Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
$1,528 / item
Object 01 Vert Seating by Volta
Located in Geneve, CH
Object 01 Vert Seating by Volta Dimensions: D 45 x W 40 x H 50 cm Materials: Cork and Velvet Also available in diffentent colours. Please contact us. MEÏ COLLECTION The Meï co...
Velvet, Cork
Blackened Brass Sculptural Log Stools – Set of 2 (Small & Large) by Misaya
By Masaya
Located in Geneve, CH
Blackened Brass Sculptural Log Stools – Set of 2 (Small & Large) by Misaya Dimensions: W22 x D27 x H44 cm (S), W38 x D34 x H33.5 (L)cm Materials: Brass Also Available: Different col...
Brass
$5,135 / item
Layered Steel Seat XVII by Hyungshin Hwang
Located in Geneve, CH
Layered steel seat XVII by Hyungshin Hwang Dimensions: D 30 x W 51 x H 108 cm Materials: stainless steel Layered Series is the main theme and concept of work of Hwang, who conti...
Stainless Steel
$5,004 / item
Metate Stainles Steel Stool by David Del Valle
Located in Geneve, CH
Metate Stainles Steel Stool by David Del Valle Dimensions: D 40 x W 40 x H 40 cm. Materials: Stainless steel. Available in polished or brushed finish...
Stainless Steel
$14,086 / item
Sculptural Stool by ON.ENTROPY
Located in Geneve, CH
Sculptural Stool by ON.ENTROPY Dimensions: W 58 x D 58 x H 59 cm Materials: Green Marble. on• entropy is a marble atelier established in 2009 in Athens and London with a focus on me...
Marble
Steppe Stool in Welded Mirror-Polished Stainless Steel by Julian Mayor
Located in Geneve, CH
Steppe Stool in Welded Mirror-Polished Stainless Steel by Julian Mayor Limited Edition of 8 + 4AP. Dimensions: D 46 x W 46 x H 45 cm. Materials: Mirror-polished stainless steel. Ju...
Stainless Steel
$2,053 / item
A Stool by Jaclyn Pappalardo
Located in Geneve, CH
A Stool by Jaclyn Pappalardo Dimensions: W 53 x D 41 x H 43 cm Materials: Mild steel powder coated. Jaclyn is a designer and maker based in London. Her background in set design informs her creative work as a designer. Colour and texture play an important role in developing each and every project. With a particular interest in the use of seating, Jaclyn looks at chairs not only as a functional object but rather as a study of body, shape and language. Her work incorporates unconventional design techniques that stretch far from traditional craftsmanship. Exploring new techniques and material driven processes such as metal forming and non-traditional upholstery, she builds on similar profiles and repetitive patterns in the aim of creating something timeless. Jaclyn’s work has been published in Arcipelago, Modern House, Dezeen, Vogue and Luncheon magazine. Represented by The Radford Gallery & Fels World gallery in London UK. Caselli 11-12 Gallery in Milan IT...
Steel
$513 / item
Pampa Leather Counter Stool by Cuero Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Pampa Leather Counter Stool by Cuero Design Dimensions: D 47 x W 47 x H 65 cm. Materials: Leather and metal. Finish: Chocolate leather and black frame....
Metal
Vintage Postmodern Memphis Style White Tubular Metal Swivel Bar Stools - a Pair
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Please message us with your zip code to request a more reasonable domestic U.S. shipping quote. Vintage Postmodern Memphis Style White Tubular Metal Swivel Bar Stools by Cal-Style -...
Metal
$2,824 / item
Silver Wave Stool by Haymann Editions
Located in Geneve, CH
Silver Wave Stool by Haymann Editions Dimensions: D 32 x W 32 x H 38.5 cm. Materials: Blown glass, cork. Available in different blown glass colors. Please contact us. Blown glass b...
Blown Glass
Vintage Modern Chrome Curved Back Tufted Bar Stools In Grey Italian Leather
Located in Chicago, IL
Vintage Modern Chrome Flat Bar Curved Back Tufted Bar Stools in Steel Grey Italian Leather - Pair The sleek chrome flat bar base provides a contemporary t...
Chrome
$1,167 / item
Black Tangerine Stool w/ Back by Resident
Located in Geneve, CH
Black Tangerine Stool w/ Back by Resident Dimensions: W 37 x D 48 x H 87 cm Materials: Solid Oak, Oak Veneer. Weight: 5.5 Kg. About: Founded by Simon James & Scott Bridgens in 2011...
Oak
Fundamentos del Vacío Auxiliary Table / Stool by Lasanimas
Located in Geneve, CH
Fundamentos del Vacío Auxiliary Table / Stool by Lasanimas Dimensions: W 50 x D 48 x H 36 cm Materials: Plywood. Las Ánimas is the creative duo composed by Trini Salamanca and Pabl...
Plywood
$2,287 / item
Chouchou Marble White Stool by Pulpo
Located in Geneve, CH
Chouchou marble white stool by Pulpo Dimensions: D35 x W30 x H43 cm Materials: Ceramic Also available in different Colours. Whether stool or storage table, piece of column...
Ceramic
$21,509 / item
Large Bold Curved Sofa by Mohdern
Located in Geneve, CH
Large Bold Curved Sofa by Mohdern Dimensions: W 310 x D 133 x H 76 cm Materials: Fabric, Bouclé Bold is a refined furniture collection designed and produced by the Mohdern brand. T...
Fabric, Bouclé, Upholstery
Anodized Burgundy and Cane Wicker Stool by Tino Seubert
Located in Geneve, CH
Anodised Burgundy and Cane wicker stool by Tino Seubert Dimensions: D 43 x W 38 x H 45 cm. Materials: Color anodized aluminum extrusions, cane weave. Tino Seubert When he first...
Aluminum
Limited Edition NullEins Stool in Black Marble by Justus Knut Schomann
Located in Geneve, CH
Limited Edition NullEins Stool in Black Marble by Justus Knut Schomann Limited Edition of 25 + 2AP. Dimensions: D 44 x W 45 x H 44 cm. Materials: ...
Marble
$9,243 / set
Set of 2 Bar Stools by Studio Nicolas Erauw
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 2 bar stools by Studio Nicolas Erauw. Unique piece. Limited Edition 1 of 1. Dimensions: - H 70 cm x Ø 33 cm - H 70 cmx Ø 35 cm Materials: Aluminum, wax dipped Par...
Aluminum
$816 / item
Senufo Stool by DAaZ
Located in Geneve, CH
Senufo Stool by DAaZ Dimensions: D 36 x W 48 x H 46 cm. Materials: Albizzia. DAaZ Furniture honors the spirit of adventure. We embrace the escape of the ordinary and revel in the m...
Wood
Set of 4, Halikko Bar Stools, Tall by Made by Choice
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 4, Halikko bar stools, tall by Made By Choice. Dimensions: 40 x 34 x 74 cm. Materials: solid oak Standard finishes: natural wood / painted black. Also available: uphols...
Oak
$1,097 / item
Imbuia Cardume Stool by Andreas Anwander
Located in Geneve, CH
Imbuia Cardume Stool by Andreas Anwander Dimensions: W 30 x D 30 x H 45 cm Materials: Solid Imbuia Wood. Weight: 2,5 kg. Stackability in the unconventional way A fish is just a sid...
Wood
$1,738 / item
High Moi Bar Stool by Doimo Brasil
Located in Geneve, CH
High Moi Bar Stool by Doimo Brasil Dimensions: W 51 x D 58 x H 109 cm Materials: Veneer, Natural Leather. Also available in W 51 x D 58 x H 93 cm, Seat Heig...
Leather
$5,132 / item
Layered Steel Seat VI by Hyungshin Hwang
Located in Geneve, CH
Layered steel seat VI by Hyungshin Hwang. Dimensions: D 33 x W 51 x H 93 cm. Materials: stainless steel. Layered Series is the main theme and concept of work of Hwang, who conti...
Stainless Steel
Set of 2, Airisto Side Tables / Stools, Natural Color by Made by Choice
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 2, Airisto side tables/stools, natural color by Made By Choice By Choice with Joanna Laajisto Dimensions: D35 x H45 cm Materials: Solid Ash. Finishes: Natural Ash / Painte...
Wood, Ash
$822Sale Price / set|30% Off
2 Rodney Kinsman for Bieffeplast Italian Postmodern Tokyo Bar Counter Stools 35"
By Bieffeplast, Rodney Kinsman
Located in Dayton, OH
Pair of circa 1980's Italian postmodern Bauhaus style "Tokyo" chairs / counter bar stools, designed by Rodney Kinsman for Bieffeplast of Padova, Italy. Gray metal tubular frame with ...
Metal
Gradient 02 Oak, Chestnut, Ash and Beech Wood Stool by Luis Gimeno
Located in Geneve, CH
Gradient 02 Oak, Chestnut, Ash, and Beech Wood Stool by Luis Gimeno Dimensions: D 40 x W 40 x H 50 cm Materials: Black stained Oak, Chestnut, Ash, Beech. The idea behind this design...
Ash, Beech, Chestnut, Oak
$14,121 / item
Green Caracoles Ceramic Stool by Forma Rosa Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Green Caracoles Ceramic Stool by Forma Rosa Studio Dimensions: D 45.7 x W 45.7 x H 50.8 cm. Materials: Ceramic. Available in Green and Granite colors. This ceramic-crafted stool di...
Ceramic
$2,104 / item
Brass Sculptural Log Stool - Small Size by Misaya
By Masaya
Located in Geneve, CH
Brass Sculptural Log Stool - Small size by Misaya Dimensions: W 22 x D 27 x H 44 cm Materials: Brass Also available: Different colors (gold, polished brass. black, painted brass) an...
Brass
$22,314 / item
Object 06 Brown Seating by Volta
Located in Geneve, CH
Object 06 Brown Seating by Volta One Of A Kind. Dimensions: D 80 x W 200 x H 75 cm. Materials: Cork and ceramic. Also available in diffentent colors. Please contact us. MEÏ COLLECT...
Ceramic, Cork
Flame Red Amélie Sit Up High Stool by Italo Pertichini
Located in Geneve, CH
Flame Red Amélie Sit Up High Stool by Italo Pertichini Dimensions: D 49 x W 45 x H 95 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in a standard version and lacquered versio...
Other
$956 / item
Lime Green Gear Stool by Anastasia Ivanyuk
Located in Geneve, CH
Lime Green Gear Stool by Anastasia Ivanyuk Dimensions: D 55 x W 55 x H 43 cm. Seat Height: 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in different color options. This p...
Other
$2,286 / item
Chouchou Rose Stool by Pulpo
Located in Geneve, CH
Chouchou rose stool by Pulpo Dimensions: D35 x W30 x H43 cm Materials: ceramic Also available in different colours. Whether stool or storage table...
Ceramic
$4,236 / item
Spira Rosso Levanto Stool by Etamorph
Located in Geneve, CH
Spira Rosso Levanto Stool by Etamorph Dimensions: Ø 30 x H 46 cm. Materials: Rosso Levanto. Masterfully crafted from a monolithic block of marble and manually honed. ETAMORPH is a ...
Stone
$910 / item
Lime Green Double U Stool by Kazuko Okamoto
Located in Geneve, CH
Lime Green Double U Stool by Kazuko Okamoto Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 58 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 7 kg. Available in different color options. This product is suitable...
Other
Past Create Future Barstool by Markus Friedrich Staab
Located in Geneve, CH
Past Create Future Barstool by Markus Friedrich Staab One of a Kind Dimensions: D 26 x W 43 x H 74 cm. Materials: Wood, lacquer, paint. French barstool contemporized, piece added, c...
Wood, Lacquer, Paint
$2,006 / item
Chamois Stool by Munna
Located in Geneve, CH
Chamois Stool by Munna Dimensions: D 42 x W 52 x H 49 cm. SH: 49 cm. Materials: Solid wood, foam, brass, and upholstery. Finish: Upholstery: Cotton Velvet, ref. Lilac, CV15. Footer: ...
Upholstery, Foam, Wood
Cadence 55 Stool in Dark Brown European Oak by Mokko Amsterdam
Located in Geneve, CH
Cadence 55 Stool in Dark Brown European Oak by Mokko Amsterdam Dimensions: D 38,5 x W 55 x H 45 cm. Materials: European oak. Available in different material options. Designed by Aa...
Oak
$3,466 / item
Mm Stool by Goons
Located in Geneve, CH
MM stool by Goons Dimensions: W 30 x D 30 x H 54 cm. Materials: Wood. Dimensions can be adjusted +/- 10 cm. Goons is located in Paris, France....
Wood
$3,337 / item
Layered Steel Stool by Hyungshin Hwang
Located in Geneve, CH
Layered steel stool by Hyungshin Hwang Dimensions: D 30 x W 30 x H 45 cm Materials: stainless steel Layered Series is the main theme and conce...
Stainless Steel
$956 / item
Object 064 Stool by NG Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Object 064 stool by NG Design Dimensions: D38 x H45 cm Materials: Powder coated steel, Boucle upholstery Also Available: All of objects available in different materials and colo...
Steel
Black Painted Brass Sculpted Chair with Seat Upholstered by Misaya
By Misaya
Located in Geneve, CH
Black Painted Brass Sculpted Chair with Seat Upholstered by Misaya Dimensions: W 54 x L 58 x H 79 cm (seating: 63) Hand-sculpted chair in brass. The translation of Art Nouveau’s whi...
Brass
$793 / item
Togi Stool by DAaZ
Located in Geneve, CH
Togi Stool by DAaZ Dimensions: D 35 x W 50 x H 45 cm. Materials: Wood, fabric. DAaZ Furniture honors the spirit of adventure. We embrace the escape of the ordinary and revel in the...
Wood, Fabric
$10,783 / item
Olla Stool I by Brera Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Olla Stool I by Brera Studio One of a kind. Dimensions: D 75 x W 75 x H 45 cm. Materials: pinewood, paint, linen. Made from endemic pine wood in the region of Chihuahua, and ha...
Linen, Wood, Pine, Paint
Sculptural Side Table & Stool, Black Lacquered Wood, Panorammma, Mexico
By Panorammma
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
Cult Stool remits to primal sculptural-architectural language while displaying materials in a modernist manner. This edition of Cult Stool in stark contrast to its predecesor is redu...
Resin, Wood
Large White Tupp Barstool by Storängen Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Large White Tupp barstool by Storängen Design Dimensions: D 45 x W 45 x H 102 x SH 82 cm Materials: birch wood, nickel plated steel. Also available in other colors. Give the ba...
Steel
$1,131 / item
Puffy Stool S by Phormy
Located in Geneve, CH
Puffy stool S by Phormy Dimensions: D 44 x W 66 x H 44 cm. Materials: Upholstery, powder coated steel base. Different materials and sizes available. PUFFY is softness and lightness dressed up in ten intriguing modules. Its usage is very wide. It will turn out great as a hallway seat...
Upholstery
$2,310 / item
Sculpted Stool by Jörg Pietschmann
Located in Geneve, CH
Sculpted Stool by Jörg PietschmannAsh Dimensions: H 45 x W 38 x D 16,5 cm. Polished oil finish. In Pietschmann’s sculptures, trees that for centuries were part of a landscape and f...
Oak
$1,738 / item
Macaron High Stool by Haymann Editions
Located in Geneve, CH
Macaron High Stool by Haymann Editions Dimensions: D 40 x W 40 x H 45 cm. Materials: Cork, foam. Toni Grilo delivers a gourmet piece, all in curves. Macaron stool brown cork evokes ...
Foam, Cork
Italian Postmodern Ulisse Folding Stool by Ivan Loss for Sandrigarden, 1980s
By Ivan Loss
Located in Hamburg, DE
Postmodern folding stool from the Italian manufacturer Sandrigard after a design by Ivan Loss from the 80s. An elegant and extremely functional design. The stool can be used as a wa...
Metal
ELEMENTOS Stool Set in Sandblasted Pine with Black Finish by Daniel Couttolenc
Located in Geneve, CH
ELEMENTOS Stool Set in Sandblasted Pine with Black Finish by Daniel Couttolenc. Overall Dimensions: D 168 x W 168 x H 168 cm. Individual Dimensions: D 42 x W 42 x H 42 cm. Materials:...
Pine
Saffron Yellow Cubo Pouf Stool by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Saffron Yellow Cubo Pouf Stool by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 4 kg. Available in different color options. This product is suita...
Other
$5,135 / item
Layered Steel Seat IV by Hyungshin Hwang
Located in Geneve, CH
Layered steel seat IV by Hyungshin Hwang Dimensions: D 33 x W 54 x H 81 cm Materials: stainless steel Layered Series is the main theme and concept of work of Hwang, who continue...
Stainless Steel
$1,213 / item
Patio II Stool by Marta Ayala Herrera
Located in Geneve, CH
Patio II Stool by Marta Ayala Herrera Dimensions: D 22 x W 55 x H 50 cm. Materials: MDF and woven bulrush. This piece can be customized in differe...
Other
Sweet Fuchsia Lazy Bones High Stool by Barnaby Gunning
Located in Geneve, CH
Sweet Fuchsia Lazy Bones High Stool by Barnaby Gunning Dimensions: D 40 x W 50 x H 72 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 8 kg. Available in different color options. This product i...
Other
$909 / item
Flame Red Double U Stool by Kazuko Okamoto
Located in Geneve, CH
Flame Red Double U Stool by Kazuko Okamoto Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 58 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 7 kg. Available in different color options. This product is suitable ...
Other
$1,773 / item
Timber Stool Maple by Onno Adriaanse
Located in Geneve, CH
Timber Stool Maple by Onno Adriaanse Signed and numbered Dimensions: D 40 x W 29 x H 45 cm Materials: Maple wood, clear matte coating Also available in Color: Indigo blue, purple-red...
Coating, Maple
Brass Sculptural Log Stools – Set of 2 (Small & Large) by Misaya
By Masaya
Located in Geneve, CH
Brass Sculptural Log Stools – Set of 2 (Small & Large) by Misaya Dimensions: W 22 x D 27 x H 44 cm (S), W38 x D34 x H33.5 (L)cm Materials: brass Also available: different colors (go...
Brass
Set of 2 Terrazzo Rainbow Bench and Stool by Lilia Cruz Corona Garduño
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 2 terrazzo rainbow nench and stool by Lilia Cruz Corona Garduño Hapiness series Dimensions: W 30.5 x D 50 x H 43 cm Materials: Terrazzo (Pigmented concrete and granulated m...
Concrete
$1,470 / item
Alumina Wooden Stool by Studio Gameiro
Located in Geneve, CH
Alumina Wooden Stool by Studio Gameiro Dimensions: D 47 x W 46 x H 54 cm. Materials: Acácia wood and kambala wood. Studio Gameiro is an innovative, multidisciplinary, and design-foc...
Wood
$3,231 / item
Unique Building Stool by Goons
Located in Geneve, CH
Unique building stool by Goons Dimensions: W 41 x D 26 x H 33 cm Materials: Wood Dimensions can be adjusted +/- 10 cm Goons is located in Paris, France. All of their designs are ...
Wood