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.
$236Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage Balsa Wood and Tin Lined Tea Box Workshop Prop Decor Storage
Located in Hyattsville, MD
Vintage balsa wood, and tin lined lidded tea box, retaining partial labels.
Wood, Paper
Norwegian Solid Birch Expandable Sewing Stand Organizer Made in Norway MINT
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Norwegian Solid Birch Expandable Sewing Stand Organizer Made in Norway MINT
Birch
Toso Mid-Century Modern Blue Molato Murano Glass Jewelry Box, 1982
Located in Murano, Venezia
These boxes are a beautiful invention of the master glassmaker Toso Murano who designed them in 1982. They can be used as jewelry boxes, and they are beautiful thanks to the reflec...
Art Glass, Murano Glass
Lovely Set of French Food Canisters Original French Enamel Canister
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
Lovely Set of French Food Canisters Original French Enamel Canister set is a complete set of five pieces, Sucre, Café, Farine, Thé and Cereals. The canisters are attractively shaped...
Tin
$105Sale Price|40% Off
1960s Stainless Steel Tea Infuser Stirrer Tea Steepers Secure Pull Locking
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Stainless Steel Tea Infuser Stirrer Tea Steepers Secure Pull Locking. Measures 7" Long
Stainless Steel
Large Danish Studio Pottery Teapot by Merethe Bloch, 1960s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Large Danish Mid-Century Modern Studio Pottery Teapot by Merethe Bloch, 1960s, in Very Good conditions. Designed 1960 to 1969 This piece has an attribution mark, Additional informat...
Ceramic
1970's Mexican Don S. Shoemaker Set of 4 Mixed Woods Spice Boxes / Tea Caddies
Located in Mexico City, MX
A 1970's Mexican mixed hardwood set of 4 spice boxes by American designer Don S. Shoemaker. The geometric shaped boxes with round covers are designed with bands of different woods. ...
Wood
Bone and Horn Patchwork Jewelry Box, Modern Design, Wood Lined, Spain
Located in New York, NY
Decorative keepsake, jewelry box clad in geometric horn and bone tiles, some with hand engraving, lined in wood. A great addition to any desk or coffee table.
Bone, Horn, Wood
Antique American Enameled Glass Ladies Footed Dresser Jar or Jewelry Box
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This antique pressed glass jewelry casket or jar is unsigned but presumed to have been made in the United States in circa 1880 in the period Vict...
Brass
$260Sale Price|20% Off
H 7.4 in W 7.4 in D 5.5 in
Italian Medium Size Brown Leather Jewelry Box, Mid-Century Modern
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Mid-Size Leather Jewelry Box, Italy Circa 1950's Feminine as well as charming mid-size leather box hand crafted in brown leather and gold embossed monogram. Monogram letters are M.H...
Leather, Fabric
18th Century Sterling Silver Locking Tea Caddy
By Michael Plummer
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Georgian English sterling silver locking tea caddy; an addition to our silver teaware collection. This exceptional antique George III sterling silver locking tea caddy has a navette, paneled shaped form. The body of this silver tea caddy box is embellished with bands of bright cut engraved volute spiraling leaf ornamentation on a matte background to the upper and lower portions; these bands flank a plain undulating bordered panel. The ornamentation to the surface of the caddy alternates with panels of concave vertical fluted decoration. This antique Georgian tea caddy is retains the original hallmarked flush hinged covers; the flush hinge indicates the fine quality of this piece. The cover is embellished with further bright cut engraved undulating borders accented with bud motifs, in addition to simplified borders paralleling the domed paneled portion; the domed portions reflects the incurved shape of the body. This impressive cover is surmounted with a cast sterling silver urn style finial, in the Classic Adams style. The caddy retains the original fitted fully working lock and functional key. This sterling silver tea caddy is a highly desirable shape and style. Condition: This Georgian silver tea caddy...
Silver, Sterling Silver
Large Oak Sewing Box, 1950s, Holland
Located in Den Haag, NL
Large Solid Oak wood sewing box ,on wheels . opened with two hinged doors on the top, while the accordion style (with layered shelves that used external hinges to store more stuff in...
Oak
Sculptural Brass Decorative Jewelry Box Brutalist Mid Century Modern
By Line Vautrin
Located in Bad Säckingen, DE
A heavy beautiful modernist round brass box
Brass
$4,750
H 10.5 in W 7.75 in D 4.5 in
Lidded Canister with Handle, Elaborate Repoussé & Enamel Work, Munich Secession
By Ludwig Karl Maria Vierthaler
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Crafted by Ludwig Vierthaler for the Josef Winhart metalwork company in Munich, this gorgeous and singular lidded canister displays the bravura repoussé work that the artist is known for. Winhart hammered elaborate Secession-style swirls and geometric patterns into the sides and lid of this piece, and enriched the lid with midnight blue and ruddy brown enamels. The entire piece has a subtle hammered finish and a streaky patina that gives the surface great depth of color. Interestingly, Vierthaler spent years as a metalsmith at Tiffany and Company in New York...
Copper, Enamel
Vintage Asian Lacquered Chinoiserie Sewing Box
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This exquisite vintage Asian lacquered box is a stunning example of mid-century Chinoiserie design. Featuring a classic octagonal silhouette, the piece is finished in a deep black la...
Brass, Gold Leaf
Antique George III Sterling Silver Locking Tea Caddy
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Georgian English sterling silver locking tea caddy; an addition to our silver teaware collection. This exceptional antique Georgian sterling silver tea caddy has an oval form. The surface of the tea caddy is plain and unembellished, with an applied reed decorated border to the upper and lower rims. This antique silver tea caddy retains the original hallmarked domed flush hinged cover; the flush hinge indicates the fine quality of this piece. The cover is surmounted with the original and exceptional silver topped oval button style finial. This antique Georgian tea caddy...
Sterling Silver
Italian Murano Faceted Glass & Brass Hinged Box / Jewelry Box
Located in North Miami, FL
This beautiful hinged Murano glass box in pristine clear faceted glass and brass trim and original decorative key and tassel. It is a wonderful desk or...
Crystal, Metal
$472
H 1.66 in W 11.03 in D 4.73 in
1970s Mid-Century Modern fake Tortoiseshell Lucite Italian Jewelry Box
By Guzzini
Located in Aci Castello, IT
This 1970s Mid-Century Modern Italian jewelry box is a beautiful example of the era's design sensibilities, combining elegance, functionality, and high-quality craftsmanship. Here's ...
Lucite
Shaker Storage Box
Located in New York, NY
A beautiful, finely crafted bentwood cedar Shaker style storage or decorative box, circa late-20th century, American. Box is a rich brown cedar wood tacked with hand forged brass nai...
Brass
Tea Box Designed by Jacques Jongert – Circa 1930
Located in Barcelona, ES
Tea Box Designed by Jacques Jongert – Circa 1930, "De Stijl" Design for Van Nelle, Netherlands This iconic tea box, designed by Jacques Jongert in the 1930s, embodies the essence of...
Metal
Silver Lidded Box with Dragon Icon on Lid by Friedman Germany
Located in Los Angeles, CA
German silver plate lidded box. A nice braided rim and small feet set this piece apart and are a compliment to any vanity, perfect for jewelry, mementos or 420. In very good shap...
Silver, Silver Plate
Scandinavian Modern Tea Caddy in Teak, 1960s
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A wellmade jar for tobacco, tea, jewelry etc. Its made from solid engine turned teak and was manufactured for the Copenhagen retailer Illums Bolighus in Denmark during the 1960s in a...
Teak
Van Nelle Tea Box by Jacques Jongert, circa 1930
By Van Nelle
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Tea box designed by Jacques Jongert circa 1930 in ' De Stijl ' design manufactured for Van Nelle in Netherland. In good original condition, with min...
Metal
Meiselman Mancer Italian Ceramic Tea Canister Box
Located in San Diego, CA
Beautiful circa 1950s Italian ceramic hand painted tea canister box, with a porcelain finish no chips or cracks nice original condition. Stamped at the bottom these pieces are very c...
Porcelain
Van Nelle Tea Box by Jacques Jongert, circa 1930
By Van Nelle
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Tea box designed by Jacques Jongert circa 1930 in 'De Stijl' design manufactured for Van Nelle in Netherland. Metal, painted in color In good ori...
Metal
Mid-Century Modern French Porcelain Covered Box
Located in Tarry Town, NY
Mid-Century Modern French porcelain covered decorative box with exterior gilt gold design details . The box is in great condition . Minor wear consistent with age / use . Maker's mar...
Gold
Toso Mid-Century Modern Amber Molato Murano Glass Jewelry Box, 1982
Located in Murano, Venezia
This boxes are a beautiful invention of the master glassmaker Toso Murano who designed them in 1982. They can be used as jewelry boxes, and they are beautiful thanks to the reflectio...
Art Glass, Murano Glass
Leather Box on Brass Stand
Located in Hixson, TN
A handsome vintage leather-covered tea caddy with chinoiserie style-stepped brass base. The box is in a beautiful burnished cinnamon shade with tapered top accented with a brass plin...