Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage 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. The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influence 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.
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 chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Stoneware
1670s Italian Antique Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Steel
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
1940s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Iron, Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Metal
Mid-20th Century Norwegian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood, Antler
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Stoneware
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Steel
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Aluminum
1970s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Art Glass
1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Metal, Aluminum, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary North American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Linen, Polyester
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
1940s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Earthenware
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Hardwood, Upholstery
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
1950s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Aluminum
Mid-19th Century Danish Antique Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Pottery
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Walnut, Fabric
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Laminate, Walnut
1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Teak, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
1970s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Metal
Mid-20th Century Spanish Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Wicker, Mirror, Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Textile
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Enamel, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass, Metal
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Velvet
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass, Aluminum
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Mirror, Walnut
1660s Austrian Antique Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Cut Steel, Nickel
1940s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Mahogany
2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Hardwood, Paint
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Maple
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Metal
1950s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Bouclé, Bentwood
1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Wood
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Beech
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome