Skip to main content

Scan Design Chairs

Recent Sales

Classic Scandinavian Design Mid Century Danish Teak Chairs Wool Upholstery - Set
Classic Scandinavian Design Mid Century Danish Teak Chairs Wool Upholstery - Set

Classic Scandinavian Design Mid Century Danish Teak Chairs Wool Upholstery - Set

By D-Scan, Neils O. Möller

Located in Madison, WI

Here is a rare opportunity to purchase a beautiful, classic, sturdy and beautifully made set of four solid wood teak Danish chairs. They are highly collectible, iconic, and very styl...

Category

Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Mid-Century Modern Chairs

Materials

Wool, Teak

Mid-Century Modern Danish Design Dining Chairs by D, Scan Set of 4
Mid-Century Modern Danish Design Dining Chairs by D, Scan Set of 4

Mid-Century Modern Danish Design Dining Chairs by D, Scan Set of 4

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Set of 4 teak attractive mid-century Danish modern reupholstered dining chairs in vibrant yellow. This stylish set has looks, design and beautiful architecture all in one cool packag...

Category

20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs

Materials

Wood

Mid Century Modern Danish Six Safari Chairs Dining Table Set by Erik Wørts 1960s
Mid Century Modern Danish Six Safari Chairs Dining Table Set by Erik Wørts 1960s

Mid Century Modern Danish Six Safari Chairs Dining Table Set by Erik Wørts 1960s

By Niels Eilersen, Erik Worts

Located in Portland, OR

Bloomsbury acquired this set from the original owners, who purchased the set in 1964, from the Danish furniture Store, Scan Design, in Seattle Washington. Chair Dimensions Height 3...

Category

Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets

Materials

Canvas, Beech, Lacquer

Get Updated with New Arrivals
Save "Scan Design Chairs", and we’ll notify you when there are new listings in this category.

Scan Design Chairs For Sale on 1stDibs

There is a range of scan design chairs for sale on 1stDibs. Each of these unique scan design chairs was constructed with extraordinary care, often using metal, wood and stone. There are 7 antique and vintage scan design chairs for sale at 1stDibs, while we also have 28 modern editions to choose from as well. There are all kinds of scan design chairs available, from those produced as long ago as the 20th Century to those made as recently as the 21st Century. Scan design chairs bearing modern or mid-century modern hallmarks are very popular at 1stDibs. Philipp Aduatz, Alex Roskin and D-Scan each produced beautiful scan design chairs that are worth considering.

How Much are Scan Design Chairs?

Prices for scan design chairs start at $665 and top out at $34,000 with the average selling for $7,779.

A Close Look at Mid-century-modern Furniture

Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.

ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.

Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively. 

Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer. 

Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.

The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by celebrated manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.

As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.

Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.

Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.

Questions About Scan Design Chairs

  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 13, 2023
    Who the most famous chair designer is may refer to many different people. Arne Jacobsen, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Lilly Reich, Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, Philippe Starck, Hans Wegner, Verner Panton and Le Corbusier have all designed iconic chairs over time. Shop a selection of antique, vintage and modern chairs on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    George Nelson designed the coconut chair in 1956. Herman Miller continues to produce the curvy accent chair based on his original design. On 1stDibs, you can shop a collection of coconut chairs from some of the world’s top sellers.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    The Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto designed the Paimio chair for a tuberculosis sanatorium in the town of Paimio, Finland. The bent plywood chair debuted in the early 1930s. On 1st 1stDibs, shop a range of Alvar Aalto chairs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMay 30, 2024
    Eero Saarinen designed the Tulip chair. It was part of Saarinen's Pedestal collection of armless chairs, stools, dining tables and more — a mid-century modernist exercise in simplifying. The series was designed for Knoll, which continues to produce it today. Interestingly, the Tulip armchair's shape suggests one single plastic form, but despite Saarinen's many experiments to achieve this, it is actually constructed in two pieces: an aluminum frame obscured in a plastic finish and a fiberglass upper-shell seat. In two parts or one, it achieves Saarinen's desired streamlined effect. On 1stDibs, find a collection of Eero Saarinen Tulip chairs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMay 3, 2024
    Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf designed the Aeron chair. The pair introduced the mesh-upholstered ergonomic chair in 1994, and it has been one of Herman Miller's best-selling office chairs ever since. Its innovative design has even earned it a place in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, New York. Find a range of Aeron chairs on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Surrealist designer and artist Pedro Friedeberg designed the Hand chair. He unveiled the piece in 1962 when he was only 24 years old. Many designers and furniture companies have created similar pieces since. Find a collection of Hand chairs on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Eileen Gray designed the Transat chair in 1922. Its name comes from the luxury ocean liners that took passengers on transatlantic voyages during the early 20th century. Gray became inspired to create the chair after sitting in deck chairs on one such ship. Shop a range of Transat chairs on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2024
    Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy designed the Butterfly chair. The trio met while working in Le Corbusier's studio and then moved to Argentina, where they founded the Grupo Austral. In 1938, they unveiled their now iconic chair, which was inspired by a previous work called Tripolona, which they designed using inspiration from folding, collapsible chairs used by the British military. Shop a collection of Butterfly chairs on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertNovember 13, 2024
    What a chair designer is called varies. There isn't a term for someone who designs chairs specifically. Instead, you would typically refer to this type of professional as a furniture designer or industrial designer. Some furniture designers who are particularly well-known for their chairs include Charles and Ray Eames, Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen, Eero Saarinen, Verner Panton, Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. On 1stDibs, find a large selection of antique, vintage and contemporary chairs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2024
    Charles and Ray Eames designed the Eames chair. A married couple, they were the embodiment of the inventiveness, energy and optimism at the heart of mid-century modern American design and have been recognized as among the most influential designers of the 20th century. They produced a line of DCW chairs together in the 1940s and went on to unveil their now iconic lounge chair in 1956. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of Eames lounge chairs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertJune 30, 2023
    Arnold Madsen designed the Clam chair. In the past, it was ascribed to the Norwegian retailer Martin Olsen and then the Danish architect Philip Arctander. It was only through some dogged research by a team of international design historians and collectors that it was finally correctly associated with Madsen, an upholsterer by profession who created it in Copenhagen in 1944. On 1stDibs, find a selection of Clam chairs from some of the world’s top sellers.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Italian-American designer and artist Harry Bertoia designed the Bird chair in 1952. It features a tubular base and a wire basket seat. Today, Knoll Furniture continues to manufacture the mid-century modern furnishing. Find a selection of Bird chairs on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 22, 2024
    Opinions vary on who designed the folding chair. Chairs designed to fold have existed since the ancient world, with examples found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. Some people argue that the original designer of the modern-day folding chair was John Cram, who patented an idea for a folding chair in 1855. However, others believe that Philip E.G. Harrison should get the credit because his 1931 design more closely resembles the modern-day folding chair. Nathaniel Alexander also contributed to the development of the folding chair with his 1911 chair that included a book rest, as did Frederic Arnold, who created the first folding aluminum chair in 1947. Shop a selection of folding chairs on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 31, 2023
    There are two designers known for producing a Z-Chair. Poul Jensen unveiled his design in 1957. It features a zigzagging teak wood frame and boxy seat and back cushions. In 2011, Sawaya & Moroni introduced a sharply angled, polished stainless steel Z-Chair designed by architect Zaha Hadid. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of chairs from some of the world's top sellers.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Charles and Ray Eames designed the LCW lounge chair in 1945. Its design includes five pieces of molded plywood. Herman Miller continues to produce the iconic furnishing to this day. You can find a range of LCW chairs on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the MR chair in 1927. The tubular steel frame and woven seat reflect the International Style that the German architect helped establish. Today, Knoll furniture manufactures the armchair. Shop a variety of MR chairs on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 13, 2023
    Le Corbusier designed a number of armchairs that people refer to as the Corbusier chair. His designs are spare, minimal and efficient but at the same time offer supreme comfort. Collaborating with his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, and trailblazing designer Charlotte Perriand, he devised such iconic pieces as the LC2 Petit Confort armchair and the LC4 chaise longue. Each couples a tubular chrome frame with soft, supple leather upholstery, lending an organic warmth to an industrially made piece of furniture. Find a variety of Le Corbusier chairs on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Although many people have designed airport chairs, Charles and Ray Eames are best known for creating seating for airports. The ones they produced for Chicago O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, in 1962 are especially famous. On 1st 1stDibs, shop a variety of airport chairs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 22, 2024
    Marcel Breuer designed several chairs. One of his best-known pieces is the Wassily lounge chair made of tubular steel and leather straps. Breuer named the chair after the artist Wassily Kandinsky. Among the designer's other notable chairs are the Cesca chair, the B35 lounge chair and the S 35. On 1stDibs, find a diverse assortment of Marcel Breuer chairs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertJune 30, 2023
    Vladimir Kagan designed the Shield Back chair, which debuted in 1955. It features an upholstered back and seat. Cabinetmaker George Hepplewhite is also known for creating an all-wood shield back chair sometime during the mid-18th century. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of shield back chairs.