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

Pair of Sconces by Stilnovo

Mid-Century Modern Furniture

1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Sconces by Stilnovo

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Italian Modernist Three-Fixture Glass, Brass and Metal Floor Lamp by Stilnovo

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Joe Colombo for Stilnovo "Topo" Table Lamp, Italy 1970s

1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Ziggurat floor lamp by Shigeaki Asahara for Stilnovo, 1980s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Suspension Light, 1950s

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Model 3105 "Studio" Table Lamp by Carlo Viligiardi for Stilnovo, 1972

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

White Samurai Floor Lamp by Shigeaki Asahara for Stilnovo, 1970s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

4 Stilnovo Flush Mount Fixtures

1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Blueish Glass Pitcher Signed Still Novo

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Topo table lamp, by Joe Colombo for Stilnovo, Italy 1970s (original edition)

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

rare original Large pair of italian sconces stilnovo 50's brass wood opaline

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

20th Century Italian Stilnovo Crystal Glass Floor Lamp by Gaetano Sciolari

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo ceiling pendants, set of 3

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid-Century Modern 12 lights Brass chandelier by Stilnovo. Italy 1960s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Large White Glass and Brass Stilnovo Wall Lights Sconces, Italy, 1950s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

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

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid-century multicolor opaline murano glass pendant lamp by Stilnovo Italy 1950s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Floor Lamp by Stilnovo

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo Original Multi-Color Sputnik Chandelier Midcentury Italian Design

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

20th Century Stilnovo Floor Lamp with Diffusers in Opal Glass and Base in Marble

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

"Nastro" Table Lamp by Alberto Fraser for Stilnovo, Italy, circa 1980s

1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

White Samurai Floor Lamp by Sigheaki Asahara Voor Stilnovo, 1980s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Round Mid-century Italian Stilnovo Chandelier Brass and White Murano Glass 1950

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Vintage Lampiatta Table or Wall Lamp by De Pas for Stilnovo, Italy 1970s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Vintage Opaline Glass and Chrome-Plated Brass Pendant by Stilnovo, Italy

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

20th Century Italian Frosted Opaline Glass Suspension Chandelier by Stilnovo

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo counter balance pendant lamp Italy 1955

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Ceiling Light by Stilnovo

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Original Stilnovo Seven-Arm Sconce/Ceiling Brass Lamp.Model 1036.Italy.1950

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

20th Century Stilnovo Pendant Lamp in White Opaline Glass and Brass Details, 50s

Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Italian Stilnovo Mid-Century Modern Sconces, Pair

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mod. 2045 Sconces by Stilnovo

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Sconces by Stilnovo

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid-century multicolor opaline murano glass pendant lamp by Stilnovo Italy 1950s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Original Stilnovo Sputnik Six-Arm Brass Chandelier.Model "Satellite".Italy .1950

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Bruno Gatta Wall or Ceiling Lamp Model 232 for Stilnovo, Italy, 1962

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid-Century Modern Table Lamp by Stilnovo, Italy, 1950s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Large Brass Sconces by Stilnovo, Model 2078

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Stilnovo 37" Brass Chandelier in the manner of Gino Sarfatti, Italy 1950s

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture