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: Stilnovo

Mid Century Stilnovo Pendant, Italy 1950's

Mid-Century Modern Furniture

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid Century Stilnovo Pendant, Italy 1950's

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Pair of Rare Pendants, Italy, 1960s

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Wall Mounted Pendant Lamp by Gaetano Sciolari (Model 2061)

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Italian White Glass and Brass Pendant Lamp, 1950s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Bruno Gatta Stilnovo Large Pendant Lamps 1954, Model 288

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Pendant Lamp

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Pendant Model 1104 Italy 1959

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Chandelier Brass and Glass, Italy, 1960

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Ettore Sottsass for Stilnovo, 'Manifesto' Ceiling Lamp, 1970, Short Blue Version

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of 3 Cup Wall Lights by Stiilnovo

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Rare Pair of Sconces by Stilnovo

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Bruno Gatta Lamp Chandelier Opaline Glass Brass, Italy 1950

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

1960s Stilnovo Hexagonal Flush Mount Ceiling Light Model 1183

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo 2055/3 ceiling lamp by Bruno Gatta Italy 1950

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Lucite Bronze Pendant Lamps (5 pieces), Italy Mid-century

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Set of Three Stilnovo Pendants Lanterns by Bruno Gatta, Italy circa 1950

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Elliptical Stilnovo Pendant

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Black & Brass Suspension Chandelier, Textured Glass, Italy, c. 1960’s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo, Massive Pair of Three Bowl Sconces in Brass and Enamel, Italy, 1950s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Pair of Model.2118 Brass and Glass Wall Lamps, Italy 1950s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Italian Mid-Century Modern Design Brass Metal Wall Lights 1960s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Italian Vintage Design Chandelier White Brass from Stilnovo 1960 Mid-Century

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of 1950s Italian Articulated Wall Lights by Stilnovo

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Large Counterweight Fixture by Stilnovo, Italy 1960's

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Large Ufo pendant by Gaetano Scolari for Stilnovo, Italy 1950s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Pendant in Brushed Copper

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo chandelier 1960s three-point chandelier

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

STILNOVO - 60's chandelier - 3 stratus opaline glass - Made in ITALI

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Stilnovo "Sputniks"

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

1950s ceiling lamp, Stilnovo

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

White Midcentury Pendant by Vittorio Introini, Stilnovo, circa 1965

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Two Pendants Brass and Opaline Glass Ceiling Lamp, Italy 1950s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Rare Model No. B 4917 Sconces by Stilnovo

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Satin glass pendant lamp by Stilnovo, 1950s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo 1140 chandelier made in Italy 1955

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stamped Stilnovo Brass Chandelier With Colourful Cups

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Flush Mount ceiling or wall light

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

20th Century Italian Set of Four Aluminum, Brass Wall Sconces by Stilnovo

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Three Stilnovo Sconces Wall Lights Brass Satin Glass Wood Accents, Italy, 1950s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture