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.
Vintage Woven Rattan Place Mats - Set of 10
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This exquisite set of ten vintage placemats is a masterwork of global artisanal craftsmanship, perfectly blending natural textures with a vibrant, ec...
Rattan
1980s Italian Guzzini Lab Interlocking Red & White Platter inc Original Box
By Guzzini
Located in London, England
Vintage 1980s Italian Guzzini Lab interlocking dishes or platters. The dishes are two-tone with bright red on the underside and white on the inside of the bowls which can be used sep...
Resin, Acrylic
Victor Vasarely, Space age Op art metal tray, Limited ed. Metalgraf Italy 1970s
Located in Firenze, IT
Space age Op art metal tray Victor Vasarely, Metalgraf for Italsider Italy 1970s Limited edition Metal H 2 cm - 45 × 45 cm Conditions: very good consistent with age and use.
Metal
$532
H 9.06 in W 24.02 in D 13.78 in
Luigi Massoni Minimalist Plastic White Bed Tray Element by Guzzini, Italy, 1980s
By Luigi Massoni, Guzzini
Located in Kirchlengern, DE
Article: Plastic tray Design: Luigi Massoni Producer: Guzzini, Italy Decade: 1980s Description: This tray table was designed by Luigi Massoni and produced by Guzzini in Italy in the 1980s. It is made from white-colored plastic and is in very good vintage condition, and would be ideal to serve breakfast in bed. It still features the original Guzzini box...
Plastic
Dimart Brass Italian Round Tray with Smoked Glass 1980s
By Dimart
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Dimart brass Italian circular brass tray with glass, 1980s. Fabulous Post Modern gold-plated tray with smoked glass and brass golden cable rope ...
Gold Plate, Brass
$1,146
H 2.96 in W 20.87 in D 13 in
Willy Rizzo Large Tortoiseshell Lucite & Brass Serving Tray, Italy, 1970s
By Willy Rizzo, Christian Dior
Located in Roma, IT
Marvelous large mid-century tray in tortoiseshell lucite and solid brass. This incredibly stylish and unique piece was produced in Italy during the 1970s and is attributed to Willy R...
Brass
$414 / item
H 0.6 in W 17.72 in D 4.73 in
Centerpiece Plate Platters Serveware White Carrara Marble Brass Inlay Italy
By Barberini & Gunnell, Pieruga Marble
Located in Ancona, Marche
Centerpiece / serving plate in white Carrara marble with polished brass inlay. Dimensions: Medium - L45 W 12 H 1.5 cm Also available: Big - L 45 W 20.5 H 1.5 cm or small - L 26 W 11...
Marble, Brass
$698 / item
H 0.6 in W 17.72 in D 8.08 in
Centerpiece Serveware Platter White Carrara Marble Pink Onyx Flamingo Italy
By Barberini & Gunnell, Pieruga Marble
Located in Ancona, Marche
Centerpiece/serving plate in white Carrara marble with inlay in brass and pink onyx. Material: White Carrara marble, pink onyx, brushed brass. Dimen...
Onyx, Marble, Brass
$300Sale Price / set|24% Off
H 0.63 in W 6.5 in D 6.5 in
Vintage Secla Portugal Ceramic Round Faience Fish Plates (set of 10)
By Secla
Located in Miami, FL
Vintage Secla Portugal Ceramic Round Faience Fish Plates (set of 10) Offered for sale is a set of 10 round Portuguese faience ceramic fish plates fro...
Ceramic
$1,065
H 2.37 in W 18.51 in D 15.56 in
Willy Rizzo Tortoiseshell Lucite & Brass Italian Serving Tray, 1970s
By Willy Rizzo
Located in Roma, IT
Marvelous mid-century tray in a single piece of curved tortoiseshell-effect lucite and solid brass. This incredibly stylish piece was produced in Italy during the 1970s and its desig...
Brass
$627 / item
H 0.6 in W 17.72 in D 8.08 in
Centerpiece Platters Tableware White Carrara Marble Green Ming Collectible Italy
By Pieruga Marble, Barberini & Gunnell
Located in Ancona, Marche
Centerpiece / Serving plate in white Carrara marble with green Ming marble inlay. Dimensions: Big L 45, W 20.5, H 1.5 cm Also available: Medium L 45, W 12, H 1.5 cm 100% Hand made ...
Marble
$663 / item
H 0.6 in W 17.72 in D 4.73 in
Centerpiece Serveware Platters White Marble Blue Azul Macaubas Handmade Italy
By Pieruga Marble, Barberini & Gunnell
Located in Ancona, Marche
Centerpiece / serving plate in white Carrara marble with inlay in semi-precious quartzite Azul Macaubas. Dimensions: L 45, W 12, H 1.5 cm 100% Hand...
Marble, Carrara Marble, Brass
$485 / set
H 7.49 in Dm 11.03 in
Art Nouveau Majolica glazed tableware set of 10 pieces Leaves pattern in relief.
Located in Verviers, BE
Art Nouveau Majolica glazed tableware set of 10 pieces Leaves pattern in relief. Sarreguemines Majolica is a type of earthenware, decorated with colored lead glazes. Majolica was m...
Majolica
1970s Sensational Rosewood Service Tray
Located in Chula Vista, CA
Exotic Rosewood Sleek Service Tray Clean modern lines 17.88 long x 7.75 w x .63 h Preowned vintage Refer to images
Rosewood
$1,071
H 1.78 in W 23.63 in D 13.78 in
Christian Dior Midcentury Tortoiseshell Effect Lucite Italian Serving Tray 1970s
By Christian Dior, Willy Rizzo
Located in Roma, IT
Stunning midcentury serving tray in a beautiful tortoiseshell effect lucite with burl wood handles. Produced in Italy during the 1970s for a Dior Home production with a design attri...
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass, Burl
Space Age Kinetic "Amuse-Gueule" Appetizer tray by Yonel Lebovici, 1970s.
Located in Lille, FR
Space Age "Amuse-Gueule" Appetizer tray by Yonel Lebovici, 1970s.
Plastic
1970's Space Age Rare Food Warmer by Brabantia Chauffe-Plats
By Brabantia
Located in San Diego, CA
Beautiful design on this almost new in a box, food warmer by Brabantia circa 1970s enameled metal with beautiful graphic design and chrome grill, made by Brabantia.
Metal, Chrome
Sold
H 1.19 in Dm 10.24 in
Gio Ponti Tableware Complete Set White Blue Orange Ceramica Italiana Pozzi, 1967
By Gio Ponti
Located in Arosio, IT
Complete tableware set original 1967 by Gio Ponti. He designed this series for the Italian ceramic manufacturer Franco Pozzi. A mentor and friend of Luigi Sormani, owner of the Sorma...
Ceramic