$300Sale Price|20% Off
H 27.5 in W 20.5 in D 12.25 in
Mid-Century Modern Atomic Iron Wire Book Shelf or Rack
Located in San Diego, CA
Simple Mid-Century Modern atomic iron wire book shelf or rack, circa 1970s. The piece has three
Iron
$260Sale Price|20% Off
H 5.25 in W 14 in D 9.5 in
Vintage Mid-Century Atomic Wire Mesh Black Table Top Book Shelf
Located in San Diego, CA
Incredibly clean and modernist lines define this unique table top book shelf. This simple piece
Metal
Thonet Style Stacking Bent Plywood School Chairs
By Thonet
Located in Los Angeles, CA
black frame. Some with wire book shelf under the seat. Please inquire for updated stock counts.
Metal
Vintage Industrial Wire Mesh Front Book Shelf, France, circa 1920
Located in Napa, CA
Vintage Industrial wire mesh book shelf with mesh front. Shelving unit has three shelves and a
Metal
Sold
H 60 in W 39.75 in D 19 in
Baker Style Reclaimed Book Shelf Rack with Industrial Metal Frame and Wire Back
Located in Seattle, WA
black powder-coated tubular steel frame with a gently tapered silhouette and grid wire backing for added
Steel
1960s Black Wire Rack Book Shelf
Located in Amherst, NH
Vintage 1960s black metal wire rack boom shelf with two shelves for storage. Excellent refinished
Metal
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.
Modern icons are showing up in gracefully layered dining nooks, living rooms and lounges — proof that great design only gets better with context.
With its grid-like doors and wavy trim, the 1940s design feels as fresh as ever.
The alluring pendant light exemplifies the designer’s winsome mid-career work.
Prehistoric motifs give the mid-century Italian fireplace an elemental feel.
Their charming solid-oak pieces offer homes utility and comfort.
It's hard to resist the allure of a beautiful pool. So, go ahead and daydream about whiling away your summer in paradise.
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
Designer Susan Yeley turned to 1stDibs to outfit an Indiana home with standout pieces that complement its modernist style.