Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe mid-century modern American 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.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s 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, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century 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, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern American furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
1970s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Enamel
Mid-20th Century Belgian Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Aluminum
1950s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze
20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Ceramic
1950s Mexican Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Malachite, Bronze
1950s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
1940s North American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze, Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
1920s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Metal, Nickel
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Aluminum
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
1970s Unknown Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze
Late 20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
1950s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Copper
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Chrome
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass, Copper
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Copper
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Marble, Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
1960s Belgian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Aluminum
20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass, Bronze
1960s Israeli Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Metal
1960s Mexican Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Plexiglass, Plywood
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Aluminum
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Ceramic
1970s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Bronze
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Cut Steel
20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Copper
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Murano Glass
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Glass
1970s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Copper
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass, Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass, Copper
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Aluminum, Gold Plate
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Metal
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Brass
1960s Portuguese Vintage Mid-Century Modern Doors and Gates
Metal, Chrome