Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage 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. The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influence 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.
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 chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Velvet, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Metal
1970s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather, Rosewood
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Wrought Iron
1970s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather, Beech
1970s Swiss Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather
1960s Spanish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Metal
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Faux Leather, Walnut
1960s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Metal
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Wool, Bouclé
1970s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Fabric, Upholstery, Teak
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Wool
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Wool
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather, Wood
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather, Rattan
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Silk, Wood
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
1930s Argentine Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Bouclé, Wood
1960s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather, Beech
1970s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Aluminum
1970s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Upholstery, Fabric
Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Fabric, Bamboo, Foam
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Walnut, Upholstery
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Upholstery, Cane, Velvet, Faux Bamboo
Early 2000s Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Velvet, Teak
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Bamboo, Alpaca, Wood
Mid-17th Century Brazilian Antique Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Cotton, Silk, Rosewood
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Fabric, Cotton, Upholstery, Foam, Polyester, Wood, Walnut, Lacquer
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Fabric, Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Steel
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Bamboo
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather, Fiberglass
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Upholstery, Walnut
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Brass
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Bouclé, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Upholstery, Wood
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Chrome
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Brass
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Upholstery
1980s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather, Foam, Wood
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Bouclé, Upholstery, Wood
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Wood, Teak, Upholstery, Velvet
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Philippine Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Upholstery, Bamboo
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
1960s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Velvet, Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Walnut, Velvet
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Mohair, Foam, Latex, Rubber, Birch, Plywood, Mahogany
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Fabric, Oak
1970s Brazilian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Rosewood, Faux Leather
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Wrought Iron
1960s Brazilian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Teak, Upholstery, Foam, Wood, Lacquer, Feathers
1970s Swiss Vintage Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather