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: Palwa

1960s Palwa Six-Light Crystal Cut-Glass and Gilt Brass Chandelier

Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

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

1960s Palwa Six-Light Crystal Cut-Glass and Gilt Brass Chandelier

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Gilt Brass Facet Cut Crystal Glass Chandelier 'Jewel' by Palwa, 1970s, Germany

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Palwa Chandelier, Gilded Brass and Amber Tone Glass, 1960s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Petite Gilded Brass Pendant by Christoph Palme, Germany, 1970s

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Spectacular Backlit Mirror Gilded Brass and Crystal Glass by Palwa, Germany

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

Palwa Chandelier, Gilded Brass and Faceted Crystal, 1960s

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

1960s Gilded Brass and Faceted Crystal Palwa Chandelier

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Extraordinary Geometric Crystal Glass Chandelier by Palwa, Germany, 1960s

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Lovely Large Gilt Brass and Crystal Chandelier by Palwa, circa 1970s

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Spectacular Backlit Mirror Gilded Brass and Crystal Glass by Palwa, Germany

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Impressive Large Gilt Brass and Crystal Glass Chandelier by Palwa Germany, 1960s

1980s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

20th Century Guilded Crystal Brass Chandelier by Palwa Large Pendant Lamp

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Petite Gilt Brass and Crystal Glass Encrusted Chandelier by Palwa, Germany 1970s

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

Palwa Bunch of Flowers Chandelier, Gilt Brass and Faceted Crystals, 1970s

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Gilt Brass and Crystal Glass Encrusted Chandelier by Palwa, Germany, 1970s

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Gilt Brass and Crystal Glass Encrusted Chandeliers by Palwa, Germany, 1970s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Glamorous Petite Vintage Palwa Chandelier

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Palwa Chandeliers 1 of 3 Gold Brass Glass Lamps Refurbished, 1960

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Palwa Brass and Glass Chandelier Lamp Gold Finish, Germany 1960

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1960 Germany Palwa Chandelier Crystal Rods & Gilt Brass by Christoph Palme

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Pair of Rare Heavy Cut Glass and Strass Chandeliers by Palwa, circa 1960s

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Gilt Brass and Crystal Glass Encrusted Chandelier by Palwa, Germany, 1970s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Stunning Gilded Brass and Glass Palwa Chandelier

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

1960's PALWA eight-Light, Gold-Plated Brass and Crystal Chandelier

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Petite Palwa Pendant, Gilt Brass and Crystal Glass, Germany, 1970s

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Stunning Set of Haevy Cut Glass and Nickel Chandeliers by Palwa, circa 1960s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Palwa Chandelier, Nickel Cut Crystal Glass, Germany, 1960s

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Petite Gilt Brass and Crystal Glass Encrusted Chandelier by Palwa, Germany 1970s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Large Palwa Flush Mount Chandelier Faceted Crystal Glass Steel Lamp 1960s

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Great Six-Tiered Gilt Brass and Lens Glass Chandelier by Palwa, circa 1970s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Very Large Gold-Plated and Cut Glass Chandelier by Palwa, circa 1960s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Impressive Large Gilt Brass and Crystal Glass Chandelier by Palwa Germany, 1960s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Seven-Tiered Gilt Brass Chandelier or Pendant Lamp by Palwa Germany 1960s

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Gilt Brass and Crystal Glass Encrusted Chandeliers by Palwa, Germany, 1970s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Midcentury Palwa Chandelier Faceted Crystal Glass Germany 1960s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Gorgeous Gilt Brass Facet Cut Crystal Glass Chandelier by Palwa Germany 1960s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Brass and Glass Chandelier Gilt, Palwa, circa 1960

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Very Large Gold-Plated and Cut Glass Chandelier by Palwa, circa 1960s

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Gilded Brass and Crystal Chandelier by Palwa, 1970

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants