Mid-Century Modern Benches
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe mid-century modern American 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.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s 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, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century 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, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern American furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Benches
Metal, Chrome
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
1980s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Elm
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Wood
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Benches
Teak
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Lucite
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary North American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Oak
20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Hide
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Pine
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Walnut
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Rush, Ash
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass
2010s Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Benches
Wood, Upholstery
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Walnut, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Bronze
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Wood
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Bamboo, Rattan
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Benches
Fabric, Cotton, Upholstery, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Nickel
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Fabric, Lucite
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Metal
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Hardwood
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Wrought Iron
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Benches
Wrought Iron
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Benches
Ash
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Benches
Walnut
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Teak
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Chrome
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Foam, Latex, Rubber, Wood
1970s North American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Chrome
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Upholstery, Wood
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Upholstery, Oak
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Pine
21st Century and Contemporary Mid-Century Modern Benches
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Benches
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Marble, Metal
2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Benches
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Walnut
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Fabric, Upholstery, Foam, Polyester, Wood, Lacquer, Paint, Velvet, Oak
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Benches
Brass, Steel