 in W 87.41 in D 64.57 in
Lacquered Finish with Walnut Modular Library by Ultramobili
Located in Geneve, CH
Unique, Mina Vintage Modular Library Wall Units by Ultramobili Dimensions: W 222 x D 164 x H 194 cm Materials: Vintage Bronze effect handmade lacquered finish with Walnut Noce. Mod...
Wood, Lacquer
$22,479 / item
H 48.82 in W 118.63 in D 38 in
Green Beige Lacquered 3-Tier Bookshelf with Rounded Inserts by Ultramobili
Located in Geneve, CH
Unique, Mina LW Modular Library Wall Units by Ultramobili Dimensions: W 301.3 x D 96.5 x H 124 cm Materials: Green Beige mat lacquered finish with Walnut Canaletto. Three-level boo...
Wood, Lacquer
Reading Horse by Made by Choice
Located in Geneve, CH
Reading horse, book stand by Made By Choice with Katrín Ólína Dimensions: 33 x 20, H34 cm Materials: Birch plywood Also available: natural oak / painted black or custom colors on re...
Plywood
Metal Eresia Bookcase by Amura Lab
Located in Geneve, CH
Metal Eresia Bookcase by Amura Lab Dimensions: W 322 x D 40 x H 206 cm Materials: FRAME: Metal. Amura Lab: In their gaze, they carry the strong and poignant beauty of Southern Italy...
Metal
Palm Bookcase by Marioni
Located in Geneve, CH
Palm Bookcase by Marioni Dimensions: W 177 x D 40 x H 186 cm. Materials: Brass structure, glazed decorative ceramic elements and wooden shelves. Product code: 02961 Palm bookcase w...
Brass
$615
H 26.77 in W 11.81 in D 8.27 in
Postmodern CD Rack Tower in Wood, Metal and Plastic from Ezech, 1980s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Postmodern CD Rack Tower in Wood, Metal and Plastic from Ezech, 1980s, in Very Good conditions. Designed 1980 to 1989 This piece has an attribution mark, Additional information: Mat...
Metal
Raw Bookshelves by DAaZ
Located in Geneve, CH
Raw Bookshelves by DAaZ Dimensions: D 47.5 x W 221 x H 180 cm. Materials: Ash wood. DAaZ Furniture honors the spirit of adventure. We embrace the escape of the ordinary and revel i...
Ash
$7,293
H 74.81 in W 47.25 in D 15.75 in
Rare Italian design bookcase wood and leather Jumbo Line L. Massoni - Frau 70s
By Luigi Massoni, Paltrona Frau
Located in Milano, MI
An authentic piece of Italian design from the postmodern period of the late 1980s/early 1990s, the Jumbo Line bookcase is the brainchild of Massoni/Morozzi for Poltrona Frau, a histo...
Chrome
$13,500
H 61.62 in W 73.43 in D 16.74 in
Italian Architectural Grid-Structured Higboard or Bookcase in Walnut
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Highboard or bookcase, walnut, Italy, 1980s Exceptional bookcase made in Italy that perfectly balances architectural elegance with a natural approach. The design is defined by a gra...
Walnut
$58,000
H 87.41 in W 68.9 in D 8.67 in
Pia Manu Hand Crafted Room Divider in Burnished Concrete and Stained Glass
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Pia Manu, room divider, burnished concrete, stained glass, steel, Belgium, 1970s This unique piece of art is assembled in the workshop of Pia Manu and is a great testament to their ...
Concrete, Steel
Big Round Pine Shelves by David Renault
Located in Geneve, CH
Big round pine shelves by David Renault Dimensions: D 180 cm Materials: pine wood Available in other wood shades and sizes. Shelves made of solid pine from eco-responsible forests, ...
Pine
Medium Round Pine Shelves by David Renault
Located in Geneve, CH
Medium round pine shelves by David Renault. Dimensions: D 160 cm. Materials: pine wood. Available in other wood shades and sizes. Shelves made of solid pine from eco-responsibl...
Pine
Small Round Pine Shelves by David Renault
Located in Geneve, CH
Small round pine shelves by David Renault Dimensions: D 140 cm Materials: pine wood Available in other wood shades and sizes. Shelves made of solid pine from eco-responsible forests...
Pine
$11,174
H 63 in W 47.25 in D 13.78 in
New Collection: Contemporary Arcadia Bookstore production by Vintage Domus
Located in Milano, IT
New Collection 2024: We present the brand-new Arcadia Bookcase, designed by Vintage Domus Collection. This bookcase, which can also serve as a cabinet for storing objects, has been d...
Wood
Oval Pine Shelves by David Renault
Located in Geneve, CH
Oval pine shelves by David Renault Dimensions: D 200 x H 170 cm Materials: pine wood Available in other wood shades and sizes. Shelves made of solid pine from eco-responsible forest...
Pine
$1,423 / item
H 7.09 in W 34.26 in D 9.85 in
Volume 02 Shelf in Light Brown Orange Stained Solid Abachi Wood by Tellurico
Located in Geneve, CH
Volume 02 Shelf in Light Brown Orange Stained Solid Abachi Wood by Tellurico Limited Edition of 16 Pieces + 1 A.P. Signed And Numbered. Dimensions: D 25 x W 87 x H 18 cm. Materials:...
Wood
Pyramid Shelf by Greg Palombo. Inspired by Shiro Kuramata
By Shiro Kuramata
Located in Hurricane, UT
The Pyramid Shelf is made and designed by American furniture maker Greg Palombo. This monumental shelf is a contemporary reinterpretation of the ancient and ubiquitous pyramid form. ...
Wood
$5,093 / item
H 35.44 in W 55.12 in D 15.75 in
Benchary Solid European Ash Mid-Height Bookcase by Marco Calhau
Located in Geneve, CH
Benchary Solid European Ash Mid-Height Bookcase by Marco Calhau Dimensions: D 40 x W 140 x H 90 cm. Materials: Solid European ash timber wood. All pieces are handmade and under orde...
Ash
$31,817
H 77.17 in W 74.81 in D 15.75 in
Carlton 30th Anniversary Bookcase by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Design
By Memphis Milano, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Ravenna, IT
Carlton is the most famous and iconic of all the objects designed for Memphis Milano. The piece was designed by Ettore Sottsass and first presented at the historic Memphis exhibition...
Laminate, Wood
$2,400 / item
H 84 in W 31.25 in D 18.5 in
Vintage 1980s Postmodern Lucite Lighted Freestanding Etagere Shelving Unit
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
A vintage postmodern lucite etagere. This is a lovely 1980s freestanding shelving unit with an all lucite construction. Both the top and the bottom of the frame features a bubbled te...
Lucite
Repeat Shelf Rusty Red Left by Warm Nordic
Located in Geneve, CH
Repeat shelf rusty Red Left by Warm Nordic Dimensions: D60 x W23 x H26cm Material: Powder coated aluminum Weight: 5 kg Also available in different colors. Flexible shelf unit...
Aluminum
Repeat Shelf Black Noir Left by Warm Nordic
Located in Geneve, CH
Repeat shelf black Noir Left by Warm Nordic Dimensions: D60 x W23 x H26cm Material: Powder coated aluminium Weight: 5 kg Also available in different colors. Flexible shelf un...
Aluminum
Repeat Shelf Rusty Red Right by Warm Nordic
Located in Geneve, CH
Repeat Shelf Rusty Red Right by Warm Nordic Dimensions: D60 x W23 x H26cm Material: Powder coated aluminium Weight: 5 kg Also available in different colours. Please contact us. ...
Aluminum
Repeat Shelf Green Olive Right by Warm Nordic
Located in Geneve, CH
Repeat shelf green olive right by Warm Nordic Dimensions: D 60 x W 23 x H 26cm Material: Powder coated aluminium Weight: 5 kg Also available in different colours. Flexible she...
Aluminum
Repeat Shelf Green Olive Left by Warm Nordic
Located in Geneve, CH
Repeat shelf green olive left by Warm Nordic Dimensions: D 60 x W 23 x H 26cm Material: Powder coated aluminium Weight: 5 kg Also available in different colours. Flexible shel...
Aluminum
Repeat Shelf Black Noir Right by Warm Nordic
Located in Geneve, CH
Repeat Shelf Black Noir Right by Warm Nordic Dimensions: D60 x W23 x H26cm Material: Powder coated aluminium Weight: 5 kg Also available in different colours. Please contact us. ...
Aluminum
Surreal Scandinavian Baby Body Ceramic Spice Rack in Pink Glaze
Located in Esbjerg, DK
Unknown/un-identified Scandinavian/Danish artist/ceramist small vanity/pill/perfume/spice rack/shelf for wall mount. Executed in ceramic and applied with a vibrant pink glaze. Plea...
Ceramic
$2,587
H 65.75 in W 19.69 in D 19.69 in
Postmodern "The Colonnades" Shelving Unit by Pascal Mourgue for Artelano, 1990s
By Pascal Mourgue
Located in Rouen, FR
Totemic shelving unit designed by Pascal Mourgue for Artelano in the 1990s, part of the iconic Colonnades collection. A sculptural piece that blurs the line between furniture and ar...
Glass, Oak
Oasi Console by WM Metal Design
By William Mulas
Located in Geneve, CH
Oasi Console by WM Metal Design Dimensions: D 48 x W 127 x H 140 cm. Materials: Aluminum. Oasi is a stunning aluminum sideboard with a design as decisive as its linear silhouette. ...
Aluminum
$68,061 / item
H 82.68 in W 23.82 in D 41.34 in
Limited Edition Primitivling Shelf in Black Marble by Justus Knut Schomann
Located in Geneve, CH
Limited Edition Primitivling Shelf in Black Marble by Justus Knut Schomann Limited Edition of 50 + 3AP. Dimensions: D 60,5 x W 105 x H 210 cm. Materials: Black marble. This piece ha...
Marble
Bona Large Desk by Pastform
Located in Geneve, CH
Bona Large Desk by Pastform Dimensions: D 73,5 x W 144 x H 76 cm. Materials: Stained and varnished wood. Available in different wood color finishes and combinations: Whiskey, Rum, N...
Wood
Cop Brown Medium Desk by Pastform
Located in Geneve, CH
Cop Brown Medium Desk by Pastform Dimensions: D 45 x W 120 x H 76 cm. Materials: Stained and varnished wood. Available in different wood color finishes and combinations: Whiskey, Ru...
Wood
David Desk by Pastform
Located in Geneve, CH
David Desk by Pastform Dimensions: D 61,5 x W 140 x H 78 cm. Materials: Stained and varnished wood. Available in different wood color finishes and combinations: Whiskey, Rum, Nobel,...
Wood
Aries Medium Desk by Pastform
Located in Geneve, CH
Aries Medium Desk by Pastform Dimensions: D 65 x W 150 x H 76 cm. Materials: Stained and varnished wood. Available in different wood color finishes and combinations: Whiskey, Rum, N...
Wood
Large Desk by Pastform
Located in Geneve, CH
1960 Large Desk by Pastform Dimensions: D 50 x W 120 x H 76 cm. Materials: Stained and varnished wood. Available in different wood color finishes and combinations: Edel/Schwarz, Rum...
Wood
Saban Large Desk by Pastform
Located in Geneve, CH
Saban Large Desk by Pastform Dimensions: D 60 x W 144 x H 76 cm. Materials: Stained and varnished wood. Available in different wood color finishes: Whiskey, Rum, BPA, Nobel, Brandy,...
Wood
Gemini Large Desk by Pastform
Located in Geneve, CH
Gemini Large Desk by Pastform Dimensions: D 55 x W 140 x H 76 cm. Materials: Stained and varnished wood. Available in different wood color finishes: Whiskey, Rum, BPA, Nobel, Brandy...
Wood
Gemini Medium Desk by Pastform
Located in Geneve, CH
Gemini Medium Desk by Pastform Dimensions: D 55 x W 120 x H 76 cm. Materials: Stained and varnished wood. Available in different wood color finishes: Whiskey, Rum, BPA, Nobel, Brand...
Wood
Classy Medium Desk by Pastform
Located in Geneve, CH
Classy Medium Desk by Pastform Dimensions: D 65 x W 160 x H 75 cm. Materials: Stained and varnished wood. Available in different wood color finishes: Whiskey, Rum, BPA, Nobel, Brand...
Wood
Bar Medium Desk by Pastform
Located in Geneve, CH
Bar Medium Desk by Pastform Dimensions: D 55 x W 120 x H 76 cm. Materials: Stained and varnished wood. Available in different wood color finishes: Whiskey, Rum, BPA, Nobel, Brandy, ...
Wood
$17,850
H 51 in W 43.75 in D 15.25 in
Barbarella Writing Desk / Secretary by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, 1966/1985
By Poltronova, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Kansas City, MO
Ettore Sottsass Barbarella cabinet for Poltronova, Italy. Designed in 1966, produced in 1985. The cabinet features three drawers over a drop-front writing surface concealing two draw...
Brass
$47,828 / item
H 106.3 in Dm 114.18 in
Neria Modular Shelving in Lacquered Wood, Horn & Burnished Metal by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Neria Modular Shelving in Lacquered Wood, Horn & Burnished Metal by Arcahorn Dimensions: L 290 x H 270 cm. Materials: Horn, lacquered wood, and burnished metal. Colours and shades o...
Other, Metal
Laminated Maple Vitulus Floating Shelf by David Tragen
Located in Geneve, CH
Laminated Maple Vitulus Floating Shelf by David Tragen Dimensions: W 110 x D 20 x H 14 cm Materials: Maple (Laminated), Painted. Weight: 2 kg. The elegant balletic movement of a se...
Maple
Laminated Ash Genie Floating Shelf by David Tragen
Located in Geneve, CH
Laminated Ash Genie Floating Shelf by David Tragen Dimensions: W 120 x D 66 x H 19 cm Materials: Ash (Laminated). Weight: 3 kg. If you’re looking to conjure up something special fo...
Ash
Ash Comet Floating Shelf by David Tragen
Located in Geneve, CH
Ash Comet Floating Shelf by David Tragen Dimensions: W 110 x D 14.5 x H 7 cm Materials: Ash. Weight: 3 kg. Comet catches the movement of light across the sky, in this angular, scul...
Ash
$5,881Sale Price|20% Off
H 28.25 in W 31.5 in D 32.5 in
Rare Sesamo Pop Up Desk / Secretary by Gianfranco Frattini for Bernini, 1981
By Bernini, Gianfranco Frattini
Located in Basel, BS
Exquisite and very rare Pop Up Desk by Gianfranco Frattini in Italy for Bernini. Label present, and all drawer pulls are stamped with the logo. When you pull the leather desk top fo...
Leather, Beech
Vittorio Introini for Proposals Wall Unit in Steel and Glass
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Vittorio Introini for Proposals wall unit or library, glass, steel, brass, Italy, 1970s This exceptional made-to-order wall unit was designed by Vittorio Introini and manufactured b...
Steel
Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
Of all the vintage storage cabinets and antique case pieces that have become popular in modern interiors over the years, dressers, credenzas and cabinets have long been home staples, perfect for routine storage or protection of personal items.
In the mid-19th century, cabinetmakers would mimic styles originating in the Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI eras for their dressers, bookshelves and other structures, and, later, simpler, streamlined wood designs allowed these “case pieces” or “case goods” — any furnishing that is unupholstered and has some semblance of a storage component — to blend into the background of any interior.
Mid-century modern furniture enthusiasts will cite the tall modular wall units crafted in teak and other sought-after woods of the era by the likes of George Nelson, Poul Cadovius and Finn Juhl. For these highly customizable furnishings, designers of the day delivered an alternative to big, heavy bookcases by considering the use of space — and, in particular, walls — in new and innovative ways. Mid-century modern credenzas, which, long and low, evolved from tables that were built as early as the 14th century in Italy, typically have no legs or very short legs and have grown in popularity as an alluring storage option over time.
Although the name immediately invokes images of clothing, dressers were initially created in Europe for a much different purpose. This furnishing was initially a flat-surfaced, low-profile side table equipped with a few drawers — a common fixture used to dress and prepare meats in English kitchens throughout the Tudor period. The drawers served as perfect utensil storage. It wasn’t until the design made its way to North America that it became enlarged and equipped with enough space to hold clothing and cosmetics. The very history of case pieces is a testament to their versatility and well-earned place in any room.
In the spirit of positioning your case goods center stage, decluttering can now be design-minded.
A contemporary case piece with open shelving and painted wood details can prove functional as a storage unit as easily as it can a room divider. Alternatively, apothecary cabinets are charming case goods similar in size to early dressers or commodes but with uniquely sized shelving and (often numerous) drawers.
Whether you’re seeking a playful sideboard that features colored glass and metal details, an antique Italian hand-carved storage cabinet or a glass-door vitrine to store and show off your collectibles, there are options for you on 1stDibs.