Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
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.
1990s European Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Cement
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Brass
1980s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
1950s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Teak
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Oak
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Elm
1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Mohair, Foam, Wood
1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Teak, Upholstery
2010s Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Cane, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Cane, Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Nickel
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Wrought Iron
Late 20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Velvet
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Teak
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass, Polyester
1940s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Mahogany
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1970s Swiss Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Wood
1940s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Wool, Beech
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Cedar
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Rattan
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut
1950s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Rope, Oak
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile, Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
2010s Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
1960s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Leather, Canvas
1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Wool, Walnut
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
1960s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Wenge
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Plywood
1960s Swiss Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1950s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Bentwood
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal