Space Age Decorative Objects
Vintage Space Age furniture captured post–World War II optimism with swooping shapes, bowed lines and experimentation with new materials including plastic and fiberglass.
From the launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite in 1957 to the landing of Apollo 11 astronauts on the moon in 1969, the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States propelled advancements in technology that transformed culture. Space Age design encompassed fashion, architecture, cars, furniture and objects for the home, bringing wonder and hope for the future into everyday life.
Coinciding with Pop art, Space Age style featured bold colors and forms. Eero Aarnio’s Ball chair, which debuted in 1966, used molded fiberglass for a capsule-like space while Verner Panton’s 1959 Panton chair was a single piece of molded plastic for a gravity-defying S shape. Red versions of Olivier Mourgue’s 1964 Djinn chair were futuristic enough to appear on the space station in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Today, Joe Colombo is revered as a master of modern Italian design thanks to the provocative modular furniture pieces he created, such as the Tube chair and the Elda armchair, both of which embody the future-forward spirit of the Space Age.
The Space Age spirit extended to home building too. The futuristic Case Study Houses, which were designed by the likes of Pierre Koenig, Charles and Ray Eames, Richard Neutra and Whitney R. Smith, are considered a high point of modernism and the Southern California lifestyle.
Sometimes the nods to space exploration were more literal, like moon and star motifs or the 1965 Eclisse lamp by Vico Magistretti that saw the mid-century Italian designer integrating a movable inner shade to “eclipse” the light source. Alongside the pioneering moon missions, JVC manufactured the Videosphere portable television reminiscent of the Apollo 11 space helmets.
Although the style faded in the 1970s — with the 1975 joining of the Apollo and Soyuz spacecrafts signaling a new era of cooperation and the global oil crisis impacting the availability of plastics — the era’s innovations influenced designers into the 21st century such as Zaha Hadid and Djivan Schapira.
Find a collection of vintage Space Age seating, tables, lighting and other furniture on 1stDibs.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1960s German Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Glass, Cut Glass, Art Glass
1950s Scandinavian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Plastic
1960s Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Space Age Decorative Objects
Opaline Glass
1960s European Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Lead
20th Century American Space Age Decorative Objects
Lucite
20th Century American Space Age Decorative Objects
Porcelain
1960s Japanese Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Chrome
1950s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Murano Glass, Opaline Glass
1970s Japanese Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Glass
1960s German Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Plastic
20th Century French Space Age Decorative Objects
Bronze
2010s Aruban Space Age Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1970s Asian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Plastic
1960s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1960s Brazilian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Bronze, Copper, Metal
Late 20th Century Russian Space Age Decorative Objects
Metal
1970s British Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Late 20th Century French Space Age Decorative Objects
Magnets
Mid-20th Century French Space Age Decorative Objects
Terracotta
1970s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century French Space Age Decorative Objects
Terracotta
Mid-20th Century French Space Age Decorative Objects
Terracotta
Mid-20th Century French Space Age Decorative Objects
Concrete
Mid-20th Century French Space Age Decorative Objects
Metal, Aluminum, Enamel
1960s German Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Pottery, Paint
1970s Japanese Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Metal
Mid-20th Century German Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Steel
1960s European Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1950s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Wood
1950s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1960s European Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1960s European Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1960s Swiss Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Fiberglass
1960s German Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Space Age Decorative Objects
Majolica
Early 2000s Italian Space Age Decorative Objects
Plastic
1970s German Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Plastic
Mid-20th Century Austrian Space Age Decorative Objects
Crystal
1970s German Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Plexiglass
1960s European Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1960s European Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Space Age Decorative Objects
Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Aluminum
1960s European Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Art Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Space Age Decorative Objects
Plastic
Mid-20th Century German Space Age Decorative Objects
Ceramic