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Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

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

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.

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Style: Mid-Century Modern
Six Vintage Libbey Glass Co., Cane Pattern, Old Fashioned or Rocks Glasses
Located in Nantucket, MA
Six mid-century Libbey Glass Co., old fashioned glasses, the lower half with raised enamel "cane" in natural color, the top edge of the glass is also e...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass

9 Piece Calypso Themed Cocktail Pitcher Set, Pitcher & 8 Old Fashioned Glasses
Located in Nantucket, MA
Nine-piece cocktail pitcher set, clear glass with white frosted interiors having Calypso performers in 22 karat gold on the exterior. Set consists...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass

Six Vintage Georges Briard Rocks Glasses in the Wire Pattern in Ice Yellow
Located in Nantucket, MA
Six Mid-Century Modern rocks by Georges Briard in the Ice Yellow version of the "Wire" pattern, having a raised twisted wire screen pattern in yellow enamel on clear glass.
Category

Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass

Mid-Century Modern Tumblers Decorated in Blue and White Enamel by Libbey
Located in Nantucket, MA
Set of 8 Libbey cocktail glasses decorated with dots enclosed in concentric circles, the top half of the glasses in white above blue on the lower half.
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass

Vintage Fred Press Designed Rocks Glasses with Translucent Enamel Pears & Apples
Located in Nantucket, MA
Four vintage rocks glasses designed by Fred Press having pears and apples in translucent enamels and accented with 22 karat gold.
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass

Vintage Cera Patriotic Drum Highball Glasses in Teal & Red Enamel with 22k Gold
Located in Nantucket, MA
Mid-Century Modern highball glasses by Cera Glass decorated as a patriotic drum in teal and red enamel with a 22 karat gold eagle with a stars and strip...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass

Eight 22k Gold and Black Enamel Mid-Century Modern Highball Glasses
Located in Nantucket, MA
Vintage set of 8 highball glasses with a vertical diamond pattern of black enamel on a mottled gold ground.
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass

Vintage Highball Glasses with Black Enamel Antelopes with Gold Detail
Located in Nantucket, MA
Set of 8 mid-century modern highball glasses with 2 stylized antelopes in black enamel with 22k gold horns.
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass

Six Vintage Fred Press Old Fashioned Glasses with Tan Enamel and 22 Karat Gold
Located in Nantucket, MA
Mid-Century Modern, old fashioned glasses signed Fred Press. The clear glass is decorated with tan enamel and 22k gold depicting randomly scattered cocktail onions.
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass

13 Piece Calypso Performer, Cocktail Bar Suite Shaker, Pitcher and Glasses
Located in Nantucket, MA
Thirteen piece vintage barware set, clear glass with white frosted interiors having an image of a 3 piece Calypso band in 22 karat gold. All in exc...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass

4 Vintage Rocks Glasses with the Word Music Repeated Horizontally & Vertically
Located in Nantucket, MA
4 Vintage rocks glasses with 6 rows of squares in yellow, orange and rust, each with a block letter in reserve and spelling out the word MUSIC cr...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass

8 Vintage Cocktail Glasses with Stylized Prancing Horses in Black Enamel
Located in Nantucket, MA
Set of 8 vintage tumblers, decorated in black enamel with an image of a stylized prancing horse on clear glass.
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass

Vintage Pop Art Collins Glasses with a Close-up of a Pen Clip That Says "Parker"
Located in Nantucket, MA
Set of eight vintage Pop Art Collins glasses in red, black and yellow enamel. The design resembling the barrel and clip of a lacquered Parker pen with the w...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass

Horsehair Brush for Mohawk, 1950s
By Mohawk
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A beautifully crafted garment brush made of warmly-toned walnut and soft horsehair.
Category

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Walnut

Hawkes Mid-Century Modern Sterling Silver and Cut-Glass Creamer & Sugar
Located in New York, NY
Mid-Century Modern sterling silver and cut-glass creamer and sugar. Made by Hawkes in Corning, New York. Each: Conical bowl on flutes and diaper, and sca...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Sterling Silver

Contemporary Stone Covered Salt and Pepper Shakers - a Pair
Located in Delray Beach, FL
Beautiful multicolor stone covered salt and pepper shakers.
Category

1990s American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Glass, Plastic

Mid Century Modern Standing Wrought Iron Wine Rack By Arthur Umanoff
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Tall, Mid-Century Modern, free-standing, wrought iron, wine rack by Arthur Umanoff for shaver howard offers stylish wine storage for 67 bottle capacity.
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Wrought Iron

Finel (Finland) 'Kirsikka' Small Enamel Saucepan, Designed by Esteri Tomula
Located in NEWTOWN, AU
Finel was a brand under which Wärtsilä and Järvenpää Emali created enamel kitchenware and tableware items from as early as the 1950s. Well known Finnish designers such as Seppo Mall...
Category

1970s Finnish Vintage Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Enamel

Modern Lucite Ice Bucket in Block of Ice Form
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A well-made and very decorative heavy Lucite ice bucket with hinged lid, ice tong form handle holding a textured faux block of Ice. Dimensions: 16.25” high (To handle) 9” high to L...
Category

20th Century Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Lucite

Aldo Tura Sliver Plated Wine Server with Goatskin Handle
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A sliver plated wine server with goatskin handle designed by Aldo Tura A wonderful elegant way to serve champagne or wine!
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Goatskin

Pierre Vandel Pepper and Salt and Nut Cracker, France, 1970
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Very nice set of pepper and salt, and a nut cracker designed by Pierre Vandel for Espace de Pierre Cardin, Paris, 1970. These items are made of solid aluminum and are fantastically s...
Category

1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Aluminum

Metal Bottle Holder in Rattan and Lacquered Metal, circa 1950-1960
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Metal bottle holder in rattan and lacquered metal, circa 1950-1960.
Category

1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Metal

Metal and Glass Modernist Citrus Squeezer by Jacques Adnet, France, 1930s
Located in Brussels, BE
Metal and glass Modernist Citrus squeezer by Jacques Adnet, France, 1930s.
Category

1930s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern More Dining and Entertaining

Materials

Metal

Mid-century Modern more dining and entertaining for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Mid-Century Modern more dining and entertaining for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage more dining and entertaining created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include serveware, ceramics, silver and glass, decorative objects, tables and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with glass, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Mid-Century Modern more dining and entertaining made in a specific country, there are North America, United States, and Europe pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original more dining and entertaining, popular names associated with this style include Georges Briard, Culver Ltd., Werkstätte Carl Auböck, and Fred Press. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for more dining and entertaining differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $38 and tops out at $16,200 while the average work can sell for $450.

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