Walter Knoll for Knoll "Stella" Sleeper Loveseat, 1960's
View Similar Items
Walter Knoll for Knoll "Stella" Sleeper Loveseat, 1960's
About the Item
- Creator:Walter Knoll (Designer),Knoll (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31 in (78.74 cm)Width: 63 in (160.02 cm)Depth: 28.5 in (72.39 cm)Seat Height: 16.5 in (41.91 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Reupholstered. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Minor fading.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: S679 CP1stDibs: LU922425276922
Walter Knoll
Inspired by the Bauhaus — founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius — Walter Knoll decided to bet big on modernism. He launched his eponymous German furniture maker in 1925, and the company has been going strong ever since.
Most design lovers are familiar with Knoll, the manufacturer of furniture by Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and other modernist giants. It was founded by Hans Knoll in 1941 and led after his death by his wife, Florence Knoll, the doyenne of postwar American office interiors. In recent years, the company has added collections by Maya Lin, Rem Koolhaas, Frank Gehry and David Adjaye, among others, and encouraged customers to do what some of them had been doing all along: use Knoll’s “office furniture” at home.
Fewer Americans are familiar with Walter Knoll, the company Hans’s father founded in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1925 and later moved to nearby Herrenberg. That company has existed in the shadow of the larger U.S.-based Knoll for decades.
Both companies descended from the German manufacturer of ornate leather goods established by Wilhelm Knoll in 1866. In 1907, Wilhelm’s sons, Willy and Walter, took over the father’s business and started producing leather club chairs. Five years later, the company introduced its Nestra line of stripped-down wood and leather seating, foreshadowing the family’s future innovations.
In 1925, when he was 50, Walter Knoll launched the Walter Knoll Company, which soon released the revolutionary Prodomo line of chairs, whose upholstered seats and backs are supported by tubular metal frames. Other lightweight Walter Knoll pieces were used in the passenger compartment of the Hindenburg zeppelin.
In 1927, Walter Knoll furnished five apartments designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for the Weissenhof Estate, 21 prototypes of “workers’ housing of the future” constructed as part of an exhibition in Stuttgart. A decade later, Walter’s son Hans, then 24, traveled to the United States to market his father’s furniture and to make a new life for himself in the New World. But inspired by his encounters with Jens Risom — a Danish-born designer who furthered Scandinavian modernism in the United States — Hans broke away from Walter, creating Knoll Associates (now known simply as Knoll). Florence Schust (later to become Hans’s wife) joined him in the company in 1943, and soon they were working with mid-century modern icons such as Saarinen and Bertoia on new designs and licensing Mies’s Barcelona chair.
After the war, with his factories destroyed and labor and materials in short supply, Walter Knoll turned to Hans for help. Hans sent over several pieces from his Vostra line, designed by Risom. Walter replaced the web seats with upholstery and launched his version of the Vostra at the New Living exhibition in Cologne in 1949. It became hugely successful, persuading many Germans still accustomed to traditional furniture to give modernism a go.
Walter Knoll retired in 1964, but his namesake firm continued growing in Germany. Just like the American Knoll, Walter Knoll has found that some customers want to use pieces originally meant as office furniture in their houses. In fact, these pieces give living and dining rooms a crispness that almost no residential furniture can match.
Find vintage Walter Knoll lounge chairs, sofas, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
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.
- Coen de Vries Gray and Blue Sleeper Sofa from PilastroBy Coen de Vries, PilastroLocated in Los Angeles, CARare conversion sofa to bed from Coen de Vries for Pilastro with arm rests. Newly upholstered in grey and indigo with black enameled metal frame. When as a daybed it measures 85 x 32...Category
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
MaterialsMetal
- Wilhelm Knoll Oak Loveseat with Rounded Edges & Cream Cushions, Germany, 1960'sBy Børge Mogensen, KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CAWilhelm Knoll Oak Loveseat, Germany 1960's. Clearly influenced by Borge Mogensen with the clean natural fat round oak frames and simple lines. The frame is i...Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Oak
- Cees Braakman Birch Loveseat for PastoeBy Pastoe, Cees BraakmanLocated in Los Angeles, CASweet little Alvar Aalto style bent birch framed loveseat with original strapping and new natural canvas cushion Pastoe easy chair (model FB06) designed by Cees Braakman for UMS Past...Category
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
MaterialsBirch, Canvas
- Gerard van den Berg "The Rock" Loveseat Sofa for MontisBy Montis, Gerard Van Den BergLocated in Los Angeles, CA"The Rock" two seater leather sofa by Gerard van den Berg for Montis. Gerard van den Berg apprenticed with a painter at a young age, where he honed and expanded his creative abilitie...Category
Vintage 1970s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
MaterialsLeather
- Rolf Benz Soft Form Buck Leather Loveseats, 1970sBy Rolf BenzLocated in Los Angeles, CAMid-Century, nubuck leather sofas by German furniture manufacturer Rolf Benz. Designed and made in the 1970s. Handsomely designed with inviting sof...Category
Vintage 1970s German Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
MaterialsLeather
$3,250 / item - Gerard van den Berg Wingback Black Rattan LoveseatBy Gerard Van Den Berg, Rohe NoordwoldeLocated in Los Angeles, CAGorgeous Gerard van den Berg wing back loveseat for Rohe Noordwolde in black rattan with black leather cushions. This seemingly floating love...Category
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
MaterialsChrome
- Antique English Regency Mahogany Folding Bench Loveseat Sleeper Sofa CampaignLocated in Dayton, OHEarly 19th century museum quality English Regency convertible hall bench or bed. A rectangular form made from walnut with with brass trim. Upholstered in a striped blue and red fabric with red cording. The bench is supported by square tapered legs leading to spade feet. When ready to sleep the brass bolts along the back side can be released allowing it to fold open into a flat surface with a built in frame for mattress. AKA hide a bed or sleep bench...Category
Antique Early 19th Century Regency Loveseats
MaterialsFabric, Mahogany
- Walter Knoll for Sirino Brayton Leather SofaBy Brayton International, Walter KnollLocated in Ferndale, MIBeautifully stitched sand tone leather couch. Leather and cushions are in fine condition. Designed by Walter Knoll for Brayton international. Brayton was absorbed by steel case in th...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather, Upholstery
$2,800 Sale Price20% Off - Built to Order Saarinen for Knoll Style LoveseatBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Philadelphia, PAWe are very excited to offer Saarinen Inspired Loveseats! Built from existing armchairs, these loveseats are sliced and wood added to enlarge to current size. My very clever Upholste...Category
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
MaterialsMetal
$2,720 Sale Price / item20% Off - 'Brigadier' Loveseats by Cini Boeri for Knoll, Italy, 1980sBy Cini Boeri, KnollLocated in Antwerp, BETwo exceptional sofas from the award-winning Brigadier Series by renowned Italian architect and designer, Cini Boeri (1924–2020). Crafted in the 1980s for Knoll, these sofas feature ...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Loveseats
MaterialsLeather, Lacquer
- Leather Box Style Loveseat Sofa by Charles Pfister for KnollBy Knoll, Charles PfisterLocated in New York, NYChic, sophisticated, and voguish loveseat sofa, designed by Charles Pfister for Knoll. This example was executed in grayish blue leather, it is in good, original condition, showing l...Category
Late 20th Century American International Style Loveseats
MaterialsLeather
- Walter Knoll by Bernd Münzebrock Brown Leather DaybedBy Walter Knoll, Bernd MünzebrockLocated in London, GBOriginally designed by Bernd Münzebrock in 1973 and manufactured by Walter Knoll, this daybed is reminiscent of the iconic Bauhaus designs from the 1930s. Constructed from a chrome ...Category
Vintage 1970s German Daybeds
MaterialsLeather