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.
$2,428 / item
Postmodern Moon Stool by Dechem Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Postmodern moon stool by Dechem Studio. Dimensions: D 29 x W 36.5 x H 45 cm. Materials: Corian. One of the few projects of DECHEM without glass, o...
Corian
$906 / item
Lonna Bar Stool, Oak by Made By Choice
Located in Geneve, CH
Lonna bar stool, oak by Made By Choice (Medium) Dimensions: 34 x 34 x 66 cm Materials: Oak Also Available: Ash, Black, Ultra Yellow Custom color Lonna furniture series was or...
Ash
$4,562 / item
Bruch Glass Stool by Anima Ona
Located in Geneve, CH
Bruch glass stool by Anima Ona Dimensions: D 40 x W 40 x H 40 cm Materials: glass Bruch is made out of sheet glass which has been broken into stripes an...
Glass
$3,229 / item
Mike Reclaimed Oak Stool by Fred and Juul
Located in Geneve, CH
Mike Reclaimed Oak Stool by Fred and Juul Dimensions: D 31 x W 36 x H 45 cm. Materials: Reclaimed oak and brass. This stool can also be used as a side t...
Brass
$778 / item
Black September Bar Stool by OxDenmarq
Located in Geneve, CH
Black September Bar Stool by OxDenmarq Dimensions: D 38 x W 42 x H 93 cm Materials: Leather, Black Powder Coated Steel Also Available: Different colors available OX DENMARQ is ...
Steel
Large Pausa Oak Stool by Pierre-Emmanuel Vandeputte
Located in Geneve, CH
Large Pausa oak stool by Pierre-Emmanuel Vandeputte Dimensions: D 32 x W 35 x H 80 cm Materials: oak wood Available in burnt oak version and in 3 sizes. Pausa is a series of st...
Oak
$2,323 / item
Pedina Stool by Kreoo
Located in Geneve, CH
Pedina Stool by Kreoo Designed by Enzo Berti Dimensions: Ø 36 x H 43 cm. Base: Ø 25 cm. Materials: Verde Imperiale marble. Available in different marble options. Please contact us....
Marble
$2,044 / item
Object 02 Violet Seating by Volta
Located in Geneve, CH
Object 02 Violet Seating by Volta Dimensions: D 45 x W 40 x H 95 cm Materials: Cork and Velvet Also available in diffentent colours. Please contact us. MEÏ COLLECTION The Meï ...
Velvet, Cork
$1,277 / item
Dove Grey Lazy Bones High Stool by Barnaby Gunning
Located in Geneve, CH
Dove Grey 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 op...
Other
$920 / item
White Tupp Barstool by Storängen Design
Located in Geneve, CH
White Tupp barstool by Storängen Design Dimensions: D 41 x W 41 x H 85 x SH 65 cm Materials: birch wood, nickel plated steel. Also available in other colors. Give the bar some ...
Steel
$453 / item
Black Trifolium Stool by OxDenmarq
Located in Geneve, CH
Black trifolium stool by OxDenmarq Dimensions: D 40 x W 40 x H 45 cm Materials: Leather, Steel Also Available: Different colors and other frame color available. OX DENMARQ is a...
Steel
Contemporary Art Senior Footstool in Velvet and Grezzo Arte Wood by Urano Palma
By Mirabili, Urano Palma
Located in Pistoia, IT
... So many chairs, so many benches, so many big tables, all with the wrinkled skin of old tree trunks or of rusted metal sheet. The chair is probably the central symbol of this univ...
Velvet, Wood
$6,830 / 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: Oak. The Building Stool is one of goons’ most architectural pieces. Inspired by the Nordic Pavilion o...
Wood
U-shaped Form Rubber Seat and Burned Steel Medium Stool 2.0 by Arno Declercq
Located in Geneve, CH
Medium AD stool 2.0 by Arno Declercq Materials: Patinated steel. Dimensions: W 104 x D 38 x H 69 cm. Arno Declercq Belgian designer and art dealer who makes bespoke objects with pa...
Steel
$1,696 / set
Set of 2, Halikko Bar Stools by Made by Choice
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 2, Halikko bar stools by Made By Choice Dimensions: 40 x 34 x 66 cm Materials: solid oak Standard finishes: natural wood / painted black. Also available: upholstery in ...
Oak
$1,370 / item
Timber Stool Uncolored Wood by Onno Adriaanse
Located in Geneve, CH
Timber stool uncolored wood by Onno Adriaanse Signed and numbered Dimensions: D 40x W 29 x H 45 cm Materials: Stained pine wood, clear satin coating A...
Pine, Coating
$6,133 / item
Bogdan Bench by Studio Intervallo
Located in Geneve, CH
Bogdan bench by Studio Intervallo. Dimensions: W 180 x D 40 x H 46 cm. Materials: LINDEN solid wood, with colored decoration on the circumference. Other types of wood available ...
Wood
$662 / item
High Básica Bar Stool by Doimo Brasil
Located in Geneve, CH
High Básica Bar Stool by Doimo Brasil Dimensions: W 46 x D 50 x H 104 cm Materials: Paint, Natural Leather With the intention of providing good taste and personality, Doimo deciph...
Leather, Paint
$1,277 / item
Flame Red Drink High Stool by Jorge Najera
Located in Geneve, CH
Flame Red Drink High Stool by Jorge Najera Dimensions: Ø 45 x H 75 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 7 kg. Available in different color options. This product is suitable for ind...
Other
Amazing Post modern Set of 3 stools Made from Solid color plexiglass
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Amazing Unique Post modern set of Stools in solid color fabricated plexiglass. Beautiful 3 Stools very colorful large solid joined plexiglass Very Unique. (1) blue (1) green and (1) ...
Plexiglass, Acrylic, Lucite
$3,159 / item
Arches Bar Stool by InsidherLand
Located in Geneve, CH
Arches Bar Stool by InsidherLand Dimensions: D 57 x W 55 x H 112 cm. Materials: Black lacquered wood, polished brass, InsidherLand Smooth Velvet Ref. ...
Brass
$29,136 / set
Ensemble of Three Creachairs Signed by Cal Summers
By Cal Summers
Located in Geneve, CH
Creachair signed by Cal Summers ‘Creachair’ Materials sculpted iron. Waxed finish. Leather upholstery Size: 16” D x 16” W, 22” H Cal Summers is a British designer who makes b...
Iron
$2,044 / item
Object 02 Vert Seating by Volta
Located in Geneve, CH
Object 02 vert seating by Volta Dimensions: D 45 x W 40 x H 95 cm Materials: Cork and Velvet Also available in diffentent colours. Please contact us. MEÏ COLLECTION The Meï co...
Velvet, Cork
$1,254 / item
Mikado Bellini Low Stool by Coco Flip
Located in Geneve, CH
Mikado Bellini Low Stool by Coco Flip Dimensions: D 34 x W 34 x H 45 cm Materials: Timber / Stone tops, Powder-coated steel frame. Weight: 5 kg Frame Finishes: Textura Black. Coco ...
Stone, Steel
$2,497 / item
Raw Aluminium Loop Chair by Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Raw Aluminium loop chair by Sebastian Scherer Dimensions: D57x w40 x H80 cm Material: Aluminium. Weight: 51 kg. Also available: Colours: Snow white / light sand / sun yellow / cl...
Aluminum
$4,050 / item
Sculptural Object by Dongwook Choi
Located in Geneve, CH
Sculptural Object by Dongwook Choi Crest and Trough series Dimensions: 42 x 40 x 45 cm Materials: FRP, chrome coated There may be a visual difference...
Chrome
Lena Stool – Sculptural Brass Frame with White Upholstery by Misaya
By Masaya
Located in Geneve, CH
Lena Stool – Sculptural Brass Frame with White Upholstery by Misaya Dimensions: W 61 x D 42 x H 31/38 cm Materials: Brass Also available: Different colors (gold, polished brass. bla...
Brass
$1,870 / item
Element Bulk Stool by Idaaf Architects
Located in Geneve, CH
Element Bulk Stool by Idaaf Architects Dimensions: W 85 x D 40 x H 55 cm Materials: Century Old Oak Made of solid oak, this 'Bulk' stool is one of the pieces of the ‘Element’ collection influenced by the Georgian Oda house...
Oak
$3,066 / item
Oak Root Stool by Daniel Elkayam
Located in Geneve, CH
Oak Root Stool by Daniel Elkayam One of a Kind Dimensions: D 30 x W 30 x H 45 cm Materials: Oak Wood Daniel Elkayam — Designer Jerusalem-born Art-de...
Oak
$708 / item
Be My Guest Bar Stool by Warm Nordic
Located in Geneve, CH
Be My Guest Bar Stool by Warm Nordic Dimensions: D 38 x H 73 cm Material: White oiled solid oak, French cane, Black noir powder coated steel frame W...
Steel
$10,502 / item
Hopi Ottoman Red Pattern by Marta Bakowski
Located in Geneve, CH
Hopi Ottoman red pattern by Marta Bakowski Dimensions:D65 x W65 x 44 cm Materials: Marble and fabric. Also available in different finishes. HOPI, this new collection of ottomans ins...
Marble
$1,073 / item
Burnt Oak Stool by Daniel Elkayam
Located in Geneve, CH
Burnt oak stool by Daniel Elkayam Edition of 3 Dimensions: D 30 x W 30 x H 45 cm Materials: Oak Wood The Charred Collection A collection of handmade wo...
Oak
Small Pausa Oak Bench by Pierre-Emmanuel Vandeputte
Located in Geneve, CH
Small Pausa oak bench by Pierre-Emmanuel Vandeputte Dimensions: D 20 x W 95 x H 45 cm Materials: oak wood. Available in burnt oak version and in 3 sizes. Pa...
Oak
$1,370 / item
Timber Stool Indigo Blue by Onno Adriaanse
Located in Geneve, CH
Timber stool indigo blue by Onno Adriaanse Signed and numbered Dimensions: D40x W29 x H45 cm. Materials: stained pine wood, clear satin coating Also a...
Pine, Coating
$1,150 / item
Foot Stool by Project 213A
Located in Geneve, CH
Foot stool in brown by Project 213A Dimensions: D 30 x W 30 x H 26.5 cm Materials: Chestnut wood. This playful design is inspired by a classic milking stool, and has a fun twis...
Chestnut
$4,856 / item
Layered Steel Seat XI by Hyungshin Hwang
Located in Geneve, CH
Layered steel seat XI by Hyungshin Hwang Dimensions: D 36 x W 54 x H 54 cm Materials: stainless steel Layered Series is the main theme and concept of work of Hwang, who continue...
Stainless Steel
$1,789 / item
Low Brass Sculpted Stool, Misaya
By Misaya
Located in Geneve, CH
Low brass sculpted stool, Misaya Dimensions: W 58 x L 58 x H 24 cm Hand-sculpted stool.
Brass
$1,893 / item
White Oak Mono Bar Stool by Kasper Nyman
Located in Geneve, CH
White oak mono bar stool by Kasper Nyman. Materials: plywood with oak veneer. Dimensions: D 44.7 x W 43.7 x H 87.6 cm. The founders, Mia and Torben Koed, decided to put their 30...
Oak, Plywood
Large Pausa Burnt Oak Bench by Pierre-Emmanuel Vandeputte
Located in Geneve, CH
Large Pausa burnt oak bench by Pierre-Emmanuel Vandeputte Dimensions: D 35 x W 95 x H 80 cm Materials: burnt oak wood. Available in natural oak version and in 3 sizes. Pausa is...
Oak
Set of Three 1980s Postmodern "Alice" Bar Stools by Claudio Nardi for Zeus
Located in Sacramento, CA
Set of three 1980s postmodern bar stools manufactured by Zeus Noto in Italy and designed by Claudio Nardi. The stools have gray powder-coated steel bases and black molded polyurethan...
Steel
Orbis Stool & Side Table II in Marble with Reflected Core by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Orbis Stool & Side Table II in Marble with Reflected Core by Homa Dimensions: W 40 x D 40 x H 50 cm Materials: Warm Brown Marble and Amber Onyx HOMA is a contemporary design atelie...
Onyx, Marble
Swedish Designer, Stool, Pine, Sweden, 1970s
Located in High Point, NC
A pine stool designed and produced in Sweden, 1970s.
Pine
$812 / item
Radical Design Blue Velvet Stool Furia
By Moanne
Located in Almería, ES
There’s a fire that doesn’t need to roar to be felt—an inner intensity that simmers beneath the surface. The Furia Stool captures that quiet force. With its soft, rounded body and as...
Velvet
Sarapis Bar Stools by Phillippe Starck for Driade
Located in Chicago, IL
c. 1980s. France. Price is for the set. Contact us if you'd like to purchase a single item. Metal construction
Metal
Trio Vintage Design Institute America Counter Height Bar Stools Steel Frames
By Design Institute America, Milo Baughman
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Designed and made in the United States, these feature a somewhat ambiguous history. They have been credited to Design Institute America, a somewhat ambiguous manufacturer itself, and...
Steel
Mohair and Walnut Stools by Karl Springer, C. 1980s
Located in Westport, CT
An exceptional set of vintage 1980s stools by Karl Springer, fully restored by the team at Stamford Modern. Newly reupholstered in luxurious navy blue mohair, these sculptural stools...
Mohair, Walnut
$7,500 / item
Pierre Chapo Stool 'S13A' in Elm
By Pierre Chapo
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Pierre Chapo, stools, model 'S31A', solid elm, France, circa 1974 This S31A stool is one of the early editions designed by Pierre Chapo, known for his hallmark use of solid elmwood ...
Elm
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
Chess Stool or Side Table by Panorammma, Convex, Black Lacquered Wood, Mexico
By Panorammma
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
Two hand-turned wooden pieces with an elegant piano polish inform an imaginative play as sculptural stools or side table sets. Directly referencing chess pieces, these stools luidica...
Resin, Wood
Cubic Shape Natural Ash Wood Side Table with Fiber Seating by Heilig Objects
Located in Geneve, CH
Throne Stool in Natural Ash Wood And Synthetic Yarn by Heilig Objects Dimensions: D 30 x W 30 x H 45 cm. Materials: Ash wood and synthetic yarn. Daniel Heilig. A young Hungarian-Ger...
Ash, Yarn
$2,400 / set
Set of 3 Matteo Grassi Leather Counter Stools
Located in Dallas, TX
A sophisticated set of three Italian leather counter stools by Matteo Grassi, celebrated for the company's exceptional craftsmanship and mastery of fine leather upholstery. Executed ...
Steel
Nude Color Ecoleather Beech Wood Chair High Stool by Casa Casati
Located in Geneve, CH
Lola Pale Anilina Ecoleather And Beech Wood Chair High Stool by Casa Casati Dimensions: D 60 x W 60 x H 110 cm. Materials: Beech wood, polyurethane, and ecoleather upholstery. Avai...
Other
$1,916 / item
Ult Black Ducale BZ Stool by GIROTTI ENRICO
Located in Geneve, CH
Ult Black Ducale BZ Stool by GIROTTI ENRICO Dimensions: W 53 x D 55 x H 110 cm Materials: Solid shaped steel with a chrome finish and eco-leather upholstery. Weight: 8 Kg. Enrico G...
Steel
$2,846 / item
Bleached Tauari Gravatá Counter Stool by Wentz
Located in Geneve, CH
Bleached Tauari Gravatá Counter Stool by Wentz Dimensions: D 52 x W 47 x H 90 cm Materials: Tauari Wood, Cane/Upholstery. Weight: 4,4kg / 9,7 lbs The Gravatá series synthesizes our ...
Upholstery, Wood
Sissi Stackable Totem Seat in Powder-Coated Aluminum by altreforme
Located in Geneve, CH
Sissi Stackable Totem Seat in Powder-Coated Aluminum by altreforme Limited Edition Dimensions: D 45 x W 45 x H 45 cm. Materials: Powder-coated aluminum. Totem or piece of furniture?...
Aluminum
Sweet Fuchsia Pandoro Stool by Gianni Arnaudo
Located in Geneve, CH
Sweet Fuchsia Pandoro Stool by Gianni Arnaudo Dimensions: D 47 x W 47 x H 42 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 3 kg. Available in different color options. This product is suitabl...
Other
Original Printed Velvet Awaiting L Stool by Secondome Edizioni
Located in Geneve, CH
Original Printed Velvet Awaiting L Stool by Secondome Edizioni Limited Edition Of 9 pieces + 3 A.P. Designer: Coralla Maiuri + Giorgia Zanellato. Dimensions: D 48 x W 48 x H 69 cm. M...
Brass
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
$2,579 / item
Leather Lune C Stool by DUISTT
Located in Geneve, CH
Leather Lune C Stool by DUISTT Dimensions: D 40 x H 45 cm Materials: Bronze and Snake Special Leather An optional wood tray can be added. Please contact us for any request. LUNE C ...
Bronze
$2,544 / item
Lune V Stool by Duistt
Located in Geneve, CH
Lune V Stool by Duistt Dimensions: D 40 x H 45 cm Materials: Duistt Fabric, Brass LUNE V stool, crafted with great attention to detail, is a gorgeous and versatile piece. It is pres...
Brass