Postmodern Italian Graffiti Shelf by Rodney Kinsman for Bieffeplast, 1980s
By Rodney Kinsman
Located in Hamburg, DE
Metal shelf from the Italian manufacturer Biefeplast according to a draft from Rodney Kinsman from the 80s. A design classic of the 80s in postmodern formal language. This modular s...
Metal
$6,533 / item
Mett Bookcase by Andrea Giomi
Located in Geneve, CH
Mett bookcase by Andrea Giomi Dimensions: D 45 x W 90 x H 200 cm Materials: various types of recycled wood o material on request. Andrea Giomi, was born in Castelfiorentino in t...
Wood
Marble And Ebony Natura Sculptural Library by Atelier Terrai
Located in Geneve, CH
Marble And Ebony Natura Sculptural Library by Atelier Terrai Dimensions: D 35 x W 360 x H 175 cm. Materials: Marble and ebony. A celebration of the sinuous shapes found in nature, t...
Marble
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
$2,328 / item
Classy Medium Bookshelf by Pastform
Located in Geneve, CH
Classy Medium Bookshelf by Pastform Dimensions: D 25 x W 100 x H 165 cm. Materials: Stained and varnished wood. Available in different wood color finishes: Whiskey, Rum, BPA, Nobel,...
Wood
$2,506 / item
Classy Extra Large Bookshelf by Pastform
Located in Geneve, CH
Classy Extra Large Bookshelf by Pastform Dimensions: D 25 x W 140 x H 165 cm. Materials: Stained and varnished wood. Available in different wood color finishes: Whiskey, Rum, BPA, N...
Wood
$15,680 / item
Bonheur Du Jour Drawer by MOB
Located in Geneve, CH
Bonheur Du Jour drawer by MOB Limited editions of 15 + 1 prototype Designer: Fala Atelier (Portugal) Dimensions: H 200 x D 30 x W 65 cm Material: Ash wood, walnut wood, lackered...
Marble
$7,056 / item
Book Table by MOB
Located in Geneve, CH
Book table by MOB Limited editions of 15 + 1 prototype Designer: Fernanda Fragateiro (Portugal) Dimensions: H 100 x D 57 x W 70 cm Material: 10mm steel sheet, black and white po...
Steel
$1,710Sale Price / item|20% Off
Italian Vintage Bookcase in green Bamboo, Rattan and Brass
By Italian school XX ct.
Located in Milano, IT
Elegant 80's ItalianDiscover the timeless elegance of this refined vintage Italian bookcase, made of bamboo and rattan, which is a perfect example of the postmodern style of the 1980...
Brass
$32,062 / item
Labyrinth Screen by Kana Objects
Located in Geneve, CH
Labyrinth screen by Kana Objects Dimensions: D 45 x W 291 x H 211 cm Materials: Natural oak. Also available in smoked oak. Other modules available. Labyrinth both dominates a...
Oak
$31,147 / item
Labyrinth Wall Bookcase by Kana Objects
Located in Geneve, CH
Labyrinth wall bookshelf by Kana Objects. Dimensions: D 40 x W 291 x H 211 cm. Materials: natural oak. Also available in smoked oak. Other modules available. Labyrinth is a gr...
Oak
$10,192 / item
Existence Wall Mounted Bookcase by De Castelli
Located in Geneve, CH
Existence Wall Mounted Bookcase by De Castelli Dimensions: W 123 x D 41 x H 39 cm Materials: Orbitale DeLabré Brass Stainless Steel version available. Two, Three, Four and Five floor...
Brass
$7,448 / item
Babele Bookcase by De Castelli
Located in Geneve, CH
Babele Bookcase by De Castelli Dimensions: D 36 x H 263 cm Materials: Orbitale DeLabré Copper Other versions are available, please contact us for any request. Aspirations of higher ...
Copper
$8,006 / item
Babele Bookcase by De Castelli
Located in Geneve, CH
Babele Bookcase by De Castelli Dimensions: D 28 x H 263 cm Materials: DeSalt Brass Other versions are available, please contact us for any request. Aspirations of higher knowledge f...
Brass
$13,019 / item
Nippon Bookcase by De Castelli
Located in Geneve, CH
Nippon Bookcase by De Castelli Dimensions: W 97 x D 45 x H 197 cm Materials: Natural Black Iron Stainless Steel and Brass versions are available. Please contact us for any request. ...
Iron
$49,869 / item
Airframe Bookcase by De Castelli
Located in Geneve, CH
Airframe Bookcase by De Castelli Dimensions: W 220 x D 55 x H 180 cm Materials: Brushed Brass The Airframe bookcase celebrates the art of hammered metal, highlighting the savoir-fai...
Brass
$20,907 / item
Flora Bookcase by Ginger & Jagger
Located in Geneve, CH
Flora Bookcase by Ginger & Jagger Dimensions: D 50 x W 145 x H 220 cm. Materials: Brass and glass. Finish: Structure in cast Brass in Brass finishing; shelves in Glass in Clear ...
Brass
$11,380 / item
Tonton Shelf by Studio Uwe Gaertner
Located in Geneve, CH
Tonton Shelf by Studio Uwe Gaertner Dimensions: D 38 x W 500 x H 73 cm. Materials: Oak. DESIGN BY STUDIO UWE GAERTNER The furniture collection from Studio Uwe Gaertner is a harmoni...
Oak
$24,471 / set
Set of 2 Shelves by Olivia Cognet
By Olivia Cognet
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 2 Shelves by Olivia Cognet Dimensions: W 210 x D 15 x H 20 cm Materials: Ceramic. Module of 3 parts. Each of Olivia’s handmade creations is a unique work of art, the snapshot...
Ceramic
$12,235 / item
Shelf by Olivia Cognet
By Olivia Cognet
Located in Geneve, CH
Shelf by Olivia Cognet Dimensions: W 210 x D 15 x H 20 cm Materials: Ceramic. Module of 3 parts. Each of Olivia’s handmade creations is a unique work of art, the snapshot of a preci...
Ceramic
$12,235 / item
Shelf by Olivia Cognet
By Olivia Cognet
Located in Geneve, CH
Shelf by Olivia Cognet Dimensions: W 210 x D 15 x H 20 cm Materials: Ceramic. Module of 3 parts. Each of Olivia’s handmade creations is a unique work of art, the snapshot of a preci...
Ceramic
$2,233 / item
Frame Bookcase by Doimo Brasil
Located in Geneve, CH
Frame Bookcase by Doimo Brasil Dimensions: W 100 x D 30 x H 200 cm Materials: Structure: Aged steel, Shelf: Veneer or lacquer. With the intention of providing good taste and pe...
Steel
$2,330 / item
Wall Bookcase by Doimo Brasil
Located in Geneve, CH
Wall Bookcase by Doimo Brasil Dimensions: W 100 x D 30 x H 200 cm Materials: Structure: Aged steel, Shelf: Veneer or lacquer. With the intention of providing good taste and per...
Steel
$1,686 / item
Low Frame Bookcase by Doimo Brasil
Located in Geneve, CH
Low Frame Bookcase by Doimo Brasil Dimensions: W 150 x D 30 x H 65 cm Materials: Structure: painted metal, Top: leather, Shelf: venner. With the intention of providing good tas...
Steel
$2,197 / item
Step Bookcase by Doimo Brasil
Located in Geneve, CH
Step Bookcase by Doimo Brasil Dimensions: W 100 x D 30 x H 200 cm Materials: Structure: Aged steel, Shelf: Veneer or lacquer. With the intention of providing good taste and per...
Steel
Red Brick Plastic and Chrome Plated Metal Shelves by Elco
By Elco
Located in Varese, Lombardia
Very good condition: Light wear consistent with use. The 2 shelves should have been produced between the end of the 1970s and the begin of the 1980s.
Metal, Chrome
$7,709 / item
Ivory Simbiose Glass Cabinet by Andreas Anwander
Located in Geneve, CH
Ivory Simbiose Glass Cabinet by Andreas Anwander Dimensions: W 110 x D 49 x H 180 cm Materials: Solid Wood, Glass, Brass. Weight: 85 kg. A shelf which design is inspired by the sym...
Brass
Italian Postmodern Sculptural Wall Shelf by Ettore Sottsass for Zanotta 1980
By Zanotta, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Byron Bay, NSW
Alfiere étagère by Ettore Sottsass for Zanotta, 1980 This rare Italian postmodern sculptural wall shelf was designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1980 for Zanotta. Known as the Alfiere éta...
Marble, Chrome
$1,817 / item
Cherry, Walnut Onda Floating Shelf by David Tragen
Located in Geneve, CH
Cherry, Walnut Onda Floating Shelf by David Tragen Dimensions: W 119 x D 13 x H 2.5 cm Materials: Cherry, Walnut. Weight: 2 kg. Onda, is a gently flowing wave-like creation, desig...
Cherry, Walnut
Edge Shelf in Walnut Veneer With Satin Clear Coat by Veermakers
Located in Geneve, CH
Edge Shelf in Walnut Veneer With Satin Clear Coat by Veermakers Unique Piece. Dimensions: D 25 x W 125 x H 124 cm. Materials: Walnut veneer. Handmade in Stockholm, Sweden / Fiskars...
Walnut
$1,663 / item
Pixel Shelf by Mati Sipiora
Located in Geneve, CH
Pixel Shelf by Mati Sipiora Dimensions: D 42 x W 110 x H 172 cm Materials: Painted. Finish: Glossy powder coating paint. Weight: 35 Kg. Max Capacity: 10 KG Per Shelf. A pixel is a...
Paint
$10,000Sale Price|20% Off
Michael Graves Unique Burl Maple Pedestal Vitrine Desk, 1990c.
By Michael Graves (b.1934)
Located in Chicago, IL
Michael Graves Unique Burl Maple Pedestal Vitrine Desk, 1990c. One-of-a-kind vitrine desk by architect and designer Michael Graves. The piece features a rectangular burl maple veneer...
Steel
W1264 Wall Hanging Shelf in Poplar Burl Wood by Jörg Pietschmann
By Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
W1264 Wall Hanging Shelf in Poplar Burl Wood by Jörg Pietschmann Dimensions: D 27 x W 208 x H 4 cm. Materials: Poplar burl wood. All wall shelves include steel pin holders for discr...
Poplar, Burl
Postmodern Bamboo Bookcase with Smoked Glass Shelves by Vivai del Sud, Italy
By Vivai del Sud
Located in Bresso, Lombardy
Made in Italy by Vivai del Sud, 1970s. The bookcase features a bamboo frame and smoked glass shelves. This set includes 4 bamboo and wicker stools. They might show slight traces of...
Bamboo, Glass
Infinity Bookcase by Pol Quadens in Polished Stainless Steel, Belgium
Located in Geneve, CH
Infinity Bookcase by Pol Quadens Limited Edition Of 8+4 Pieces. Dimensions: D 30 x W 420 x H 360 cm. Materials: Polished stainless steel. Pol Quadens was born in Brussels. His fath...
Stainless Steel
Grey Geometric Stainless Steel Minimalist Infinity Bookcase By Pol Quadens
Located in Geneve, CH
Infinity II Bookcase by Pol Quadens Limited Edition Of 8+4 Pieces. Dimensions: D 30 x W 150 x H 220 cm. Materials: Polished stainless steel. Pol Quadens was born in Brussels. His f...
Stainless Steel
Magnolia bookcase by Andrea Branzi, 1983
By Andrea Branzi
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Bibliothèque dite magnolia par Andréa Branzi vers 1983. Les deux montants evidés permettent d’insérer des plantes vertes.
Stainless Steel
$12,556 / item
Capanna S 150 Bookcase by Dale Italia
Located in Geneve, CH
Capanna S 150 Bookcase by Dale Italia Dimensions: D 29/38 x W 302 x H 201 cm. Materials: Walnut and metal. Bookcase in solid Canaletto walnut composed from single modules. The packa...
Metal
$5,500 / item
Elle C 90 Bookcase by Dale Italia
Located in Geneve, CH
Elle C 90 Bookcase by Dale Italia Dimensions: D 36/48 x W 90 x H 270/283 cm. Materials: Walnut and glass. Bookcase in solid Canaletto walnut composed from single modules. The packag...
Walnut, Glass
$4,704 / item
Mezzo Shelving and Bench by Laylo Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Mezzo Shelving and Bench by Laylo Studio Dimensions: D 45.7 x W 122 x H 45.7 cm. Materials: Powder-coated steel. LAYLO is the practice of Sam and Lydia Link. Founded with the inten...
Steel
Innocent Bookshelf Four Modules in Black Iron Frame and Black Oak by Mingardo
Located in Geneve, CH
Innocent Bookshelf Four Modules by Mingardo Dimensions: D166 x W39 x H76cm Materials: RAL 9005 black varnished iron structure, shelf in black stained oak Weight: 85 kg Also Availab...
Iron
Monument Shelves in White Travertine by Mathieu Girard & Gauthier Pouillart
By La Chance
Located in Geneve, CH
Monument Shelves in White Travertine by Mathieu Girard & Gauthier Pouillart Dimensions: L 195 x H 117. x D 45 cm Materials: White travertine shelves and columns. Material available: ...
Marble
Aluminum, acrylic, mirrored acrylic, wood and rope shelve by Deon Rubi.
By Deon Rubi
Located in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires
Aluminum, acrylic, mirrored acrylic, wood and rope "To Make Love" shelve by Deon Rubi.
Aluminum
$4,395 / item
Onde Shelf by Studio Kallang
Located in Geneve, CH
Onde Shelf by Studio Kallang Dimensions: W 120 x D 38 x H 86 cm Materials: Solid Teak. Finish: All Black (L), Natural + Black (R) Square or Rounded Corners. STUDIO KALLANG IS A SING...
Teak
$3,741 / item
Glass Cosette 110 Shelf by GIROTTI ENRICO
Located in Geneve, CH
Glass Cosette 110 Shelf by GIROTTI ENRICO Dimensions: D 40 x H 110 cm Materials: Galvanic Structure, Metal. Weight: 14 Kg. Enrico Girotti is an industrial designer who has found in...
Metal
$5,975 / item
Marble Cosette 180 Shelf by GIROTTI ENRICO
Located in Geneve, CH
Marble Cosette 180 Shelf by GIROTTI ENRICO Dimensions: D 54 x H 180 cm Materials: Galvanic Structure, Marble. Enrico Girotti is an industrial designer who has found in the word “mak...
Marble, Metal
$4,478 / item
Marble Cosette 110 Shelf by GIROTTI ENRICO
Located in Geneve, CH
Marble Cosette 110 Shelf by GIROTTI ENRICO Dimensions: D 40 x H 110 cm Materials: Galvanic Structure, Marble. Weight: 14 Kg. Enrico Girotti is an industrial designer who has found ...
Metal
$5,975 / item
Marble Cosette 180 Shelf by GIROTTI ENRICO
Located in Geneve, CH
Marble Cosette 180 Shelf by GIROTTI ENRICO Dimensions: D 54 x H 180 cm Materials: Galvanic Structure, Marble. Enrico Girotti is an industrial designer who has found in the word “mak...
Marble, Metal
White Hand-Sculpted Steel Contemporary Art Shelf by Samuel Costantini
By Samuel Costantini
Located in Geneve, CH
Steel hand sculpted shelf by Samuel Costantini Entirely handmade by the artist Dimensions: D12 x H6 cm Material: Steel Samuel Costantini The ability to create objects lies in ...
Steel
$1,413 / item
D300 Shelve by MLK Furniture
Located in Geneve, CH
D300 Shelve by MLK Furniture Dimensions: D 45 x W 45 x H 40 cm. Materials: Aluminum. Also available in brass, copper, or stainless steel. D300 Shelves answers the following issue; ...
Aluminum
$4,027 / set
Set of 3 D300 Shelve by MLK Furniture
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 3 D300 Shelve by MLK Furniture Dimensions: D 45 x W 45 x H 115 cm. Materials: Aluminum. Also available in brass, copper, or stainless steel. D300 Shelves answers the followi...
Aluminum
$1,200Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage Memphis style floor shelf in plastic, 1980s
Located in STRASBOURG, FR
Superb Memphis-style display unit in ABS plastic, with colors reminiscent of Gerrit Rietveld's creations, in very good condition.
Plastic
$960Sale Price|20% Off
Gilt brass & smoked glass shelves by Renato Zevi, Italy 1970s
By Renato Zevi
Located in STRASBOURG, FR
Beautiful shelving unit by Renato Zevi, Italy circa 1970, the design has those iconic geometric accents. Gilded brass body with two smoked glass trays, others can be added as desired...
Brass
$16,203 / item
Orbis Shelf in Marble with Reflected Core by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Orbis Shelf in Marble with Reflected Core by Homa. Dimensions: W 110 x D 42 x H 105 cm Marble Thickness: 2 cm. Materials: Green Marble and Cream-Honey Onyx, Mirror Polished Stainles...
Onyx, Marble, Stainless Steel
$4,573 / item
Statue Book Shelves by DAaZ
Located in Geneve, CH
Statue Book Shelves by DAaZ Dimensions: D 34 x W 180 x H 169 cm. Materials: Albizzia wood, Ink stone. DAaZ Furniture honors the spirit of adventure. We embrace the escape of the or...
Stone
$2,352 / item
Sternum Shelf by Louis Bressolles
Located in Geneve, CH
Sternum Shelf by Louis Bressolles Dimensions: W 120 x D 30 x H 130 cm Materials: Cardboard, Metal, Glass. Weight: 20 Kg. French artist-designer based in Toulouse. Member of the Zigz...
Metal
$1,829 / item
Statue Shelves by DAaZ
Located in Geneve, CH
Statue Shelves by DAaZ Dimensions: D 36 x W 60 x H 128.5 cm. Materials: Albizzia wood, Ink stone. DAaZ Furniture honors the spirit of adventure. We embrace the escape of the ordina...
Stone
$10,406 / item
Spectator Shelf by Freia Achenbach
By Freia Achenbach
Located in Geneve, CH
Spectator shelf by Freia Achenbach Limited Edition of 50 Dimensions: D 110 x W 33 cm x H 200 cm Materials: resin, sand, foam If a sensory stimulus is offered to our perception, the ...
Resin, Foam
$2,696 / set
Set of 3 Bel Ava Shelves by Studio Nosqua
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 3 Bel Ava Shelves by Studio Nosqua Dimensions: D 75 x W 20 x H 12 cm // D 55 x W 20 x H 12 cm Material: Glass Adjustable size. Please contact us. Without fixing system. Betw...
Glass
$7,792 / item
Transversal Shelves by FOAM
By FOAM
Located in Geneve, CH
Transversal shelves by FOAM Dimensions: D 125 x W 45 x H 200 cm Materials: maple wood. Available in other woods. Bookshelf made of maple, walnut or tzalam wood. Foam is a de...
Maple
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.