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.
Midcentury Post Modern Demilune Credenza or Cabinet in Glossy Laminate
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A large substantial storage piece from the late 1980s. It features an elongated demilune form finished in a beautiful modern glossy laminate and four d...
Laminate
$20,000Sale Price|20% Off
Monumental Karl Springer Goatskin Credenza / Buffet, 1980's With COA
Located in Culver City, CA
This is the kind of piece that makes designers whisper and collectors lean in: a monumental Karl Springer credenza, completely clad in creamy, glossy goatskin from head to toe. (Even...
Goatskin
Italian Modern Blue Black Solid Wood Sideboard by Umberto Asnago, Giorgetti 1982
By Giorgetti S.p.A., Umberto Asnago
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian post modern blue, black and wooden solid wood sideboard by Umberto Asnago for Giorgetti Italia, 1982. Sideboard in solid wood, with a curved ...
Wood
Fernando and Humberto Campana "Sushi" Buffet
By Fernando and Humberto Campana, Fernando Campana
Located in Astoria, NY
Fernando Campana (Brazilian, 1961-2022) and Humberto Campana (Brazilian, b. 1953) "Sushi" Buffet, carpet, rubber, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), fabric, and estela within brass frame,...
Brass
Modern Italian Ivory Gray Teal Blue Geometric Postmodern Brass Cabinet Sideboard
By Cosulich Interiors & Antiques
Located in New York, NY
Bring your own accent colors to any space with our customizable modern collection, entirely handmade in Italy, with the purpose of anchoring individuality through Art in a functional...
Brass
Bespoke Italian Black Purple Blue Gold Geometric Postmodern Cabinet / Sideboard
By Cosulich Interiors & Antiques
Located in New York, NY
A creative 2 compartment, 3-door modern credenza, entirely handmade in Italy with high-quality details of execution in an attractive geometric decor with raised pattern and handles. ...
Brass
$4,950
Barraco Buffet Cabinet
By Tri Design
Located in Londrina, Paraná
Inspired in the housings in the "favelas" of São Paulo. The Barraco buffet uses a mix of different laminates to create a unique visual.
Wood
Custom Italian White Black Blue Yellow Geometric Postmodern Cabinet/Sideboard
By Cosulich Interiors & Antiques
Located in New York, NY
Bring your own accent colors to any space with our customizable modern collection, entirely handmade in Italy, with the purpose of anchoring individuality through Art in a functional...
Brass
Bespoke Italian Ivory Yellow Green Blue Geometric Postmodern Cabinet/Sideboard
By Cosulich Interiors & Antiques
Located in New York, NY
Bring your own accent colors to any space with our customizable modern collection, entirely handmade in Italy, with the purpose of anchoring individuality through Art in a functional piece, triggering personal healthy environments through your own narrative. Bespoke customizable 3-door modern cabinet sideboard, entirely handcrafted in Italy with Memphis inspiration for the attractive colorful abstract geometric decor with raised pattern and handles. The surround is decorated with art glass, hand painted in reverse, in an elegant ivory white color, and navy blue sides with lime green accents. The post-modern decor...
Brass
Customizable Italian Pink Gray Blue Black Geometric Postmodern Cabinet/Sideboard
By Cosulich Interiors & Antiques
Located in New York, NY
Bespoke customizable 3-door modern cabinet sideboard, entirely handcrafted in Italy with Memphis inspiration for the attractive colorful decon...
Brass
Palmer sideboard by Jean-Michel Wilmotte
Located in PARIS, FR
Jean-Michel Wilmotte (b. 1948) Palmer Sideboard, ca. 1988 Edition Academy, Paris, France Exotic wood veneer, aluminum, and brown lacquered wood, publisher's plaque inside the top dra...
Aluminum
Italian Buffet, Sideboard by Giorgio Collection for Saporiti, C. 1980s
Located in Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Step into the world of postmodern luxury with this extraordinary sideboard from the esteemed Giorgio Collection. Crafted in Italy, this piece embodies the boldness and experimentatio...
Hardwood, Lacquer
Modern Italian Pink Purple Glass Geometric Postmodern Brass Cabinet Sideboard
By Cosulich Interiors & Antiques
Located in New York, NY
Bring your own accent colors to any space with our customizable modern collection, entirely handmade in Italy, with the purpose of anchoring individuality through Art in a functional...
Brass
Bespoke Italian Black Cream Green Ochre Geometric Postmodern Cabinet/Sideboard
Located in New York, NY
A contemporary creative 3-door modern credenza, entirely hand-made in Italy, the surround in an attractive geometric decor that recalls Rothko's paintings, with raised art glass pane...
Brass
Customizable Italian Blue Ivory Glass Beach Decor Post Modern Cabinet/Sideboard
By Cosulich Interiors & Antiques
Located in New York, NY
Bespoke, handcrafted 3-Door modern cabinet credenza with Seaside-Inspired Elegance. This exquisite, customizable sideboard is entirely handcrafted in Italy, embodying a striking seas...
Brass
Modern Italian Pink Purple Glass Geometric Postmodern Brass Cabinet Sideboard
By Cosulich Interiors & Antiques
Located in New York, NY
Bring your own accent colors to any space with our customizable modern collection, entirely handmade in Italy, with the purpose of anchoring individuality through Art in a functional...
Brass
Bespoke Italian Green Orange Yellow Grey Geometric Postmodern Cabinet/Sideboard
By Cosulich Interiors & Antiques
Located in New York, NY
Bespoke customizable 3-door modern cabinet sideboard, entirely handcrafted in Italy with Memphis inspiration for the attractive colorful geome...
Brass
Bespoke Italian Green Orange Yellow Gray Geometric Postmodern Cabinet/Sideboard
By Cosulich Interiors & Antiques
Located in New York, NY
Bespoke customizable 3-door modern cabinet sideboard, entirely handcrafted in Italy with Memphis inspiration for the attractive colorful geome...
Brass
Bespoke Italian Black Cream Green Ochre Geometric Postmodern Cabinet/Sideboard
Located in New York, NY
A contemporary creative 3-door modern credenza, entirely handmade in Italy, the surround in an attractive geometric decor that recalls Rothko's paintings, with raised art glass panel...
Brass
Pastel Pink Concrete Grand Baloo Buffet – 6-Case Storage by Mary-Lynn & Carlo
Located in Geneve, CH
Pink Concrete Grand Baloo Elephant 6 Buffet Table by Mary-Lynn & Carlo The Elephant Project Dimensions: H 92 x W 200 x D 50 cm Materials: concrete colored, foam polystyrene Finish: w...
Concrete
$26,092 / item
V2 Cabinet Sculpted by John Eric Byers
Located in Geneve, CH
V2 cabinet sculpted by John Eric Byers Dimensions: 106.7 x 91.5 x 45.7 cm Materials: carved blackened maple and brass All works are individually handma...
Brass
$7,462 / item
Flamingo, Storage Unit by Hagit Pincovici
Located in Geneve, CH
Flamingo, storage unit by Hagit Pincovici Dimensions: W 41 x D 26 x H 85 cm Materials: Brass Hagit Pincovici founded her eponymous bespoke luxury furniture and lighting atelier ...
Brass
Modern Burl Buffet Sideboard
Located in Westwood, NJ
Modern burl buffet sideboard with four doors framed by a beveled edge, with interior drawers and shelves and finished in a lightly distressed rustic warm h...
Wood
Two Shagreen Buffets
Located in New York, NY
Melting buffet & Arianne buffet All R & Y Augousti pieces are handmade by artisans, ultimately making each piece unique. Custom color/sizing available on request. Wipe clean wit...
Brass
Stellar Bamboo Buffet or Credenza in the Style of Milo Baughman
Located in Atlanta, GA
This magnificent chest is shipped as professionally photographed and described in the listing narrative: Completely installation ready. A fabulous meticulously restored four-door ca...
Bamboo, Hardwood
$4,744
H 68.12 in W 109.06 in D 19.3 in
Mid-Century Modern Italian Mahogany Sideboard with Mirror by Osvaldo Borsani
By Fratelli Turri, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Prato, IT
Mid-Century Modern Italian mahogany sideboard with onyx top and mirror by Osvaldo Borsani for "Mobilificio Fratelli Turri", 1950s The mirro...
Brass
Una 'Articolo Indeterminativo' Wood and Brass Buffet
Located in Roma, IT
The buffet is the first item of the collection Una (Articolo Indeterminativo) by the Italian woodworker Stefano Marolla. The title refers to the indeterminate article in the Italian grammar, as these pieces trick the eye playing on the ambiguity of the matter: A sturdy element like wood, hand-curved and levigated, looks like a light tapestry. The curves and the soft drapery of the wood are inspired by a long and attentive study on the usage of drapery in art’s history, going back from the ancient Greece to Bernini’s sculptures...
Brass
$32,000
H 32.7 in W 102.4 in D 18.5 in
Brazilian Modern Rosewood Credenza with Brass Details, Jean Gillon, Brazil, 1965
By Jean Gillon
Located in New York, NY
represents a rare private commission executed at the highest level of Brazilian Modern craftsmanship. Constructed from Brazilian rosewood, the rectangular structure is supported by t...
Brass
Modern Black Cerused Oak Sideboard Buffet
Located in North York, ON
Modern black cerused oak sideboard buffet. Featuring a dark ebonized black ceruse finish with contrasting white grains. Doors open with sleek pus...
Oak
1960s Teak Falster Style 2-Piece Buffet Hutch Credenza
By Bernhard Pedersen & Son, Falster Møbelfabrik, Dyrlund
Located in Bensalem, PA
Please look at pictures for overall details feel free to email with any questions
Glass, Teak
$1,200Sale Price|67% Off
H 29 in W 95 in D 18 in
Postmodern Waterfall Faux Stone Credenza in The Karl Springer's Style. C 1980s
Located in Miami, FL
Monumental Postmodern Waterfall Faux Stone Sidebar Credenza in The Karl Springer's Style. Circa 1980s Features a faux stone composite waterfall top with textured plaster covered doo...
Plastic, Plaster, Wood
Postmodern Demilune Credenza or Cabinet
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Striking demilune credenza crafted with maple and mahogany and featuring six doors inlaid with geometric forms, plenty of storage, slim profile and e...
Mahogany, Maple
$2,800Sale Price|20% Off
H 30 in W 73 in D 20 in
Post modern light gray gloss lacquer 4 door credenza Cabinet
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Post modern light grayish/blue Lacquered 4 Door Credenza Cabinet. This 73” wide credenza has storage inside behind 4 door panels with 6 adjustable shelves with all pins inside, has m...
Metal
$3,100
H 31.25 in W 72 in D 18.5 in
Mid-Century Modern Floating Karl Springer Style Lacquered Goatskin Credenza
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A beautiful vintage modern sideboard with a grasscloth base holding a lacquered goatskin credenza. A unique and efficient design in the style of Karl Springer. The unusual design offers an additional lower shelf for storage. Four cabinet doors hide large storage compartments and drawers. A lovely midcentury case piece...
Grasscloth, Lacquer
Roger Rougier Sideboard & Buffet
Located in Hanover, MA
This is a two piece post-modern design by Roger Rougier of Montreal circa 1980 in contrasting geometric and volumetric shapes and finishes which can be used independently but are int...
Wood, Lacquer
Sculptural Buffet designed by Anacleto Spazzapan, Italy, 1990
Located in Melbourne, VIC
Wire mesh in forged Iron Buffet designed by Italian Designer Anacleto Spazzapan. Born in 1943 in Luino, Varese, Spazzapan's work includes a variety of furniture items such as chairs,...
Iron
Burl Wood Mirrored Console in the Style of Paul Evans
By Paul Evans
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Incredibly unique mirror inlayed burl wood console in the Style of Paul Evans, Post-Modern Sourced by Martyn Lawrence Bullard from Palm Springs, California
Mirror, Burl
Sold
H 85.5 in W 72 in D 16.5 in
1990s Morado Rosewood Blown Glass Buffet Hutch in the Manner of Nakashima
Located in Bensalem, PA
This piece is made of solid Morado Rosewood and Black African Wenge custom made in the manner of George Nakashima by Gary Fassler in the New Hope Pennsylv...
Art Glass, Rosewood, Wenge
Sold
H 29.5 in W 18.25 in D 69.75 in
Vintage Postmodern Waterfall Faux Travertine Laminate Buffet Credenza
Located in Chino Hills, CA
Postmoderm faux travertine laminate buffet just in. 69.75 W x 18.25 D x 29.5 T. In close to excellent condition with minor wear typical of age. I inclu...
Laminate
Sold
H 35 in W 72 in D 16.75 in
Stunning Custom Contemporary Modern Sideboard with David Hardaker Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Stunning custom contemporary modern sideboard with colorful abstract figurative painting. This handmade sideboard was custom made in Houston, Texas in collaboration with artist David Hardaker...
Oak
Sold
H 36.5 in W 72 in D 16.63 in
Stunning Custom Abstract Postmodern LOVE Sideboard with Resin Pill Foot
Located in Houston, TX
Stunning custom abstract postmodern sideboard with the letters L-O-V-E spelled on the door fronts. This handmade sideboard was custom made in Houston, Texas in collaboration with conceptual artist Matthew Reeves. This custom sideboard features a leg made of a custom yellow and red pill...
Oak
Sold
H 32 in W 72 in D 16.75 in
Stunning Custom Contemporary Abstract Modern Sideboard with Nathan Sing Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Stunning custom contemporary modern sideboard with a two-toned abstract Southern desert landscape by Texas artist, Nathan Sing. This handmade sideboard was...
Oak
Sold
H 33 in W 72 in D 16.75 in
Stunning Custom Contemporary Modern Sideboard with Henry David Potwin Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Stunning custom contemporary modern sideboard with colorful abstract figurative painting. This handmade sideboard was custom made in Houston, Texas in collaboration with surrealist painter Henry David...
Oak
Sold
H 34 in W 72 in D 16.67 in
Stunning Custom Contemporary Modern Sideboard with Shelbi Nicole Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Stunning custom contemporary modern sideboard with various abstracted shapes depicting a cool-toned botanical pattern. This handmade sideboard was custom made in Houston, Texas in collaboration with Shelbi...
Oak
Sold
H 33 in W 72 in D 16.75 in
Stunning Custom Contemporary Modern Sideboard with Frank Trocino Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Stunning custom contemporary modern sideboard with light green toned abstract figurative painting. This handmade sideboard was custom mad...
Oak
Sold
H 24.41 in W 72.05 in D 19.69 in
Italian Post Modern Wood Glossy Black and Mirrored Modular Sideboard, 1980s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian post modern wood glossy black and mirrored modular sideboard, 1980s Modular wood sideboard with glossy black finish and mirrored details, consi...
Mirror, Wood