Used Arkana
1970s Scottish Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Upholstery, Teak
1960s British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Chrome
1960s British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Metal
Mid-20th Century Scottish Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Metal
Mid-20th Century English Space Age Used Arkana
Fiberglass
1960s Scottish Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Metal
1960s British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Metal
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Steel
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Metal
1970s English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Leather, Teak
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Teak
20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Formica
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Metal
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Steel
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Resin, Plywood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
1970s Italian Space Age Used Arkana
Plastic, Acrylic
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Fiberglass
1960s British Space Age Used Arkana
Upholstery, Plastic, Fiberglass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
People Also Browsed
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Brass, Bronze, Enamel, Nickel
2010s German Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Brass
2010s American Used Arkana
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Textile
2010s American Modern Used Arkana
Steel, Brass, Silver Leaf
2010s Mexican Modern Used Arkana
Oak
Mid-20th Century Spanish Scandinavian Modern Used Arkana
Leather, Pine
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Used Arkana
Alabaster, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Used Arkana
Fabric, Velvet, Lacquer, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Textile, Wood
2010s Austrian Jugendstil Used Arkana
Silk
2010s American Modern Used Arkana
Composition
1970s Italian Modern Used Arkana
Leather, Walnut
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Colombian Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Brass
Recent Sales
2010s British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
1970s English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Leather, Teak
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Laminate
1960s British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
1960s British Space Age Used Arkana
Metal, Aluminum
1960s Scottish Scandinavian Modern Used Arkana
Metal
Early 2000s Modern Used Arkana
Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Used Arkana
Archival Pigment
1960s Great Britain (UK) Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Faux Leather
1960s Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Metal
Mid-20th Century Swedish Used Arkana
Fabric, Fiberglass
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Resin, Formica
Mid-20th Century Scottish Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Rosewood
1970s Scottish Used Arkana
Steel
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
1960s English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Rosewood
1960s British Space Age Used Arkana
Fiberglass
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Metal
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Wood
1960s English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Chrome
1960s English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Metal, Brass
1960s Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Metal
1960s Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
1970s Scottish Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Leather, Oak
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Steel
1970s British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Chrome
1970s British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Upholstery, Fiberglass, Wood
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
1980s English Used Arkana
Faux Leather, Teak
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
1960s British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
1970s British Post-Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
1970s English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Naugahyde, Teak
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Metal
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Aluminum
1960s English Space Age Used Arkana
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Used Arkana
Steel
Used Arkana For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Used Arkana?
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
- Emerged during the mid-20th century
- Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
- A heyday of innovation in postwar America
- Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
- A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
- Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
- Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
- Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
- Promotion of functionality
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
- Charles and Ray Eames
- Eero Saarinen
- Milo Baughman
- Florence Knoll
- Harry Bertoia
- Isamu Noguchi
- George Nelson
- Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
- Eames lounge chair
- Nelson daybed
- Florence Knoll sofa
- Egg chair
- Womb chair
- Noguchi coffee table
- Barcelona chair
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 legendary 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.
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.