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Set of 2 Symbiotic Shelves by Mameluca
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 2 Symbiotic shelves by Mameluca
Material: Brazilian Wood: Cedro marinheiro, Jequitibá Rosa
Category
2010s Brazilian Post-Modern Shelves
Materials
Stainless Steel
Danish Mid Century Wall Unit with 8 Shelves, circa 1950 - 1960s
By Poul Cadovius, Cado
Located in New York, NY
Chic architectural wall unit having eight shelves, 5 smaller ( 36 W x 10 D inches ) and 2 wider
Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Shelves
Materials
Metal
Climb, Walnut-Black Wires, Mega by Bashko Trybek for La Chance
Located in FR
design plays with the sensation of tension of the wires that grasps the wooden shelves and becomes a
Category
2010s French Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets
Materials
Metal
Climb, Birchwood, Black Wires by Bashko Trybek for La Chance
Located in FR
. Measure: 120cm.
The design plays with the sensation of tension of the wires that grasps the wooden
Category
2010s French Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets
Materials
Metal
Climb, Walnut-Black Wires, by Bashko Trybek for La Chance
Located in FR
. Measure: 120 cm.
The design plays with the sensation of tension of the wires that grasps the wooden
Category
2010s French Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets
Materials
Metal
Sculptural Floating Console with Four Drawers by Nico Yektai
By Nico Yektai
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
has proven to be a wonderful platform for my approach to sculptural furniture. The tension that is
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets
Materials
Walnut
Mid century String shelf system teak & metal by Olof Pira Sweden, 1960s
By Olof Pira, String Design AB
Located in The Hague, NL
teak and steel.
Designed as a ‘tension’ system where each upright is trapped between the floor and
Category
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Shelves
Materials
Metal
H 82.68 in W 106.7 in D 15.75 in
Contemporary grey aluminium Small Wavy Shelf by Yoon Shun
Located in 1204, CH
These shelves are crafted from 3mm aluminum plates, which are carefully rolled up and shaped using
Category
2010s Shelves
Materials
Aluminum
Contemporary grey aluminium Large Wavy Shelf by Yoon Shun
Located in 1204, CH
These shelves are crafted from 3mm aluminum plates, which are carefully rolled up and shaped using
Category
2010s Shelves
Materials
Aluminum
Rare 1980s ALU Manfrotto Modular Bookcase Shelf System Wall Unit or Display
Located in Ft Lauderdale, FL
complete system features twelve sleek, inter changeable aluminum shelves, each equipped with tension cables
Category
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Shelves
Materials
Aluminum
H 117 in W 144 in D 18 in
Contemporary Gingko Bookshelf System in Metal and Hardwood
By Pietro Russo Design
Located in Agrate Brianza (MB), Lombardy
magnificent fan-shaped leaves. The matte black painted iron structure is floor-to-ceiling tensioned with an
Category
2010s Italian Modern Shelves
Materials
Iron
Contemporary Wood Pin Shelf in White Oak by Fort Standard
By Fort Standard
Located in Brooklyn, NY
these wooden shelves. Small wooden wedges are used to hold the shelves captive between the vertical
Category
2010s American Shelves
Materials
Ash, Maple, Oak, Walnut
Contemporary Sculptural Black Steel Etagere Bookcase Storage Shelf Pair, USA
By Felica Ferrone
Located in Chicago, IL
, playing with balance and tension between the shelves while serving as a functional etagere bookcase
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Shelves
Materials
Steel
Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Herman Miller CSS Unit
By George Nelson, Herman Miller
Located in Lake Worth, FL
or placed anywhere in the room. Unit includes 3 black tension poles, ten 32" shelves and all hardware
Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Materials
Aluminum
Contemporary Sculptural Black Steel Etagere Bookcase Storage Shelf USA
By Felica Ferrone
Located in Chicago, IL
with balance and tension between the shelves while serving as an etagere, bookcase, or storage shelf
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Shelves
Materials
Steel
Climb 120 Shelving System Black Metal Threads, Walnut
By La Chance
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
design plays with the sensation of tension of the wires that grasps the wooden shelves and becomes a
Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shelves
Materials
Metal
Charlotte Perriand Nuage À Plots for Cassina, Italy, new
By Cassina, Charlotte Perriand
Located in Berlin, DE
Nuage, by a series of floating shelves mounted on the walls of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, the
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Materials
Aluminum
Climb Mega Shelving System Black Metal Threads, Walnut
By La Chance
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
.
The design plays with the sensation of tension of the wires that grasps the wooden shelves and becomes
Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shelves
Materials
Metal
Contemporary Pin Shelf in White Oak Wood by Fort Standard, in Stock
By Fort Standard
Located in Brooklyn, NY
these white oakwood shelves. Small wooden wedges are used to hold the shelves captive between the
Category
2010s American Shelves
Materials
Ash, Maple, Oak, Walnut
Climb 120 Shelving System Color Metal Threads, Walnut
By La Chance
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
.
The design plays with the sensation of tension of the wires that grasps the wooden shelves and becomes
Category
2010s French Shelves
Materials
Metal
Climb 120 Shelving System Black Metal Threads, Birchwood
By La Chance
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
.
The design plays with the sensation of tension of the wires that grasps the wooden shelves and becomes
Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shelves
Materials
Metal
Climb 120 Shelving System Color Metal Threads, Birchwood
By La Chance
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
.
The design plays with the sensation of tension of the wires that grasps the wooden shelves and becomes
Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shelves
Materials
Metal
Amuneal's Collector's 2 Bay Shelving Unit
By Amuneal
Located in New York, NY
strap shelves that helps to add to the visual tension of the unit and creates a featured display area
Category
2010s American Modern Shelves
Materials
Brass
Natural Walnut "Climb" Shelving System, Bashko Trybek
Located in Geneve, CH
sensation of tension of the wires that grasps the wooden shelves and becomes the structure. Climb is a
Category
2010s Polish Modern Shelves
Materials
Steel
Natural Birch "Climb" Shelving System, Bashko Trybek
Located in Geneve, CH
plays with the sensation of tension of the wires that grasps the wooden shelves and becomes the
Category
2010s Polish Modern Shelves
Materials
Steel
Charlotte Perriand Nuage À Plots, Wood and Aluminium by Cassina
By Cassina, Charlotte Perriand
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
series of floating shelves mounted on the walls of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, the bookcase is a
Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Materials
Aluminum
Charlotte Perriand Nuage À Plots, Wood and Aluminium by Cassina
By Charlotte Perriand, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
series of floating shelves mounted on the walls of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, the bookcase is a
Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Materials
Aluminum
Symbiotic Shelf by Mameluca
Located in Geneve, CH
their moment, creating a tension of the object itself in relation to the space it occupies. The five
Category
2010s Brazilian Post-Modern Shelves
Materials
Stainless Steel
Americana 1940s Weathered Armoire with Pine Shelves + Clothing Bar
Located in Fort Collins, CO
wood, American oak armoire. Recently fitted with removable natural pine shelves; original clothing bar
Category
Vintage 1940s American Adirondack Wardrobes and Armoires
Materials
Oak, Pine
Amuneal's 2 Bay Collector's Brass Shelving Unit+Oxidized Oak Adjustable Shelves
By Amuneal
Located in New York, NY
locally sourced wood. This unit features our optional strap shelves that lends visual tension to the unit
Category
2010s American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Brass
H 96 in W 63 in D 23.75 in
French Wood and Glass Display Case ca.1940's
Located in Hudson, NY
This simple yet elegant wood and glass display case comes with four glass shelves resting on
Category
Vintage 1940s French Cabinets
Materials
Glass, Wood
Envelope Bookcase
By Zanaboni
Located in Milan, IT
character. The horizontal wooden shelves are connected with slightly diagonal elements that give the piece
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Wood
French Art Déco Bar in Macassar, Parchment, Brass Hardware, Signed Paris 1940s
Located in Salzburg, AT
2 glass shelves.
A plaque with the name of the manufacturing company and the reference to the
Category
Vintage 1940s French Art Deco Dry Bars
Materials
Brass
H 53.15 in W 23.23 in D 13.98 in
Chinese Two-Door Black Cabinet, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
sense of rhythm and geometric tension, this tripartite motif is repeated in the cabinet’s triple dagger
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Brass
"Virgo" Black Anodized Aluminum Open Bookcase Designed by Xavier Lust for Driade
By Driade, Xavier Lust
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Virgo" is a black anodized aluminum open structure and shelves, designed by Xavier Lust and
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Aluminum
H 78.7 in W 47.2 in D 11.8 in
Omni Style Wall Unit Room Divider in Teak After George Nelson, Usa, circa 1960s
By Herman Miller, George Nelson
Located in Deland, FL
unit includes three bottom cabinets, two of which have sliding doors with adjustable interior shelves
Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Materials
Aluminum
H 98 in W 105 in D 17.25 in
Amuneal's 3-Bay CSU Bookcase with Credenza
By Amuneal
Located in New York, NY
series of shelves and credenza cabinets. The wood shelves and credenza cabinet are fabricated from solid
Category
2010s American Bookcases
Materials
Brass
18th Century French Louis XV Chest of Drawers, stamped COULON, Paris circa 1750
By Jean-Francois Coulon
Located in Greven, DE
for that. Tension is created here by the diagonal grain patterns, which are framed twice on the
Category
Antique Mid-18th Century French Louis XV Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Materials
Marble, Bronze
H 33.47 in W 51.97 in D 25.2 in
Contemporary Matias Sagaría Storage Bookcase Viennese Straw Italian Walnut Black
By Matias Sagaría
Located in San Polo, Parma
floating metal shelves contrasting the static nature of the carcass. It is shaped by fostering tensions
Category
2010s Italian Other Cabinets
Materials
Wood, Straw
H 75.99 in W 78.15 in D 16.74 in
Reiterate
By Erika Dueck
Located in Montreal, Quebec
shelving feels Escher-like in its nook-and-cranny organization. Scale is perceived in a refined tension
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Paper, LED Light, Mixed Media
The Sanctuary
By Erika Dueck
Located in Montreal, Quebec
shelving feels Escher-like in its nook-and-cranny organization. Scale is perceived in a refined tension
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Paper, LED Light, Mixed Media
Untitled (Double Tower)
By Erika Dueck
Located in Montreal, Quebec
shelving feels Escher-like in its nook-and-cranny organization. Scale is perceived in a refined tension
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
LED Light, Mixed Media, Paper
Untitled (Burnt Tower)
By Erika Dueck
Located in Montreal, Quebec
shelving feels Escher-like in its nook-and-cranny organization. Scale is perceived in a refined tension
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Paper, Mixed Media
Untitled (Floating Books)
By Erika Dueck
Located in Montreal, Quebec
shelving feels Escher-like in its nook-and-cranny organization. Scale is perceived in a refined tension
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Paper
Rare Edward Wormley Open Frame Lit Shelf Room Divider for Dunbar
By Edward Wormley, Dunbar Furniture
Located in Los Angeles, CA
of the frame. Groves fashioned into the underside keep the shelves in place. Industrial tension wires
Category
Vintage 1950s American Shelves
Materials
Brass
Rosewood Cadovius Lighted Royal System Wall Unit - Room Divider by Cado
By Cado, Poul Cadovius
Located in Portland, ME
Wall unit designed by Poul Cadovius in 3 bays, 8 shelves, 2 cabinets. This system is both rare and
Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Shelves
Materials
Rosewood
Bookend Set 7
By Maria Park
Located in New York, NY
address the tension between image and experience, and between projection and presence. In her Bookend Sets
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic Polymer, Plexiglass
Bookend Set 5
By Maria Park
Located in New York, NY
address the tension between image and experience, and between projection and presence. In her Bookend Sets
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic Polymer, Plexiglass
Bookend Set 6
By Maria Park
Located in New York, NY
address the tension between image and experience, and between projection and presence. In her Bookend Sets
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic Polymer, Plexiglass
Bookend Set 8
By Maria Park
Located in New York, NY
address the tension between image and experience, and between projection and presence. In her Bookend Sets
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic Polymer, Plexiglass
Bookends Set 4
By Maria Park
Located in New York, NY
address the tension between image and experience, and between projection and presence. In her Bookend Sets
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic Polymer, Plexiglass
Mid Century Modern Free Standing Tension Pole Shelving Unit
Located in New York, NY
This truly unique shelving unit was made in America in the 1960's. It has kidney-shaped shelves
Category
20th Century American Shelves
Materials
Brass
Mid Century Large Danish 4 Bay Wall Shelves Unit Drop Down Desk Light
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
pieces including 8+ shelves, large and small closed storage and a drop down desk with several additional
Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Materials
Wood
George Nelson CSS Shelving Unit by Herman Miller
By Herman Miller, George Nelson
Located in Highland, IN
tension-mounted uprights and fourteen teak shelves. Perfect for books, media, or accessories, the shelves
Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Materials
Aluminum
George Nelson CSS Shelving Unit by Herman Miller
By Herman Miller, George Nelson
Located in Highland, IN
This CSS shelving unit is an excellent example. The beautiful design is comprised of four tension
Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Materials
Aluminum
Cado Teak Wall Unit
By Poul Cadovius
Located in Chula Vista, CA
) uprights to form two panels.
The tension poll upright are 88 3/4". They have the original metal mounts
Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Shelves
Materials
Teak
George Nelson Rare 1st Generation CSS by Herman Miller
By Herman Miller, George Nelson
Located in Highland, IN
comprised of four tension-mounted uprights which support 12 walnut shelves, a five-drawer cabinet, a white
Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Materials
Aluminum
Natural Walnut "Climb" Shelving System, Bashko Trybek
Located in Geneve, CH
sensation of tension of the wires that grasps the wooden shelves and becomes the structure. Climb is a
Category
2010s Polish Modern Shelves
Materials
Steel
Industrial Steel Mail Letter Sorter Unit
Located in Brooklyn, NY
slots, work ledge at 27 inches height and tension ropes with weights in the back that aids in placing
Category
Mid-20th Century American Industrial Shelves
Materials
Steel
Danish Modern Poul Cadovius Cado Tension Pole Floating Wall Unit Room Divider
By Poul Cadovius
Located in Las Vegas, NV
. The modular system consists in 4 shelves, 4 cabinets with key and a desk and one large shelf that can
Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Materials
Walnut
H 96 in W 95 in L 96 in
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Tension Shelves For Sale on 1stDibs
An assortment of tension shelves is available at 1stDibs. The range of distinct tension shelves — often made from wood, metal and walnut — can elevate any home. There are 4 antique and vintage tension shelves for sale at 1stDibs, while we also have 29 modern editions to choose from as well. Tension shelves have long been popular, with older editions for sale from the 19th Century and newer versions made as recently as the 21st Century. Tension shelves are generally popular furniture pieces, but modern and mid-century modern styles are often sought at 1stDibs. Many tension shelves are appealing in their simplicity, but Cassina, La Chance and Franco Albini produced popular tension shelves that are worth a look.
How Much are Tension Shelves?
Prices for tension shelves start at $820 and top out at $28,134 with the average selling for $6,900.
Finding the Right storage-case-pieces for You
Of all the antique and vintage case pieces and storage cabinets 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 storage 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. Whether you’re seeking a playful sideboard made of colored glass and metals, 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.
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