Mid-Century Modern Furniture

MID-CENTURY MODERN STYLE

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

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 legendary 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.

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.

Style: Mid-Century Modern

Creator: Barovier&Toso

Elegant Opaline Murano Glass Table Lamp by Barovier & Toso Primavera Model 1980'

Mid-Century Modern Furniture

1970s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Elegant Opaline Murano Glass Table Lamp by Barovier & Toso Primavera Model 1980'

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Single Large Murano Glass Wall Sconce by Barovier & Toso, Italy, 1970s

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Large Murano Glass Wall Sconce by Barovier & Toso, Italy, 1970s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Murano Glass Heart-Shaped Bowl, Bullicante & Swirl, Barovier & Toso suspected

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier & Toso Pulegoso Orange Murano Glass & Lucite Stacked Orb Column Lamp

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Midcentury Murano Glass Sconce Ceiling Light by Barovier & Toso, Italy 1960s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Table Lamp Barovier & Toso Murano Glass Fabric Midcentury Italian Design 1970s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

"Rostrato" glass vase by Barovier & Toso, Italy Mid-20th century

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier Toso Murano Teal Pink Gold Flecks Italian Art Glass Bird Figurine

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Italian mid-century Opaline glass gold dust ceiling lamp by Barovier&Toso, 1960s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Table Lamp Murano Glass Brass Barovier&Toso Midcentury Italian Design 1940s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Italian mid-century Opaline glass gold dust wall lamp by Barovier&Toso, 1960s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier and Toso Mid-Century Italian Murano Glass Flower Chandelier

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Ercole Barovier Cordonato D'Oro Sea Green Murano Vase with Gold Inclusions

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Murano Glass Ashtray, Red w/Gold Polveri / Gold Leaf, Barovier & Toso (assumed)

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Barovier leaf shaped sconces, Italy 1950

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Table Lamp Murano Glass Brass Barovier&Toso Midcentury Italian Design 1940s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier & Toso Murano Glass Lamp

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

One Murano Glass Ceiling Light Flush Mount with Gold Inclusions by Barovier

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair Barovier & Toso Feather or Leaf Form Murano Sconces with Gold Inclusions

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

1930′S Barovier & Toso Murano glass chandelier

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier e Toso Murano Glass Mid-Century Modern Vase, 1950s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Vintage Murano Glass Barovier & Toso Gold Polveri & Bullicante Bowl / Ashtray

1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Vintage Murano Barovier e Toso Red Tall Glass Candlestick with Gold Aventurine

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier Toso Murano Green Roses Gold Flecks Italian Art Glass Flower Vase

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Table Lamp Murano Glass Brass Barovier&Toso Midcentury Modern Italy 1940s

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Smoky Textured Sconces by Barovier e Toso

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Graniglia Shield Sconces by Barovier e Toso

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Large Barovier & Toso Primavera Murano Glass Table Lamps, 1970s, Italy

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid-Century Barovier & Toso Murano "rugiada" Glass Sconces, 60s Italy, Set of 2

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier e Tosso Pink Art Glass Floor Lamp, Murano Blown Glass, 1950s, Italy

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier Toso Murano Large Gold Flecks Italian Art Glass Footed Centerpiece Bowl

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier e Toso Pair of Clamshell Sconces

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Vintage Italian Chandelier, Barovier & Toso, Murano, Italy, 1955

1970s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Barovier & Toso Impressive Murano Glass Chandelier, Italy, 1970s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Turquoise Murano Glass Mid-Century Modern Vase 1950s, Barovier e Toso

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Murano Glass Barovier & Toso Gold Polveri & Bullicante Vintage Bowl or Ashtray

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier & Toso Stunning Monumental Hand-Blown Blue Glass Table Lamp 1950s

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier Tosso Murano Glass Centerpiece with Gold Inclusion

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture