Mid-Century Modern Teak Knoll Dresser Chests and Vanity
View Similar Items
Mid-Century Modern Teak Knoll Dresser Chests and Vanity
About the Item
- Creator:Florence Knoll (Designer),Knoll (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.5 in (74.93 cm)Width: 102 in (259.08 cm)Depth: 19.5 in (49.53 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 3
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. In good condition with nicks, scratches, and blemishes. Light scratches on laminate top, veneer repairs on cabinet and drawer. Fading on one side of cabinet. See photos.
- Seller Location:San Jose, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1582212392551
Florence Knoll
Architect, furniture designer, interior designer, entrepreneur — Florence Knoll had a subtle but profound influence on the course of mid-century American modernism. Dedicated to functionality and organization, and never flamboyant, Knoll shaped the ethos of the postwar business world with her polished, efficient design and skillfully realized office plans.
Knoll had perhaps the most thorough design education of any of her peers. Florence Schust was orphaned at age 12, and her guardian sent her to Kingswood, a girl’s boarding school that is part of the Cranbrook Educational Community in suburban Detroit. Her interest in design brought her to the attention of Eliel Saarinen, the Finnish architect and head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Saarinen and his wife took the talented child under their wing, and she became close to their son, the future architect Eero Saarinen. While a student at the academy, Florence befriended artist-designer Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames. Later, she studied under three of the Bauhaus masters who emigrated to the United States. She worked as an apprentice in the Boston architectural offices of Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe taught her at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
In 1941, she met Hans Knoll, whose eponymous furniture company was just getting off the ground. They married in 1946, and her design sense and his business skills soon made Knoll Inc. a leading firm in its field. Florence signed up the younger Saarinen as a designer, and would develop pieces by Bertoia, Mies and the artist Isamu Noguchi. Her main work came as head of the Knoll Planning Group, designing custom office interiors for clients such as IBM and CBS. The furniture Florence created for these spaces reflects her Bauhaus training: the pieces are pure functional design, exactingly built; their only ornament from the materials, such as wood and marble. Her innovations — the oval conference table, for example, conceived as a way to ensure clear sightlines among all seated at a meeting — were always in the service of practicality.
Since her retirement in 1965, Knoll received the National Medal of Arts, among other awards; in 2004 the Philadelphia Museum of Art mounted the exhibition “Florence Knoll: Defining Modern” — well deserved accolades for a strong, successful design and business pioneer. As demonstrated on these pages, the simplicity of Knoll’s furniture is her work’s great virtue: they fit into any interior design scheme.
Knoll
As a company that produced many of the most famous and iconic furniture designs of the 20th century, Knoll was a chief influence in the rise of modern design in the United States. Led by Florence Knoll, the firm would draw stellar talents such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen into its compass. Their work would help change the face of the American home and office.
The company was formed in 1938 by the German immigrant Hans Knoll. He first worked with his fellow ex-pat, the Danish designer Jens Risom, who created furniture with flowing lines made of wood. While Risom served in World War II, in 1943 Knoll met his future wife, Florence Schust. She had studied and worked with eminent emigré leaders of the Bauhaus, including Mies, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. She won Knoll over with Bauhaus notions of industrial arts, and an aesthetic that featured flat and tubular metal frames and angular forms. When Hans died in a car crash in 1955, Florence Knoll was appointed head of the company. It was as much through her holistic approach to design — a core division of the firm was dedicated to planning office systems — as Knoll's mid-century modern furnishings themselves that she brought about the sleek and efficient transformation of the American workplace.
Today, classic Knoll furnishings remain staples of modern design collections and decor. A history of modern design is written in pieces such as the elegant Barcelona chair — created by Mies and Lilly Reich — Saarinen’s pedestal Tulip chair, Breuer’s tubular steel Wassily lounge chair and the grid-patterned Diamond chair by Harry Bertoia.
As you can see from the collection of these designs and other vintage Knoll dining chairs, sofas and tables on 1stDibs, this manufacturer's offerings have become timeless emblems of the progressive spirit and sleek sophistication of the best of modernism.
- Danish Modern Teak Three Drawer Vanity Chest by Nils JonssonBy Nils JonssonLocated in San Jose, CAMid-Century Modern dresser chest in teak designed by Nils Jonsson circa 1960s. Equipped with three storage drawers accessorized with sculpted inset pulls and dovetail construction. Features a hidden mirror...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vanities
MaterialsMirror, Teak
- Mid Century Raymond Loewy Dresser ChestBy Raymond Loewy, Mengel Furniture Co.Located in San Jose, CAMid-century dresser chest designed by Raymond Loewy for Mengel Furniture Co. in ebonized solid oak. This piece features four wide drawers with cast aluminum pulls.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsAluminum
$1,920 Sale Price20% Off - Studio Mid-Century Modern Walnut Swivel Vanity Table Mirror with StandLocated in San Jose, CAVintage studio makeup vanity table mirror with stand circa 1960's. This unique pivoting accent mirror is framed in solid walnut wood and is perfect...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Mirrors
MaterialsMirror, Walnut
$360 Sale Price20% Off - Danish Modern Teak Dresser Chest of Drawers by Henning JorgensenBy Henning Jørgensen, FredericiaLocated in San Jose, CAVintage Danish chest of drawers in teak designed by Henning Jørgensen for Fredericia Møbelfabrik, Denmark circa 1960s. This unique low profile chest of drawers is perfect to use as a...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dressers
MaterialsOak, Teak
- Danish Modern Teak Wardrobe Dresser Chest by Arne Vodder for Sibast MøblerBy Sibast, Arne VodderLocated in San Jose, CAMid-Century Modern tall wardrobe dresser chest designed by Arne Vodder for Sibast Møbler, circa 1960s, Denmark. Features a stunning and functional tambour sliding door that reveals p...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dressers
MaterialsTeak
$6,400 Sale Price20% Off - Mid-Century Modern Vista of California Mahogany and Steel Dresser by Don KnorrBy Vista of California, Don KnorrLocated in San Jose, CAVintage double dresser in mahogany designed by Don Knorr for Vista of California circa 1950's. This unique piece offers plenty of storage includ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsSteel
- Elegant Mid-Century Vanity or Dresser from DenmarkLocated in Los Angeles, CAWe have over three thousand antique sconces and over one thousand antique lights, if you need a specific pair of sconces or lights use the contact dealer button to ask us, we might h...Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWood
- John Widdicomb MCM Campaign Style 3 Piece Burlwood Dresser and Vanity SetBy John WiddicombLocated in Countryside, ILJohn Widdicomb mid century campaign style 3 piece burlwood dresser and vanity set Each of the two cabinets in this set is 36 wide x 19 deep x 30.5 inches high, and the middle drawer...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
- Art Deco Mahogany Vanity Dresser With MirrorBy BeautilityLocated in Pasadena, TXAn Art Deco vanity made by Beautility featuring beautifully grained mahogany and a stylish flowing design. The dresser comprises of mirror, two large drawers,a jewelery drawer and t...Category
Vintage 1940s British Art Deco Vanities
MaterialsMahogany
$2,080 Sale Price28% Off - Gio Ponti Italian Mid-Century White Lacquered DresserBy Gio PontiLocated in New York, NYItalian Mid-Century (1950s) white lacquered dresser with 2 doors centering a Pair of gilt framed drawers under a gold glass top supporting a large mirror with brass trim and handles ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
- Vintage Danish Mid Century Modern Teak VanityLocated in San Marcos, CAHere is a rare Scandinavian modern vanity in teak with its mirror manufactured in Denmark in the 1960's. This lovely piece, recently imported from Europe to California before its ref...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vanities
MaterialsTeak
- 1950´s Restored Danish Teak Vanity - Toilet Set with Floating Table TopLocated in Knebel, DK1950´s Fully Restored Danishteak toilet set with floating table top and mirrors Rare Danish inventive and imaginative teak toilet set / vanity set consis...Category
Vintage 1950s Vanities
MaterialsMetal
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
10 Trailblazing Female Designers
From pioneering visionaries to contemporary talents, get to know some of the most important women in design.
Remembering Design Visionary Florence Knoll Bassett (1917-2019)
A loving look back at the life and career of a doyenne of mid-century-modern style, who died last week at the age of 101.