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Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

MID-CENTURY MODERN STYLE

Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern 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.

ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s 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 pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively. 

Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer

Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using 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 influencer 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. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.

As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture 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, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.

As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.

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Item type: New and Made To Order
Style: Mid-Century Modern
Earl White Oak, Ivory Textured Linen Moresby Rocking Chair
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Solid wood construction with hand-cut joinery and custom upholstered seat and seat back. This Rocker shown in white oak and maharam plume ciabatta ivory textured linen. In stock l...
Category

2010s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Oak, Leather, Walnut

ROCKING ARMCHAIR in solid teak for indoor-outdoor Mid-20th Century
Located in East Hampton, NY
The Rocking chair is based on a Mid-20th century design by John Stuart for Widdocomb as a replacement for those purchased by the customer’s grandparents in the 1950s. It is designed ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Upholstery, Wood, Teak

Plywood, Zero-Waste, Body-Fit, Durable, Upstate New York-Made Rocking Chair
Located in Kingston, NY
• Designed and made in Upstate New York • Body-fit comfort and easy motion • 2 Rockers per sheet of 4x8’ plywood (but price is for each one). • 0.02 leftover from each sheet of pl...
Category

2010s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Plywood

Earl Walnut, Ivory Textured Linen Moresby Rocking Chair
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Solid wood construction with hand-cut joinery and custom upholstered seat and seat back. This Rocker shown in walnut and maharam plume ciabatta ivory textured linen. In stock leat...
Category

2010s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Oak, Walnut, Leather

Earl Walnut, Beige Textured Linen Moresby Rocking Chair
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Solid wood construction with hand-cut joinery and custom upholstered seat and seat back. This Rocker shown in walnut and maharam plume ciabatta ivory textured linen. In stock leat...
Category

2010s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Leather, Oak, Walnut

EARL Walnut, Black Leather Moresby Rocking Chair
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Solid wood construction with hand-cut joinery and custom upholstered seat and seat back. This Rocker shown in walnut and black leather. In stock leather choice: black, olive, camel ...
Category

2010s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Walnut, Leather, Oak

Rex Rocking Chair Natural Oak, Solid Frame + Plywood, Mid-Century Modern Style
Located in Ljubljana, SI
The frivolous member of Rex Kralj’s foldable furniture series. This chair exudes relaxation and comfort, rocking in rhythmic motion at home as well as in working environments. Niko Kralj design from 1956. The story of the Rex Rocking Chair...
Category

2010s Slovenian Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Oak

Earl Ebonized Oak, Black Leather Moresby Rocking Chair
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Solid wood construction with hand-cut joinery and custom upholstered seat and seat back. This Rocker shown in ebonized oak and black leather. In stock leather choice: black, olive...
Category

2010s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Leather, Oak, Walnut

Rex Rocking Chair Black Oak, Solid frame + Plywood, Mid-Century Modern Style
Located in Ljubljana, SI
The frivolous member of Rex Kralj’s foldable furniture series. This chair exudes relaxation and comfort, rocking in rhythmic motion at home as well as in working environments. Niko Kralj design from 1956. The story of the Rex Rocking Chair...
Category

2010s Slovenian Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Oak

Earl White Oak, Black Leather Moresby Rocking Chair
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Solid wood construction with hand-cut joinery and custom upholstered seat and seat back. This Rocker shown in white oak and black leather. In stock leather choice: black, olive, c...
Category

2010s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Leather, Oak, Walnut

Classic Rocking Chair in Ebonized Ash by Mel Smilow
Located in New York, NY
Originally designed by Mel Smilow in 1960 and officially reintroduced by his daughter Judy Smilow in 2016, the Classic rocking chair was featured...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Ash

Classic Rocking Chair in Ash by Mel Smilow
Located in New York, NY
Originally designed by Mel Smilow in 1960 and officially reintroduced by his daughter Judy Smilow in 2016, the Classic rocking chair was featured...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Ash

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M Nissen for Pastoe Mid-Century Teak Spade Dark Green Rocking Chair, 1960s
Located in London, GB
Wooden rocking chair / armchair designed by M. Nissen and sold in the Netherlands by the Dutch manufacturer Pastoe in the 1960s. Featuring a solid wooden frame, the chair has curve...
Category

1960s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

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Teak, Velvet

20th Century American Studio Craft Walnut Rocking Chair
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Beautiful vintage 20th century American studio Craft walnut rocking chair designed in the United States. This rocking chair has a design inspired by the most representative models of...
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

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Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chair
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This impressive vintage modern rocking chair features a sturdy walnut construction, sleekly sculpted armrests, and a tall backrest ensurin...
Category

1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Upholstery, Walnut

Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chair
Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chair
H 33.25 in W 27.5 in D 38 in
Rocking Chair "Svensk Hemslöjd" Sheepskin & Pinewood, Sweden, Early 20th Century
Located in Odense, DK
Unique rocking chair handmade by a Swedish cabinetmaker in the early 20th century.. Made in solid Scandinavian dark stained pinewood with a deep patina. Carved decorations. The chair...
Category

Early 20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

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Outdoor Roda Laze Rocking Armchair by Gordon Guillaumier
Located in Boston, MA
LAZE outdoor lounge chairs are designed as "leisure chairs", even more in the rocking version. LAZE is the invitation to rest, the tranquility of reading a book in a garden lounge un...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Stainless Steel

MarCo Bogazzi Modern Outdoor Rocking Chair in Teak or Mahogany
Located in Kennesaw, GA
Modern outdoor rocking chair designed for traditional/transitional and modern/contemporary outdoor decks, patio, porches, and poolsides. ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Mahogany, Teak

Hitchcock Style Stenciled Rocking Chair
Located in Bradenton, FL
An American classical New England style stenciled rocking chair made in the manner of Lambert Hitchcock. The chair is richly painted on the ba...
Category

19th Century American Antique Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Rush, Wood, Paint

Hitchcock Style Stenciled Rocking Chair
Hitchcock Style Stenciled Rocking Chair
H 31.25 in W 17 in D 23.5 in
Umber Rocker Modern Low Rocking Chair in Walnut with Crafted Arm Detail
Located in Papanui, Christchurch
The Umber Rocker is the Rocking chair version of our iconic Umber Chair. The Umber Rocker is a comfortable modern walnut rocking armchair with a crafted arm detail. Designed to sit comfortably in its own space, the Umber Rocker offers a low, laid-back sitting position for relaxed enjoyment. Perfect as a wooden easy chair...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary New Zealand Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

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Early 20th Century Rocking Chair with Caned Seat
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
36.5″OAH x 25″OAW x 28.5″D (16.5″ Seat Height x 16.5 Seat Depth)
Category

Early 20th Century Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Cane

Victorian Wicker Rocking Chair
Located in Pasadena, CA
This is a very good example of a late Victorian wicker rocking chair that that is detailed in scrolling wicker and a diamond pattern, in addition to a...
Category

1890s American Antique Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Wicker, Wood

Victorian Wicker Rocking Chair
Victorian Wicker Rocking Chair
H 39.5 in W 29.5 in D 33 in
American Twig Adirondack Rocking Chair
Located in Water Mill, NY
Vintage American twig Adirondack painted rocking chair.
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Wood

Luigi Crassevig “Dondolo” Rocking Chair
Located in Providence, RI
Mid-century 1970s Italian bentwood and leather rocking chair designed by Luigi Crassevig. Leather shows natural patina, some discoloration to the bottom interior of the frame.
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

Materials

Leather, Bentwood

Mid-century Modern rocking chairs for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Mid-Century Modern rocking chairs for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage rocking chairs created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include seating, building and garden elements, more furniture and collectibles and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, fabric and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Mid-Century Modern rocking chairs made in a specific country, there are Europe, North America, and United States pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original rocking chairs, popular names associated with this style include Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller, Charles Eames, and Varjosen Puunjalostus. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for rocking chairs differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $195 and tops out at $48,400 while the average work can sell for $2,050.

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