Mid-Century Modern Seating

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

Emerged during the mid-20th century
Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
A heyday of innovation in postwar America
Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
Promotion of functionality

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

Charles and Ray Eames
Eero Saarinen
Milo Baughman
Florence Knoll
Harry Bertoia
Isamu Noguchi
George Nelson
Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa

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.

Style: Mid-Century Modern

Creator: Hans J. Wegner

Hans Wegner GE-284A Highback Lounge Chair, Treated Oak

By Hans J. Wegner, GETAMA

Located in Berkeley, CA

Designed by Hans Wegner, the 284A high back lounge chair provides clean, crisp lines for the modern home. The chair is handcrafted at GETAMA’s factory in Gedsted, Denmark by skilled ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

Materials

Oak

Hans Wegner GE-284A Highback Lounge Chair, Treated Oak

Hans Wegner Mid Century White Leather Armchair for GETAMA

By Hans J. Wegner, GETAMA

Located in London, GB

Designed by Hans J. Wegner for GETAMA, this GE 151 archair is a Classic example of Mid-Century Modern design. Featuring angular black painted beechwood frames and arms, the newly restored chair...

Category

1970s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Materials

Faux Leather, Wood

Hans Wegner Mid Century White Leather Armchair for GETAMA

Hans Wegner GE-525 Dining Chair, Lacquered Oak

By Hans J. Wegner, GETAMA

Located in Berkeley, CA

Designed by Hans Wegner in 1970, the GE 525 dining chair offers a beautifully rounded design sculpted in wood. The chair is hand built at GETAMA’s factory in Ge...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

Materials

Oak

Hans Wegner GE-525 Dining Chair, Lacquered Oak

Hans J. Wegner Lounge Chair, Model CH-22, ca. 1950

Mid-Century Modern Seating

21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans Wegner GE-284A Highback Lounge Chair, Treated Oak

1970s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans Wegner Mid Century White Leather Armchair for GETAMA

21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans Wegner GE-525 Dining Chair, Lacquered Oak

1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans J. Wegner Lounge Chair, Model CH-22, ca. 1950

1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair Hans J. Wegner: “GE 375” Highback Oak Chairs

21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans Wegner GE-290 Lounge Chair - Smoked Oak Frame - Luna Fabric 04204

1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans Wegner Set of Four Mid-Century Modern Classic CH23 Dining Chairs

1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Set of 4 Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen & Son CH-33 Chairs in Teak

1970s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans J Wegner GE421 Getama Oak Relax Armchair with Adjustable Backrest

1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans J. Wegner: Pair of “FH 1788” Armchairs

1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Set of Six Hans J Wegner 'JH811' Mid-Century Steel and Leather Dining Chairs

Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans Wegner Wishbone Chairs by Carl Hansen and Son

1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Set of 3 Hans Wegner Fh4103 “Heart” Dining Chairs, 1953

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

1960s Vintage Hans Wegner Model J16 Rocking Chair

Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Seating

Set of 8 “the Chair” by Hans Wegner for PP Mobler

Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Seating

JH 517 - Buck Chair in patinated teak by Hans J. Wegner

1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Danish GE6 Sofa Bed By Hans Wegner For Getama Mid Century Vintage Retro MCM

Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans Wegner AP 20 "Baby Bear" Lounge Chair for AP Stolen, ca. 1950's Denmark

Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans Wegner AP 28 "Mama Bear" Lounge Chair for AP Stolen, ca. 1950's Denmark

1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Set of Eight Hans Wagner "Round" Dining Chairs in Teakwood

1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

AP16 Armchair by Hans Wegner

1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Mid Century Oak Lounge Chair by Hans Wegner for GETAMA GE-290, Denmark, 1960s

Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

1960’s J16 Beechwood Danish Rocking Chair Designed By Hans Wegner

1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Set of Six Oak "Wishbone" Chair by Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen & Son

1970s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans J. Wegner PP203 Dining Room Chairs for PP Møbler Denmark, 1969

1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

2 lounge chairs Model AP 62 by Hans J. Wegner

1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans Wegner Ge40 Getama Danish Modern of Lounge Chairs - a Pair

1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

CH28 “Sawbuck” Chair in Teak Wood and Leather by Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen

1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Danish Modern Leather "Papa Bear" Chair by Hans J. Wegner for A.P. Stolen

Early 2000s Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

Armchair Model CH28 in Oak, Designed By Hans J. Wegner Made by Carl Hansen & Søn

21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans Wegner GE-240 Lounge Chair

Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans J. Wegner Mama Bear Lounge Chair Model AP 27

1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Reupholstered Chair #CH30 by Hans J. Wegner for Carl Hansen & Son, Set of 2

1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Set of Four Hans Wegner Wishbone Chairs

21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

CH25 Easy Chair in Oak Oil Finish with Natural Papercord *Quickship*

1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

1960s Hans J. Wegner Pair of GE 290 Armchairs in Oak for Getama, Denmark

1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Hans Wegner "GE290" Lounge Chair

1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Set of Six Classic Chairs by Hans Wegner Johannes Hansen, Denmark

1940s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Folding chair model JH 512 designed by Hans J. Wegner for Johannes Hansen, 1949

Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Seating

CH25 Easy Chair in Oak Oil Finish with Natural Papercord Quickship

CH23 Chair in Oak Soap Finish with Natural Papercord Quickship

CH20 Elbow Chair in Oak Oil Finish with Thor 325 Tan Leather Seat QUICKSHIP

CH53 Footstool in Oak Oil Finish with Natural Papercord Quickship

CH24 Wishbone Chair in Mahogany Oil Finish with Natural Papercord Quickship