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

Italian Tri-Orb Pendant

Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Italian Tri-Orb Pendant

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Mid-century multicolor opaline murano glass pendant lamp by Stilnovo Italy 1950s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo, Modernist Table Lamp, Metal, Brass, Acrylic, Italy, 1950s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Large 1960s Stilnovo Faceted Diffuser Pendant Lamp

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Four Stilnovo wall sconces , Italy, 1960s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo Model 2021/1 Brass & Glass Sconces, Italy, 1960s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo Brass and Opaline Chandelier mod. 1126

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Floor Lamp by Stilnovo

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Joe Colombo 'Minitopo' Table Lamp in Gold and Black for Stilnovo

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo, Table Lamp, Metal, Italy, 1960s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Pair of Large Brass and Methacrylate Lamps Italy 1955 Published

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Modernist Italian Wall Light or Flush Mount ITSO Stilnovo, circa 1950

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Italian Modern Brass, Metal, and Frosted Glass, 4 light Chandelier, Stilnovo

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Pair of Model 2078 Large Midcentury Opaline and Brass Nickel by Stilnovo

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Rare Three-Light Wall Light by Bruno Gatta

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo Rare Six-Light Chandelier

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo Chandelier 16 Light Brass Metal Opaline Glass, 1950, Italy

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Gaetano Sciolari model 2061 Stilnovo wall lamps Italy 1954

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Four Globe Stilnovo Chandelier, Italy, 1960s

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo Ceiling or Wall Lights, Set of 4

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

20th Century Italian Opaline Glass Chandelier - Vintage Pendant by Stilnovo

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo italian table lamp in green glass

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Rare Ceiling or Wall-Mounted Sputnik by Stilnovo

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Vintage murano table lamp by Stilnovo, Italy 1950s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Ceiling Light by Stilnovo

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo Chandelier Brass Iron Opaline Glass, 1950, Italy

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Giovanni Gorgoni 'Buonanotte' Metal & Acrylic Table Lamp in Yellow for Stilnovo

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo pendant lamp mod A5511 diffusers in opal glass and colored plexiglass

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Midcentury Stilnovo Lantern Brass & Red Lacquered Shade, 1950s, Italy

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Rare Pulley Suspension Light by Gaetano Sciolari for Stilnovo

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Rare Model 622 Ceiling Light for Stilnovo

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Italian pendant lamp by Stilnovo, opaline glass and brass, 1960s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

(2) Stilnovo Pendant Chandeliers

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo Vintage Chandelier Nine Arms Chrome Details Italy, 1960s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo Pair of Wall Lamps with Glass Insulators Shades, Italy 1960s

2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

'Megafono' Glossy Ivory Wall Lamp for Stilnovo

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Mid-century multicolor opaline murano glass pendant lamp by Stilnovo Italy 1950s

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Stilnovo Flush Mount Ceiling Lights Large, a Pair

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting

Gaetano Scolari for Stilnovo Illuminated Wall Mirror, Italy 1950s

1950s Finnish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lighting