Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe mid-century modern American 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.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s 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, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century 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, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern American furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Plywood
1970s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Wood
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Beech
20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
1980s Polish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Beech
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
1980s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass
1970s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
1970s Unknown Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
1960s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Bamboo
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
1980s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal, Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
2010s Thai Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass
1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Velvet
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Wire
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
1970s Finnish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Velvet
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Velvet, Wood
20th Century Norwegian Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Laminate, Oak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal, Wrought Iron
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal, Chrome
Late 20th Century Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Iron
20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Iron
1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Iron
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Upholstery, Hardwood
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome