Midcentury Modern Furniture Designers
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather, Oak
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Mid-Century Modern Books
Paper
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wool, Teak
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Daybeds
Hide, Wood
Vintage 1950s German Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Chrome
Vintage 1950s Australian Mid-Century Modern Living Room Sets
Fabric, Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Teak
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Mid-20th Century American Art Deco Dining Room Tables
Mahogany, Cork
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Rattan
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Metal
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass, Walnut
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Benches
Sheepskin, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Center Tables
Marble, Metal
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Bentwood, Teak
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Glass, Wood
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Rosewood
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Walnut, Upholstery
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Metal
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Leather, Beech
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
Wood
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
Wood
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
Metal
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Teak
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
Mirror
Vintage 1970s North American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Wood
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet, Wood
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Cherry
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Wood
Late 20th Century Adirondack Settees
Wicker
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
2010s Romanian Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Metal
Vintage 1970s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1980s Mid-Century Modern Slipper Chairs
Suede, Wood
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet
Vintage 1980s American Modern Dining Room Tables
Glass, Teak
1990s North American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Iron
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric, Rosewood
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Glass, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Brass
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Velvet, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric, Faux Leather, Wood
20th Century More Dining and Entertaining
Metal, Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
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Midcentury Modern Furniture Designers For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Midcentury Modern Furniture Designers?
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.
- 1stDibs ExpertSeptember 25, 2019
Some of the most famous mid-century modern furniture designers were Alvar Aalto, Charles and Ray Eames, Paul Evans, Poul Kjærholm, Florence Knoll, George Nakashima, Giò Ponti, Hans Wegner, Charlotte Perriand, Sergio Rodrigues and Eero Saarinen.
- 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022Marcel Breuer introduced the material of tubular steel to modern furniture design. He employed it in many of his chairs, tables and sofas, prizing the material because it minimized the weight of pieces without sacrificing their strength. Shop a range of Marcel Breuer furniture on 1stDibs.
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