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: Harvey Probber

Harvey Probber, Caning, and Striped Upholstery Armchair

Mid-Century Modern Seating

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber, Caning, and Striped Upholstery Armchair

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Stylish Harvey Probber Super Deep 3 Seat Sofa Mid-Century Modern

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber American Mid-Century Green Velvet Round Sofa

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Oversized Blue Patterned Upholstered Lounge / Armchair

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair of Harvey Probber Single Lounge Chair with Ottoman

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Brown Vinyl Upholstered Swivel Cube Lounge / Armchair

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair of Harvey Probber Bright Yellow Fabric Upholstered Ebonized Lounge

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Woven Beige Fabric Upholstered Cube Swivel Lounge / Armchair

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Dark Wood, Caning, and Striped Upholstery Armchair

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair of Harvey Probber Beige Zig-Zag Textured Upholstery and Brass Slipper Chair

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Gold and Orange Patterned Upholstered Sled Base Sofa

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Architectural Series Armchair, Chair 249

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber 'Gondola' Mahogany and Striped Upholstery Pull Up Side Chair

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Shaped Walnut and Geometric Brown Upholstered Lounge Armchair

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Scissor Form Ebonized Wood and Black Leather Side Chair

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber American Mid-Century Purple Velour and Brass Slipper Chair

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber 'Gondola' Mahogany and Gold Woven Upholstery Pull Up Side Chair

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber 'Gondola' Wood and Striped Upholstery Side Chair

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair of Mid-Century Modernist Stools with Button Detailing by Harvey Probber

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Cube Form Black Textured Fabric Upholstered Lounge / Armchair

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Set of Eight Sabre Leg Dining Chairs by Harvey Probber, 1960s

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Black Leather Leather 'Cubo' Sectional Sofa by Harvey Probber, 1970s

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Knights Bench ca' 1950's

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Sleek Modern Harvey Probber Six Flat Bar Dining Chairs

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Sectional Sofa, circa 1955

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair of Mid-Century Modern Tufted Aluminum Lounge Chairs by Harvey Probber

1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Jean Pierre Bernard, Side Tables, Steel, Haitian, 1960s

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Large Harvey Probber Bench in Mohair Upholstery with Brass Trim

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Mid-Century Harvey Probber Burger Bun Pink Velvet Settee

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair of Ottomans by Harvey Probber, New White Upholstery, Signed, Ready to Use

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Pair of Benches with Mahogany Legs and Castors 1950s

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Lounge Chair by Harvey Probber

Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Mid Century Barrel Back Chrome Lounge Chairs in Knoll Fabric

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair of Mid-Century Modern Sculptural Gondola Chairs by Harvey Probber Restored

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Pair of Leather & Chrome Slipper Lounge Chairs Cantilevered Seats

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Pair of Modern Swivel Cube Occasional Lounge Club Chairs, #1461

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Mid-Century Club Chair and Ottoman by Harvey Probber

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Harvey Probber Brass Frame Bench, 1960

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Stunning Harvey Probber 4-Seat Sofa Mid-Century Modern

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating