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

Pair of Mid-Century Modern Murano Glass & Brass Leaf Sconces by Barovier e Toso

Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Mid-Century Modern Murano Glass & Brass Leaf Sconces by Barovier e Toso

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier Toso Murano Clear Iridescent Italian Art Glass Chunky Ribbed Bowl

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier Toso Murano Teal Pink Gold Fleck Italian Art Glass Love Birds Sculpture

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Overwhelming Murano Chandelier by Barovier & Toso, 1960s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

1950s Barovier Gold Leaf Infused Blown Glass Vessel

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Italian Bowl Glass by Barovier & Toso, 1960s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier Toso Murano Green Gold Flecks Italian Art Glass Personal Ashtray Dishes

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier & Toso Mid-Century Modern Opaline Murano Glass Chandelier, 1972

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Barovier Murano Glass Moorish Figures

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier e Toso Cordonato D' Oro Murano Art Glass Vase

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

20th Century, Iconic, Barovier e Toso Murano Smoking Set of Four Pieces

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier & Toso Opal Turquoise Glass Bottle Flacone with Stopper, 1950

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Italian Floor Lamp by Barovier & Toso, 1950s

1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

A Pair of Barovier e Toso Ceiling Lights

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid-Century Murano Glass Flush Mount by Barovier & Toso, Italy, 1960s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid-Century Modern Sconce Designed by Barovier Toso, Italy, circa 1960

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Ercole Barovier for Barovier & Toso Attr. Glass Basket circa 1940s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Murano Barovier & Toso Cordonato D'oro Art Glass Vase

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Ercole Barovier, Barovier & Toso Efeso Vase ca. 1960s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Set of 8 1950 Italian Murano Glass Doves Signed by Barovier and Toso

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

20th Century Barovier & Toso Murano Glass Vase in Colored Stripes '60s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier e Toso Murano Embedded Red &Gold Glass Bowl Mid-Century Modern

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

20th Century Italian Tall Vintage Murano Glass Table Lamp by Barovier & Toso

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier e Toso Murano Chunky Gold Aventurine Glass Bowl Vintage

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

20th Century Italian Pair of Murano Glass Candle Holders by Barovier & Toso

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Italian Table Mirror Vanity with Brass Photo Frames by Barovier and Toso

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Aquamarine and Ice Murano Glass Flowers Basket Ceiling Light by Barovier & Toso

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Red and Gold Murano Glass Vase by Barovier and Toso Cordonato D'Oro

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier Toso Murano Iridescent Italian Art Glass Sculptural Conch Seashell Bowl

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Rare Mid Century Modern Chandelier or Pendant Lamp 'Putti' by Barovier & Toso

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier Toso Murano White Gold Flecks Italian Art Glass Pheasant Sculptures

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier & Toso Italian Murano Glass Table Lamp, circa 1950s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier Murano Pink Gold Italian Art Glass Leaf Bowl Vide-Poche Flower Vase

1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Spuma di Mare Vase by Ercole Barovier for Barovier & Toso, Italy, 1938-1940

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Barovier & Toso Murano Glass Sconces with Wood Frame, Italy c. 1950

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid-Century Modern Sculptural Glass Floor Lamp by Barovier & Toso

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Barovier Toso Murano Gray Gold Flecks Italian Art Glass Decorative Flower Bowl

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Midcentury Murano Barovier & Toso Flowers Flush Light Fixture, Ceiling, 1950s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Art Deco Sconces Designed by Barovier Toso, Murano Glass, Italy, circa 1940

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture