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: Thayer Coggin

6 Milo Baughman Chrome & Cane Back Black Velvet Dining Chairs

Mid-Century Modern Seating

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

6 Milo Baughman Chrome & Cane Back Black Velvet Dining Chairs

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Milo Baughman Burl Wood Cased Loveseat Sofa for Thayer Coggin, circa 1960s

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin Mid Century Chrome Lounge Chair

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Milo Baughman Chrome Dining Arm Chairs for Thayer Coggin - Set of 4

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Thayer Coggin Milo Baughman Foot Stool Bench Ottoman Seat 1970s MINT!

1970s North American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Set of 10 Dining Chairs by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin MCM Thinline Chrome Dining Chairs - Set 4

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Six Green Milo Baughman "Thin Line" Dining Chairs for Thayer Coggin

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin Mid Century Chrome Sofa

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin 989 Lounge Chairs - a Pair

1970s North American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair of Milo Baughman Barrel Back Club Chairs by Thayer Coggin

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Chrome Wrapped Swivel Chair by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Milo Baughman Thayer Coggin Dining Chairs in Chrome and Cane -Set of 4

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair of Milo Baughman Cantilevered Lounge Chairs for Thayer Coggin Mid Century

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Milo Baughman For Thayer Coggin 951 Flat Bar Chrome Lounge Chairs in Grey Tweed

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Expertly Restored - Milo Baughman Rosewood Case Sofa for Thayer Coggin

1990s American Mid-Century Modern Seating

1996 Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin Swivel Giant Tub Chair with Ottoman

Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Seating

Milo Baughman Thayer Coggin Mid Century Modern Sectional With Attached Table

1980s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Gorgeous Pair of Green Milo Baughman Tilt and Swivel Lounge Brass Chairs

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

1970s Mid Century Chrome Sofa by Milo Baughman

Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Leather Lounge Armchairs by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin, Pair Available

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Mid-Century Modern Milo Baughman Thayer Coggin Barrel Back Club Lounge Chairs

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Circular Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin Swivel Lounge Chair

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair Of Milo Baughman For Thayer Coggin Chrome Lounge Chairs

1980s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Unusual Milo Baughman Thayer Coggin 6 Piece Curved Back Cube Sectional Sofa

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Milo Baughman Thayer Coggin Swivel Lounge Chair, Blue Woven Upholstery, Signed

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Milo Baughman Thayer Coggin Walnut Viceroy Lounge Recliner Chair

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

1970s Mid Century Chrome Sofa by Milo Baughman

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

1970s Pair of Mid Century Chrome Sofa by Milo Baughman

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Vintage Brazilian Rosewood Case Sofa by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Outstanding Set of Six Milo Baughman Chrome Dining Chairs, Mid-Century Modern

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair of Vintage Original Milo Baughman Sled Base Bronze Finish Lounge Chairs

1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair Mid Century Modern Chrome Lounge Chairs by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Satellite Chair In the Style Of Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Vintage Thayer Coggin Directional Black Velvet Sectional Sofa

20th Century Mid-Century Modern Seating

Set of 8 Chrome and Leather Dining Chairs

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Milo Baughman High Back Cane Armchairs for Thayer Coggin

2010s North American Mid-Century Modern Seating

Pair of Milo Baughman Recliner 74 Lounge Chairs

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Seating

Mid-Century Modern Reclining Lounge Chair by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Seating