Cherner 4 Door Cabinet
About the Item
- Creator:The Cherner Chair Company (Manufacturer),Norman Cherner (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 60 in (152.4 cm)Depth: 20 in (50.8 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2021
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:8-9 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Berkeley, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1353223242502
Norman Cherner
Norman Cherner was an influential designer who explored postwar technological innovations and how to incorporate them into furniture production and architecture. And while its history is complicated, his Cherner chair is one of the most successful examples of mid-century modern molded plywood seating.
Born in New York City, Cherner was an architect and a prolific designer who taught at Columbia University’s Teachers College. An enthusiast of the Bauhaus, he gave lectures in the late 1940s on the principles of the legendary German design school at the Museum of Modern Art.
Cherner was fascinated with the concept of cost-efficient design, and this extended into his pioneering ideas for prefabricated housing. His philosophy was that a modular home should be a complete design concept that included economical furniture and lighting. He published several DIY books, such as How to Build a House for $6,000. Cherner caught the interest of a housing cooperative in upstate New York and was contracted to design and oversee the construction of prefabricated housing in the town of Ramapo. The U.S. Department of Housing assembled a pre-built Cherner home for exhibition in Vienna.
But he is best known for his chair.
In the 1950s, one of George Nelson’s designers, John F. Pile, created the Pretzel chair. It had structural problems and proved too costly to make at Herman Miller, where Nelson was director of design. Production was subcontracted to Massachusetts company Plycraft, but the agreement didn’t last long owing to a dispute between the furniture manufacturers. Based on a recommendation from Nelson, Plycraft sought out Cherner to redesign the chair so that it would be durable and affordable to produce.
Cherner submitted his redesign only to be told that Plycraft had shelved the project. However, Plycraft secretly began producing what would become the Cherner chair under a different name — and Cherner later stumbled across his seat in New York. Cherner sued Plycraft and won. The chair became instantly popular after being featured in a Norman Rockwell illustration for a Saturday Evening Post cover in September of 1961.
Other noteworthy Cherner designs include his Konwiser furniture line, Multiflex storage units and tube lighting. The Museum of Modern Art praised his Konwiser collection as “some of the most progressive furniture designs available to the American public.”
In 1972, Plycraft discontinued production of his chair, and Cherner died in 1987. In 1999, his two sons founded the Cherner Chair Company and began making furniture based on their father's original designs for armchairs, chairs — including the Cherner chair — tables and credenzas.
Find vintage Norman Cherner furniture on 1stDibs today.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Berkeley, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Cherner 2 Door 2 Drawer File CabinetBy The Cherner Chair Company, Norman ChernerLocated in Berkeley, CAMultiflex casegoods are lightweight, strong and made entirely from laminated, cross-ply and molded plywood. Clear or Classic finish on American Walnut veneers are complimented by the...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsWalnut
- Cherner 4 Door CredenzaBy The Cherner Chair Company, Norman ChernerLocated in Berkeley, CAMultiflex casegoods are lightweight, strong and made entirely from laminated, cross-ply and molded plywood. Clear or Classic finish on American Walnut veneers are complimented by the...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsWalnut
- Cherner 2 Door 2 Drawer CredenzaBy The Cherner Chair Company, Norman ChernerLocated in Berkeley, CAMultiflex casegoods are lightweight, strong and made entirely from laminated, cross-ply and molded plywood. Clear or Classic finish on American walnut veneers are complimented by the...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsWalnut
- Cherner 6 Drawer DresserBy The Cherner Chair Company, Norman ChernerLocated in Berkeley, CAMultiflex casegoods are lightweight, strong and made entirely from laminated, cross-ply and molded plywood. Clear or Classic finish on American Walnut veneers are complimented by the...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsWalnut
- Cherner 4 Drawer CredenzaBy The Cherner Chair Company, Norman ChernerLocated in Berkeley, CAMultiflex casegoods are lightweight, strong and made entirely from laminated, cross-ply and molded plywood. Clear or Classic finish on American Walnut veneers are complimented by the...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsWalnut
- Cherner ArmchairBy The Cherner Chair Company, Norman ChernerLocated in Berkeley, CAOriginally introduced in 1958, the iconic molded plywood armchair by Norman Cherner is found in collections worldwide. Reissued in exacting det...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWalnut
- Provost Cabinet with DoorsBy Ben KicicLocated in Brooklyn, NYFree floating closed units are delicately held to the frame by brass connectors, giving the robust case a light and airy feel. The doors swing on solid brass pivot hinges...Category
2010s American Credenzas
MaterialsBrass
- French Provincial Glass Door CabinetLocated in Westwood, NJFrench provincial buffet cabinet with a molded edge rectangular parquetry top and four frieze drawers, above cabinet doors with beveled glass panels. The interior two sections with f...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese French Provincial Bookcases
MaterialsGlass, Wood
- Rosewood Cabinet with Glass DoorsBy Kai KristiansenLocated in Oakland, CAMid-Century Modern rosewood cabinet, circa 1955 manufactured in Denmark. Crafted of rosewood with adjustable glass shelf and two glass sliding doors, raised on tapered legs. Modest proportions make for a versatile cabinet appropriate as a nightstand, media cabinet, or an entry way cabinet.Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Credenzas
MaterialsRosewood
- Modern Geometric Two-Door CabinetLocated in Westwood, NJA modern geometric two-door cabinet. This piece features a wide linear geometric design on the doors. The antiqued and weathered driftwood finish highlights the unique design feature...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Cabinets
MaterialsWood
- Charlotte Perriand 5 Door Bloc Cabinet, C. 1958By Charlotte PerriandLocated in Brooklyn, NYCharlotte Perriand 5-Door ‘Bloc’ cabinet designed for Cité Cansado, Mauritania c. 1958, edited by Galerie Steph Simon. Perriand’s ‘Elements-Blocs De Rangement’ cabinets issued by Steph Simon gallery, 1958 were composed of coreboard shelves veneered with a choice of different woods, braced by black lacquered sheet metal backs and side panels to ensure absolute rigidity. The side panels were perforated to accommodate racks for shelves or patented drawers in high-impact polystyrene in red, yellow, gray, or black . The sliding doors are melamine over masonite, which was favored over plywood or aluminum as they could be moved without making a noise. Storage was a vital issue for Perriand, who believed that life was not possible without rational storage. “Create emptiness.” she wrote, “You have too many things in your homes". Her intention was to liberate space - a fundamental idea in her writings. For her, emptiness was the scope to think and move. Measurements: 99" length x 30 1/2" height x 18 1/2" depth Materials: Ribbon mahogany, lacquered metal, metal legs with inset oak feet, melamine over masonite doors. Condition: Original, untouched condition. Patina as to be expected with age (actual patina, not neglect). Wood shelves are adjustable with original metal brackets. Legs have chips and loss of lacquer as to be expected with age. These could be repainted if desired, we prefer not to do any restoration. Please refer to images and feel free to be in touch with any questions. Provenance: Cité Cansado, Mauritania; Private Collection. Literature: Jacques Barsac, Charlotte Perriand, L'œuvre complète, Vol. 3: 1956-1968...Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsMetal
- George Nakashima Sliding Door Low CabinetBy George NakashimaLocated in BROOKLYN, NYGorgeous George Nakashima cabinet features a single slab laurel top with one free edge above two doors concealing two adjustable shelves. Perfect low cabinet also could be a wonderfu...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsWalnut