Are Wassily chairs mid-century modern?

Yes, Wassily chairs are indeed considered mid-century modern. Although the chair was initially designed by Marcel Breuer in 1925, it was re-released in the 1960s. Shop a collection of mid-century modern goods from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.

What is an iconic chair from the mid-century modern era?

Some iconic chairs from the mid-century modern era include the Egg chair by Arne Jacobson, the La Chaise by Charles and Ray Eames and the Womb chair by Eero Saarinen. With their clean lines, organic shapes and simple details, these chairs reflect some of the key features of the style. Shop a variety of mid-century modern chairs on 1stDibs.

Mid Century Modern Cord Chair

Woven Rope Seat

Moller Papercord

Vintage Teak Dining Chair

Birch Dining Chairs Mid Century

Dining Chair Paper Cord Denmark

Danish Cord Dining Room Chairs

Materials

Cord, Hardwood

H 33.67 in W 24.81 in D 24.02 in

Teak Slatback Chair with Woven Danish Cord Seat, Denmark ca 1960s

Located in Utrecht, NL

This slatback chair with a woven Danish paper cord seat is perhaps one of the best examples of these principles of the Danish modern design.

Category

Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs

Materials

Cord, Teak

H 31 in W 17 in D 17 in

Mid Century Modern Birch Maple Bentwood Woven Rush Dining Chairs - Set of 6

Located in Philadelphia, PA

Please message us with your zip code to request a more reasonable domestic U.S. shipping quote. Vintage Mid Century Modern Birch Maple Bentwood Woven Rush Dining Chairs - Set of 6.

Category

Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs

Materials

Wood

Set of 4 Italian Corded Jute Dining Chairs Circa 1950

$2,400 / set

$7,294 / set

H 29.53 in W 19.69 in D 16.93 in

Mid-Century Modern Scandinavian Set of 6 Teak Dining Chairs Model 75

By Niels Otto Møller

Located in Courbevoie, FR

Mid-Century Modern Scandinavian set of 6 teak dining chairs model 75.

Category

Vintage 1960s French Scandinavian Modern Chairs

Materials

Teak

Mid Century Modern Sculptural Barrel Lounge Chair by Lawrence Peabody, c. 1960s

By Lawrence Peabody

Located in Deland, FL

An iconic design by Lawrence Peabody. The chair is found in pink vinyl with contrasting black well cord and back buttons. If the upholstery isn't to your taste or if you have a diffe...

Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs

Materials

Naugahyde

Recent Sales

Møller No. 77 Teak Chair with Danish Cord Seat, Mid-Century Scandinavian Design

Unavailable

H 27.56 in W 19.69 in D 19.69 in

Møller No. 77 Teak Chair with Danish Cord Seat, Mid-Century Scandinavian Design

By J.L. Møllers Møbelfabrik, Niels Otto Møller

Located in Alsdorf, NW

This stunning Møller No. 77 chair, designed by Niels Otto Møller, showcases the elegance of mid-century Danish design.

Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs

Materials

Cord, Papercord, Teak

Unavailable

H 31.89 in W 22.05 in D 20.87 in

Niels Otto Moller 1962 Rosewood Carver with Leather Cord

By Niels Otto Møller

Located in London, GB

This very fine example of Niels Otto Moller's model 62 carver in rosewood has a seat with leather cord. The cord is a cotton thread with a sleeve of leather. The leather is somewhat ...

Category

Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs

Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen Wishbone Chair

Unavailable

H 29.5 in W 21.75 in D 20 in

Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen Wishbone Chair

By Hans J. Wegner, Carl Hansen

Located in West Palm Beach, FL

Single iconic Mid-Century Modern wishbone chair by Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen in tobacco stained oak with handwoven paper cord seat.

Category

20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs

Materials

Papercord, Wood

Danish Mid-Century Teak Dining Chairs, H. W. Klein for Bramin 1960s, Set of Four

Unavailable

Unavailable

H 31.5 in W 41.74 in D 42.52 in

Karakum lounging chair designed by TANA KAREI

By Tana Karei

Located in Ciudad De México, MX

Introducing the Karakum Lounging Chair- a distinctive and captivating statement piece that seamlessly blends craftsmanship with comfort. Meticulously handcrafted, this chair boasts a...

Category

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Chairs

Materials

Materials

Rush, Ash, Teak

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Mid Century Modern Cord Chair For Sale on 1stDibs

Find many varieties of an authentic mid century modern cord chair available at 1stDibs. Each mid century modern cord chair for sale was constructed with extraordinary care, often using wood, cord and hardwood. Find 169 options for an antique or vintage mid century modern cord chair now, or shop our selection of 14 modern versions for a more contemporary example of this long-cherished piece. Your living room may not be complete without a mid century modern cord chair — find older editions for sale from the 20th Century and newer versions made as recently as the 21st Century. When you’re browsing for the right mid century modern cord chair, those designed in Mid-Century Modern, Scandinavian Modern and Modern styles are of considerable interest. You’ll likely find more than one mid century modern cord chair that is appealing in its simplicity, but Niels Otto Møller, Hans J. Wegner and J.L. Møllers Møbelfabrik produced versions that are worth a look.

How Much is a Mid Century Modern Cord Chair?

Prices for a mid century modern cord chair can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — at 1stDibs, they begin at $345 and can go as high as $31,397, while the average can fetch as much as $3,200.

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

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.

Finding the Right Seating for You

With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.

Fortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture — since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors — has evolved considerably.

Among the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility.

The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest.

Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs.

With respect to the latest obsessions in design, cane seating has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, while bouclé fabric, a staple of modern furniture design, can be seen in mid-century modern, Scandinavian modern and Hollywood Regency furniture styles.

Admirers of the sophisticated craftsmanship and dark woods frequently associated with mid-century modern seating can find timeless furnishings in our expansive collection of lounge chairs, dining chairs and other items — whether they’re vintage editions or alluring official reproductions of iconic designs from the likes of Hans Wegner or from Charles and Ray Eames. Shop our inventory of Egg chairs, designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the Florence Knoll lounge chair and more.

No matter your style, the collection of unique chairs, sofas and other seating on 1stDibs is surely worthy of a standing ovation.

How Top Designers Are Using Mid-Century Chairs in Today’s Interiors

Modern icons are showing up in gracefully layered dining nooks, living rooms and lounges — proof that great design only gets better with context.

The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs

You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.

Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Chair Shook Modernism and Charmed Hollywood

The enduring appeal of the Barcelona chair is in the details.

Herman Miller Got Its Start in the Office, but Its Legacy Is in the Home

The brand that turned Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi and George Nelson into mid-century household names is just as relevant today as it was six decades ago.