Mid-Century Modern Lighting

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: Stilnovo

Creator: Lisa Johansson-Pape

1980s Stilnovo 'Zagar' Black Enameled Floor Lamp by Sergio Carpani

Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1980s Stilnovo 'Zagar' Black Enameled Floor Lamp by Sergio Carpani

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo 'Megafono' 3-Arm Chandelier in Black and Brass

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

“Fiesta” Table Lamp by Giorgio Longoni for Stilnovo, Italy, 1969

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount Signed by Stilnovo, circa 1950

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Joe Colombo 'Topo' Articulating Floor Lamp for Stilnovo in Chrome

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Joe Colombo 'Topo' Table Lamp in Black with Base for Stilnovo

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Caleidoscopio Table Lamp by Giorgio Longoni for Stilnovo

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Italian mid-century modern round white table lamp by Stilnovo, 1960s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Model 1245 Flush Mount Ceiling Light by Stilnovo, 1950s, Italy

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo Opal Wall Light

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1960s Stilnovo Faceted Diffuser Pendant Lamp

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Italian Mid Century Modern Desk Lamp, 1960s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Italian Wall Light by Stilnovo, 1950

1950s Finnish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Lisa Johansson-Papé Ihanne Floor Lamp, Dark Green Shade & Dark Wrap, Orno 1960s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Ceiling Lights by Stilnovo

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Joe Colombo 'Topo' Articulating Floor Lamp for Stilnovo in White

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo ceiling lamp in chrome and white metal, Italy 1960s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1950s Cream Color Enamelled Stilnovo Design Desk Lamp

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Midcentury Multicolor Opaline Murano Glass Pendant Lamp by Stilnovo Italy 1950s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo Celeste Green Ball Pendant Lamp Opal Glass, circa 1950

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

'Campana' White Metal Pendant Light for Stilnovo

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo deske lamp Model 8029 from the 50s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo wall lamps model 2079 made in Italy 1960

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Rare Flush Mounts By Stilnovo Black White Aluminum Ceiling Lights (2), 1950

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Achille & Pier Castiglioni 'Sputnik' Brass Chandelier in Ivory for Stilnovo

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Suspension Light by Stilnovo

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

2 Stilnovo Glass Pendants

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo Ceiling Lights, a Pair

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Gae Aulenti & Piero Castiglioni 'Minibox' Table Lamp in Black for Stilnovo

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Two of Four Stilnovo Midcentury Modern Blue Pendant Lights, 1950s, Italy

1950s Finnish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Lisa Johansson-Papé Chandelier Model 1068 in Brass & Glass, Orno 1950s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo Black Waterfall Chandelier Lamp Opal Glass, circa 1950

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Rare Italian 1960's Chandelier By Stilnovo

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Pair of Stilnovo wall lights, Italy 1960s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stehleuchte, Entwurf Und Herstellung Durch Stilnovo, Italien, 1950s, JahreFloor

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Pair of Brass and white glass Modernist Stilnovo Sconces

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

1950s Stilnovo Glass & Copper Cylindrical Pendant with Original Yellow Label

1960s Finnish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Elegant Cascading Pendant Lamp by Lisa Johansson-Pape for Orno Finland 1960s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Italian Mid-Century Wall or Ceiling Lights by Stilnovo, set of two, 1950-60s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting