$2,182 / item
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
$3,375 / item
Ju Shelf by Estudio Prosa
Located in Geneve, CH
Ju Shelf by Estudio Prosa Dimensions: W 90 x D 90 x H 25 cm Materials: Wood. Available in Cedro Arana, Jequitiba, Muiracatiara, or Cumaru wood options. Please contact us. The Prosa...
Wood
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
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
Philippe Starck Black Enameled Metal "John Ild" Bookshelf, 1977
By Philippe Starck, Disform
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
$10,496 / item
Shelf Bookcase by Pol Quadens
Located in Geneve, CH
Shelf Bookcase by Pol Quadens Limited Edition Of 8+4 Pieces. Dimensions: D 25 x W 75 x H 200 cm. Materials: Patinated rust steel. Pol Quadens was born in Brussels. His father was a...
Steel
$9,840 / item
Gravità E 150 Bookcase by Dale Italia
Located in Geneve, CH
Gravità E 150 Bookcase by Dale Italia Dimensions: D 40 x W 298 x H 208 cm. Materials: Walnut and glass. Bookcase in solid Canaletto walnut composed from single modules. The packagin...
Walnut
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
$11,558 / item
Feno Modular Shelf II by Frau Caze
Located in Geneve, CH
Feno Modular Shelf II by Frau Caze Dimensions: D 37 x W 120 x H 37 cm (Sliding door module), D 37 x W 120 x H 37 cm (Module 3 compartments), D 55 x W 120 x H 2 cm (Shelf), D 37 x W 1...
Spruce
$8,457 / item
Feno Modular Shelf by Frau Caze
Located in Geneve, CH
Feno Modular Shelf by Frau Caze Dimensions: D 37 x W 120 x H 37 cm (Sliding door module), D 37 x W 120 x H 37 cm (Module 3 compartments), D 55 x W 120 x H 2 cm (Shelf). Materials: Na...
Spruce
W2320 Wall Hanging Shelf in Honduras Rosewood Burl Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W2320 Wall Hanging Shelf in Honduras Rosewood Burl Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 35 x W 69 x H 2,5 cm. Materials: Honduras rosewood burl. All wall shelves include steel pin...
Wood
W2360 Wall Hanging Shelf in Yew Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W2360 Wall Hanging Shelf in Yew Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 32,5 x W 206 x H 11 cm. Materials: Yew wood. All wall shelves include steel pin holders for discreet mounting....
Yew
W2380 Wall Hanging Shelf in Oak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W2380 Wall Hanging Shelf in Oak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 27 x W 212 x H 23 cm. Materials: Oak wood. All wall shelves include steel pin holders for discreet mounting. P...
Oak
W2373 Wall Hanging Shelf in Oak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W2373 Wall Hanging Shelf in Oak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 22 x W 198 x H 60 cm. Materials: Oak wood. All wall shelves include steel pin holders for discreet mounting. P...
Oak
W2423 Wall Hanging Shelf in Teak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W2423 Wall Hanging Shelf in Teak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 22,5 x W 125 x H 4,5 cm. Materials: Teak wood. All wall shelves include steel pin holders for discreet mounti...
Teak
W2403 Wall Hanging Shelf in Teak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W2403 Wall Hanging Shelf in Teak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 25,5 x W 138,5 x H 4 cm. Materials: Teak wood. All wall shelves include steel pin holders for discreet mounti...
Teak
W2393 Wall Hanging Shelf in Walnut Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W2393 Wall Hanging Shelf in Walnut Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 27 x W 140 x H 5 cm. Materials: Walnut wood. All wall shelves include steel pin holders for discreet mounti...
Walnut
W1032 Wall Hanging Shelf in Pao Rosa Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W1032 Wall Hanging Shelf in Pao Rosa Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 18 x W 220 x H 3 cm. Materials: Pao Rosa wood. All wall shelves include steel pin holders for discreet mo...
Wood
W1275 Wall Hanging Shelf in Bog Oak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W1275 Wall Hanging Shelf in Bog Oak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 16,5 x W 200 x H 3 cm. Materials: Oak wood. All wall shelves include steel pin holders for discreet mounti...
Oak
W1244 Wall Hanging Shelf in Padouk Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W1244 Wall Hanging Shelf in Padouk Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 24,5 x W 174 x H 3,5 cm. Materials: Padouk wood. All wall shelves include steel pin holders for discreet mo...
Padouk
W0118 Wall Hanging Shelf in Mulberry Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W0118 Wall Hanging Shelf in Mulberry Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 28 x W 100 x H 2,5 cm. Materials: Mulberry wood. All wall shelves include steel pin holders for discreet ...
Wood
W1254 Wall Hanging Shelf in European Walnut Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W1254 Wall Hanging Shelf in European Walnut Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 19,5 x W 255 x H 2,5 cm. Materials: Walnut wood. All wall shelves include steel pin holders for di...
Walnut
W1013 Wall Hanging Shelf in Wych Elm Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W1013 Wall Hanging Shelf in Wych Elm Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 28 x W 255 x H 4 cm. Materials: Elm wood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries were part...
Elm
W1062 Wall Hanging Shelf in Ziricote Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W1062 Wall Hanging Shelf in Ziricote Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 23 x W 240 x H 2,5 cm. Materials: Ziricote wood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries we...
Ziricote
W1070 Wall Hanging Shelf in Cocobolo Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W1070 Wall Hanging Shelf in Cocobolo Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 17 x W 185 x H 3 cm. Materials: Cocobolo wood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries were...
Wood
W1121 Wall Hanging Shelf in Cocobolo Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W1121 Wall Hanging Shelf in Cocobolo Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 17,5 x W 162,5 x H 2 cm. Materials: Cocobolo wood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries ...
Wood
W0049 Wall Hanging Shelf in Cocobolo Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W0049 Wall Hanging Shelf in Cocobolo Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 20 x W 155 x H 2,5 cm. Materials: Cocobolo wood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries we...
Wood
W0099 Wall Hanging Shelf in Zirikote Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W0099 Wall Hanging Shelf in Zirikote Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 23 x W 190 x H 3 cm. Materials: Zirikote wood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries were...
Ziricote
W1234 Wall Hanging Shelf in Zirikote Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W1234 Wall Hanging Shelf in Zirikote Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 19,5 x W 178 x H 2,5 cm. Materials: Zirikote wood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries ...
Ziricote
W1214 Wall Hanging Shelf in Natural Oak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W1214 Wall Hanging Shelf in Natural Oak Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 14 x W 149 x H 14 cm. Materials: Oak wood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries were ...
Oak
W1224 Wall Hanging Shelf in Zirikote Dark Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W1224 Wall Hanging Shelf in Zirikote Dark Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 22 x W 126 x H 2,5 cm. Materials: Zirikote wood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuri...
Ziricote
W2290 Wall Hanging Shelf in Natural Poplar Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W2290 Wall Hanging Shelf in Natural Poplar Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 28 x W 140 x H 60 cm. Materials: Poplar wood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries...
Poplar
W2310 Wall Hanging Shelf in Natural Poplar Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W2310 Wall Hanging Shelf in Natural Poplar Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 20 x W 88 x H 70 cm. Materials: Poplar wood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries ...
Poplar
W2280 Wall Hanging Shelf in Trop. Driftwood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W2280 Wall Hanging Shelf in Trop. Driftwood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 21 x W 44 x H 14 cm. Materials: Driftwood. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries were p...
Driftwood
$36,738 / item
Stair Shelf Installation Shelf by Haus Otto
Located in Geneve, CH
Stair Shelf Installation Shelf by Haus Otto Dimensions: D100 x W85 x (95cm/170cm/245cm) Materials: Painted Chipboard Wood Stair Shelf Is a modular shelving system composed of r...
Wood
Cengia Cherry Wood, Glossy Lacquered Shelf by DOLOMITISCH
Located in Geneve, CH
Cengia Cherry Wood, Glossy Lacquered Shelf by DOLOMITISCH Dimensions: W 64 x D 18 x H 130 cm Materials: Cherry Wood, Glossy Lacquered Wood. "Customization of the topographic furn...
Cherry, Lacquer
Neutral Green Low Bookcase Console with 2 Shelves and Two Columns by Ultramobili
Located in Geneve, CH
Mina 2, Low Bookcase Console with 2 Shelves and Two Columns by Ultramobili Dimensions: W 150 x D 42 x H 86 cm Materials: Lacquered structure, Wooden, Ceramic, Inox inserts. Low boo...
Wood, Lacquer
Ecru White Modular Library with 4 Shelves and Two Columns by Ultramobili
Located in Geneve, CH
Mina 220, Modular Library with 4 Shelves and Two Columns by Ultramobili Dimensions: W 220 x D 42 x H 194 cm Materials: Lacquered structure, Wooden, Ceramic, Inox inserts. Modular ...
Wood, Lacquer
Light Green Lacquered Library with Four Shelves and Two Columns by Ultramobili
Located in Geneve, CH
Mina 150, Lacquered Library with Four Shelves and Two Columns by Ultramobili Dimensions: W 150 x D 42 x H 194 cm Materials: Lacquered structure, Wooden, Ceramic, Inox inserts. Lac...
Wood, Lacquer
Mina 240 Graphite Grey Lacquer Finish and Walnut by Ultramobili
Located in Geneve, CH
Mina 240 Graphite Grey Lacquer Finish and Walnut by Ultramobili Dimensions: W 240 x D 42 x H 194 cm Materials: Lacquered structure, Wooden, Ceramic, Inox inserts. Modular library ...
Wood, Lacquer
Wood Sistema Parere Bookcase by Amura Lab, Metal & Wood, Italy
Located in Geneve, CH
Wood Sistema Parere Bookcase by Amura Lab Dimensions: W 388 x D 38 x H 240 cm Materials: STRUCTURE: wood SHELVES: metal and wood DOORS: wood, glass, leather and cuoio. Amura Lab: In...
Metal
$38,122 / item
Wood Sistema Parere Bookcase by Amura Lab
Located in Geneve, CH
Wood Sistema Parere Bookcase by Amura Lab Dimensions: W 228 x D 39 x H 160 cm Materials: STRUCTURE: wood SHELVES: metal and wood DOORS: wood, glass, leather and cuoio. Amura Lab: In...
Metal
$40,675 / item
Mikado Library by Christian Friedl
Located in Geneve, CH
Mikado Library by Christian Friedl Limited Edition of 3 Dimensions: D 45 x W 280 x H 185 cm. Materials: Walnut, beech. Mikado tells his story... I`m a sculpture in your space, you c...
Beech, Walnut
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
Brown Geometric Wood Contemporary Booking Library By Christian Friedl
Located in Geneve, CH
Booking Library by Christian Friedl Unique Piece. Dimensions: D 55 x W 320 x H 164 cm. Materials: Walnut, brass. „A tree trunk – a unique piece of furniture“..., that is the idea of...
Brass
$1,192 / item
Open Cube 45 Lighted Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Lighted Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Available in two...
Other
Open Cube 45 Flame Red Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Flame Red Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Available in t...
Other
Open Cube 45 Elephant Grey Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Elephant Grey Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Available ...
Other
Open Cube 45 Malva Green Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Malva Green Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Available in...
Other
Open Cube 45 Sweet Fuchsia Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Sweet Fuchsia Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Available ...
Other
Open Cube 45 Jet Black Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Jet Black Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Available in t...
Other
Open Cube 45 Dove Grey Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Dove Grey Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Available in t...
Other
Open Cube 45 Saffron Yellow Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Saffron Yellow Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Available...
Other
Open Cube 45 Powder Blue Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Powder Blue Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Available in...
Other
Open Cube 45 Pumpkin Orange Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Pumpkin Orange Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Available...
Other
Open Cube 45 Lime Green Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Lime Green Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Available in ...
Other
Open Cube 45 Milky White Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Milky White Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Available in...
Other
Open Cube 45 Chocolate Brown Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Chocolate Brown Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Availabl...
Other
Open Cube 45 Argil Grey Modular Display by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Open Cube 45 Argil Grey Modular Display by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. Available in ...
Other
$4,473 / item
Hexa Powder Blue Bookcase by Taeke Halma
Located in Geneve, CH
Hexa Powder Blue Bookcase by Taeke Halma Dimensions: D 37 x W 198 x H 112 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 28 kg. Available in different color options. Prices may vary. This pro...
Other
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.