Rare Florence Knoll Rosewood Pair of Nightstands, 1950s
View Similar Items
Rare Florence Knoll Rosewood Pair of Nightstands, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Manufacturer),Florence Knoll (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Width: 18 in (45.72 cm)Depth: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1956
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. unrefinished.
- Seller Location:Houston, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU85061007998
Florence Knoll
Architect, furniture designer, interior designer, entrepreneur — Florence Knoll had a subtle but profound influence on the course of mid-century American modernism. Dedicated to functionality and organization, and never flamboyant, Knoll shaped the ethos of the postwar business world with her polished, efficient design and skillfully realized office plans.
Knoll had perhaps the most thorough design education of any of her peers. Florence Schust was orphaned at age 12, and her guardian sent her to Kingswood, a girl’s boarding school that is part of the Cranbrook Educational Community in suburban Detroit. Her interest in design brought her to the attention of Eliel Saarinen, the Finnish architect and head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Saarinen and his wife took the talented child under their wing, and she became close to their son, the future architect Eero Saarinen. While a student at the academy, Florence befriended artist-designer Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames. Later, she studied under three of the Bauhaus masters who emigrated to the United States. She worked as an apprentice in the Boston architectural offices of Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe taught her at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
In 1941, she met Hans Knoll, whose eponymous furniture company was just getting off the ground. They married in 1946, and her design sense and his business skills soon made Knoll Inc. a leading firm in its field. Florence signed up the younger Saarinen as a designer, and would develop pieces by Bertoia, Mies and the artist Isamu Noguchi. Her main work came as head of the Knoll Planning Group, designing custom office interiors for clients such as IBM and CBS. The furniture Florence created for these spaces reflects her Bauhaus training: the pieces are pure functional design, exactingly built; their only ornament from the materials, such as wood and marble. Her innovations — the oval conference table, for example, conceived as a way to ensure clear sightlines among all seated at a meeting — were always in the service of practicality.
Since her retirement in 1965, Knoll received the National Medal of Arts, among other awards; in 2004 the Philadelphia Museum of Art mounted the exhibition “Florence Knoll: Defining Modern” — well deserved accolades for a strong, successful design and business pioneer. As demonstrated on these pages, the simplicity of Knoll’s furniture is her work’s great virtue: they fit into any interior design scheme.
Knoll
As a company that produced many of the most famous and iconic furniture designs of the 20th century, Knoll was a chief influence in the rise of modern design in the United States. Led by Florence Knoll, the firm would draw stellar talents such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen into its compass. Their work would help change the face of the American home and office.
The company was formed in 1938 by the German immigrant Hans Knoll. He first worked with his fellow ex-pat, the Danish designer Jens Risom, who created furniture with flowing lines made of wood. While Risom served in World War II, in 1943 Knoll met his future wife, Florence Schust. She had studied and worked with eminent emigré leaders of the Bauhaus, including Mies, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. She won Knoll over with Bauhaus notions of industrial arts, and an aesthetic that featured flat and tubular metal frames and angular forms. When Hans died in a car crash in 1955, Florence Knoll was appointed head of the company. It was as much through her holistic approach to design — a core division of the firm was dedicated to planning office systems — as Knoll's mid-century modern furnishings themselves that she brought about the sleek and efficient transformation of the American workplace.
Today, classic Knoll furnishings remain staples of modern design collections and decor. A history of modern design is written in pieces such as the elegant Barcelona chair — created by Mies and Lilly Reich — Saarinen’s pedestal Tulip chair, Breuer’s tubular steel Wassily lounge chair and the grid-patterned Diamond chair by Harry Bertoia.
As you can see from the collection of these designs and other vintage Knoll dining chairs, sofas and tables on 1stDibs, this manufacturer's offerings have become timeless emblems of the progressive spirit and sleek sophistication of the best of modernism.
- Florence Knoll Nightstand in WalnutBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Houston, TXFlorence Knoll nightstand in walnut Knoll, USA, 1956. Walnut. Measures: 18 W x 18 D x 20 H inches. Nightstand has a single drawer ab...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
MaterialsWalnut
- Custom Florence Knoll BenchBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Houston, TXFlorence Knoll Bench USA 2017 leather, steel Measures: 48 W x 19.5 D x 16.75 H inches. Custom sized Florence Knoll bench in a custom flat steel finish with leather upholster...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsSteel
- Set of custom ordered Florence Knoll BenchesBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Houston, TXFlorence Knoll Pair of benches USA 1954 leather, steel Measures: 48 W x 19.5 D x 16.75 H inches Pair of custom-sized Florence Knoll benches in a custom flat steel finish wit...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsSteel
$9,000 / set - Florence Knoll stool / bench in leather for Knoll AssociatesBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Houston, TXFlorence Knoll stool Knoll Associates USA 1984 leather, steel 17 h × 18 w × 18 d inches Vintage piece.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Warren Platner Side Tables for KnollBy Warren Platner, KnollLocated in Houston, TXWarren platner pair of side or occasional tables Knoll International USA, 1960s Oak, bronzed steel Measures: 18.5 height × 24 diameter inches.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsSteel
$7,500 / set - Richard Meier Armchairs Set of 10 for KnollBy Knoll, Richard MeierLocated in Houston, TXRichard Meier Armchairs, 10 chairs Knoll USA, 1982 Maple Measures: 26.5 H × 20.5 W × 20 D in. Large set. In original condition.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsMaple
$38,000 / set
- Clean Lined Walnut and Iron Tables or Nightstands by KnollBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Atlanta, GAClean lined "T Angle" model walnut mid century tables or night stands, designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll, American, circa 1950s. Early ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsIron
- Pair of Italian Nightstands, Paolo Buffa Style, 1950sBy Paolo BuffaLocated in Wrocław, PolandVery exquisite set of two beautifully carved nightstands or side tables most probably attributed to Paolo Buffa (1903-1970), Italy, circa 1950s. They feature black glass tops and she...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
$1,747 Sale Price / set44% Off - Pair Mid-Century Walnut with white laminate Top Nightstands by Florence KnollBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in BROOKLYN, NYPair of beautiful Florence knoll single drawer nightstands or side tables. Walnut single drawer nightstands with clean white laminate tops. Solid Oak drawers with single white divide...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
MaterialsWalnut, Laminate, Oak
- Rare Midcentury Marble Table Florence KnollBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in BROOKLYN, NYNice round table with brushed chromed or nickel base. Rarely seen round table with great dimensions that could also be used as a small coffee table. Marble is original and shows s...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsMarble, Chrome, Nickel
$825 Sale Price25% Off - Edward Wormley Pair of Nightstands Precedent Line Drexel, 1950s / 1960sBy Drexel, Edward WormleyLocated in Camden, MEEdward Wormley pair of nightstands for the Precedent collection by Drexel, circa 1947 The pair of silver elm nightstands have been refinished in a blac...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Eero Saarinen Space Age Marble Tulip Nightstand for Knoll, 1967, Set of 2By Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Vicenza, ITPair of Tulip Night Stands designed by Eero Saarinen in 1957 and manufactured by Knoll in 1967. Composed of a white lacquered pedestal and a tabletop made of Carrara Arabescato marb...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Space Age Night Stands
MaterialsCarrara Marble
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
10 Trailblazing Female Designers
From pioneering visionaries to contemporary talents, get to know some of the most important women in design.
Remembering Design Visionary Florence Knoll Bassett (1917-2019)
A loving look back at the life and career of a doyenne of mid-century-modern style, who died last week at the age of 101.