Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

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.

Style: Mid-Century Modern

Creator: Bakalowits & Söhne

Bakalowits Chandelier Brass and Crystal Glass, Austria, 1960s

Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bakalowits Chandelier Brass and Crystal Glass, Austria, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Vienna Lobmeyr / Bakalowits & Sons Large Chandelier Crystal & Brass

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bakalowits Chandelier, around 1950s

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Big Bakalowits Crystal Chandelier Vienna Around 1950s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 3 Bakalowits Pendant Lights Lanterns, Copper Nickel Crystal Glass, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 (of 2) Lobmeyr / Bakalowits & Sons 49" Flush Mount Chandelier Crystal & Brass

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bakalowits Chandelier, Vienna, Around 1950s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Huge 15-Light Crystal Chandelier by Bakalowits & Sons, Vienna, circa 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bakalowits Wall Lights, Brass and Crystal Glass, Austria, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bakalowits Chandelier, Brutalist Style and Crystal Glass, Austria, 1960s

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Large Bakalowits Semi Flush Mount Chandelier Silver Crystal Glass 1950s Lobmeyr

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Stunning Huge “Miracle” Chandelier by Bakalowits, Austria, Vienna, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Vienna Lobmeyr / Bakalowits & Sons Large Flush Mount Chandelier Crystal & Brass

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Midcentury Bakalowits Crystal Chandelier

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bakalowits Chandelier, Nickel Crystal Glass, Austria, Vienna, 1960s

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Crystal and Gold Plated Chandelier by Bakalowits & Söhne

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bakolowits 26" Wave-Form Chandelier Crystals & Nickel, Cari Zalloni, Vienna 1960

1960s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

One of Two Bakalowits Chandeliers 'Supernova', Nickel Crystal Glass, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Crystal Glass Pendant Lamp or Chandelier by Bakalowits & Söhne Vienna Austria

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bakalowits Crystal Chandelier, circa 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Stunning Large Crystal Glass Chandelier by Bakalowits

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Large Square Bakalowits Chandelier with Diamond-Shaped Crystals, Austria, 1950s

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Up to Three Identical Bakalowits Faceted Crystal Pendant Lamps, Austria, 1960s

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bakalowits Gold-Plated Crystal Chandelier

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Austrian Cut Crystal Chandelier by Bakalowits & Söhne

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Lovely Bakalowits & Söhne Ceiling Lamp with Large Glass Diamonds, 1970s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Beautiful Cut Crystal Chandelier by Bakalowits

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Stunning Huge “Miracle” Chandelier by Bakalowits, Austria, Vienna, 1960s

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bakalowits Vienna Diamond Crystal Faceted Glass Chandelier, Austria, 1950s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Crystal Chandelier by Bakalowits & Söhne

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Vienna Lobmeyr / Bakalowits & Sons Large Chandelier Crystal & Silver Plated

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bakalowits Nickel Crystal Chandelier, circa 1950s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bakalowits Sputnik Chandelier 'Miracle', Nickel Glass Rods, 1970

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Big Bakalowits Crystal Chandelier, circa 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Pair of Large Bakalowits Chandeliers, Elongated Brass Crystal Glass, 1960s

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Beautiful Crystal Chandelier by Bakalowits & Sons, Vienna, 1960s

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Very Elegant Bakalowits Chandelier, Vienna, circa 1950s

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bakalowits Vienna Midcentury Faceted Crystals Chandelier, Austria, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Huge Beautiful Crystal Chandelier by Bakalowits & Söhne Vienna, 1960s

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants