Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

MID-CENTURY MODERN STYLE

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 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.

Item type: New and Made To Order

Style: Mid-Century Modern

Fermacarte "TRITTICO" di Roberto Giulio Rida

By Roberto Giulio Rida

Located in Milano, Lombardia

Trittico di fermacarte in cristallo pensato e prodotto da Roberto Giulio Rida. Gli elementi fermacarte decorativi, sono stati ricavati da rocce di vetro di fusione che sono stati mo...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Materials

Glass, Murano Glass, Stained Glass

Fermacarte "TRITTICO" di Roberto Giulio Rida

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #3653 Brass Bookends

Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Fermacarte "TRITTICO" di Roberto Giulio Rida

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #3653 Brass Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4995 Polished Brass Hook

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck #4330/1 Polished Brass Hook

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck #4995 Patinated Brass Hook

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #1928 'Hands' Brass Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4273 'Foot' Brass Paperweight

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #3530 'Flatiron' Patinated Brass and Cane Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4056 Nickel-Plated Hook

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #4635 Brass Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #3847 Brass Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #3846 Brass Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

2000s Barovier Toso Italian Royal Blue Twisted Murano Glass Brass Picture Frame

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4056 Patinated Brass Hook

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #3603L Large Brass and Leather Bell

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #4636 Brass Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #3848 Brass Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4224 'Hand' Brass Bottle Opener

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4072/G 'Rooster' Brass Bell

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4330/1 Hook in Nickel

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of Large Carl Auböck Model #4219 'Hands' Brass Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #3651 Brass Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #3654 Brass Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #3844 Brass Bowl

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #3530 'Flatiron' Brass and Cane Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4317 Brass Bowl

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

ALGA" paperweight by Roberto Giulio Rida

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of paperweights/jewelry holders by Roberto Giulio Rida

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #5261 Patinated Brass Hook

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4327 Patinated Brass Hook

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Italian Barovier Toso Brass & Turquoise Crystal Murano Glass Modern Photo Frame

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #7259 'Spiral' Brass Pen Holder

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Grouping of Eight Carl Auböck Brass Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Aubock Polished Brass "Hand" Keychain #5732

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Large Carl Auböck Model #5072 'Chain' Nickel Paperweight

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4327 Polished Brass Hook

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Aubock Brass "Hand" Letter Opener #7208

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Carl Aubock Patinated Brass Bookends #4636

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #4100 Patinated Brass Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories