Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern 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.
ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Emerged during the mid-20th century
- Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
- A heyday of innovation in postwar America
- Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
- A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
- Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
- Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
- Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
- Promotion of functionality
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
- Charles and Ray Eames
- Eero Saarinen
- Milo Baughman
- Florence Knoll
- Harry Bertoia
- Isamu Noguchi
- George Nelson
- Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
- Eames lounge chair
- Nelson daybed
- Florence Knoll sofa
- Egg chair
- Womb chair
- Noguchi coffee table
- Barcelona chair
VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s 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 pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.
Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.
Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by celebrated manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer 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. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture 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, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Wood
Mid-20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Pottery, Terracotta
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
1980s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Aluminum
1960s Slovenian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Glass, Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Other
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Plastic, Fiberglass
2010s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Chrome
2010s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Textile
19th Century French Antique Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass, Iron
2010s Indian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Cotton
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Copper
1940s Brazilian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Fabric, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Marble
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Stone
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Lucite
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Paper
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Wrought Iron
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1940s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass, Iron
1960s Brazilian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Leather, Rosewood
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Chrome
1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass, Chrome
1960s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Moroccan Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Bolivian Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Hardwood
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Nickel
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Oak
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Art Glass
Late 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Fabric, Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Oak
2010s Chinese Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Oak
Late 20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Crystal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Walnut
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Goatskin, Walnut
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Bronze
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s French Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Rock Crystal, Brass
20th Century Turkish Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Leather, Mahogany
20th Century Turkish Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel