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 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.

Style: Mid-Century Modern

Creator: Kalmar Lighting

1 of the 2 Sische Glass and Brass Chandelier, 1960s Modernist Design, Kalmar Sty

By Kalmar Lighting, J.T. Kalmar

Located in Rijssen, NL

This ceiling light was designed by Simon and Schelle, featuring a rectangular brass base and eight massive glasses in the shape of a four lobed flower. Dimensions: Height 15.75 (40c...

Category

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

Materials

Brass

1 of the 2 Sische Glass and Brass Chandelier, 1960s Modernist Design, Kalmar Sty

Huge Kalmar Chandelier 'Corina', Gilt Brass Glass, Austria, 1970

Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

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

1 of the 2 Sische Glass and Brass Chandelier, 1960s Modernist Design, Kalmar Sty

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Huge Kalmar Chandelier 'Corina', Gilt Brass Glass, Austria, 1970

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

"Pagoda" Chandelier by J.T.Kalmar, Nickel and Glass, Austria, circa 1970s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Elegant Ice Glass and Bronze Chendelier by J.T. Kamlar Franken KG, 1960s Austria

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Kalmar Sputnik Pendant Light Chandelier 'Rs 27', Aluminum Glass, 1970, 1 of 4

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 2 Large Chrome Sputnik Atomium Chandelier by Kalmar, Austria, 1970s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 3 Tronchi Murano Glass Flush mount light Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 2 Gilt Brass, Crystal Glass Light Chandelier Palazzo, Kalmar, Austria, 1970

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 3 Stunning Brass Murano Glass Light Fixture Palazzo, Kalmar, Austria, 1970s

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

J.T. Kalmar Brass & Textured Glass Mid-Century Basket Chandelier, Austria, 1950s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Large Kalmar Chandelier Pendant Light Sputnik Atomic 43-Arms Glass Aluminum 1970

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Kalmar Atomic Ceiling Lamps Chandeliers, 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

J.T. Kalmar Frosted Glass Chandelier, Vienna, circa 1960s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 5 Large Tulipan Glass Chandelier by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 4 Gilt Brass, Crystal Glass Light Fixture Palazzo, Kalmar, Austria, 1970s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 2 Gilt Brass, Crystal Glass Light Chandelier Palazzo, Kalmar, Austria, 1970

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Large Murano Ice Glass Chandelier by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 4 Kalmar Sputnik Pendant Lights Chandeliers 'Rs 27', Aluminum Glass, 1970

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Chandelier with Glass in the Form of Ice Kalmar Design

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 6 Large Tulipan Glass Chandelier by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 2 Murano Glass Chandelier Designed by Carlo Nason for Kalmar, Germany, 60s

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Large Chrome Space Age Sputnik Atomium Chandelier by Cosack, Germany, 1970s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 4 Murano Ice Glass Pendants by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Stunning Brass Tear Drop Glasses Light Fixture Tropfen, Kalmar, Austria, 1970s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 2 Stunning Brass, Crystal Glass Light Fixture Floria, Kalmar, Austria, 1970

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 2 Large Rare Murano Ice Glass Chandelier by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1 of 3 Stunning Brass Murano Glass Light Fixture Palazzo, Kalmar, Austria, 1970s

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Large Chrome Space Age Sputnik Atomium Chandelier by Kalmar, Austria, 1970s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Large Rare Pagoda Glass Chandelier by Kalmar, Austria, 1960s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Stunning Gilt Brass, Crystal Glass Light Fixture Palazzo, Kalmar, Austria, 1970

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Stunning Gilt Brass, Crystal Glass Light Fixture Palazzo, Kalmar, Austria, 1970

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Stunning Gilt Brass, Crystal Glass Light Fixture Palazzo, Kalmar, Austria, 1970

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Stunning Gilt Brass, Crystal Glass Light Fixture Palazzo, Kalmar, Austria, 1970

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Suspended Glass Cluster Flush Mount

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Kalmar Two Tier Crystal Chandelier, Vienna, Austria, 1970

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Midcentury Ice Glass Pendant by Kalmar

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Kalmar Onion Shaped Glass Chandelier, 1950s

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

Kalmar Mid-Century Modern Crystal Glass & Gilt Brass Chandelier Austria, 1970s

1970s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1970s Cubic Frosted Ice Glass Pendant by Kalmar, Austria

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants