Vintage Space Age furniture captured post–World War II optimism with swooping shapes, bowed lines and experimentation with new materials including plastic and fiberglass.
From the launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite in 1957 to the landing of Apollo 11 astronauts on the moon in 1969, the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States propelled advancements in technology that transformed culture. Space Age design encompassed fashion, architecture, cars, furniture and objects for the home, bringing wonder and hope for the future into everyday life.
Coinciding with Pop art, Space Age style featured bold colors and forms. Eero Aarnio’s Ball chair, which debuted in 1966, used molded fiberglass for a capsule-like space while Verner Panton’s 1959 Panton chair was a single piece of molded plastic for a gravity-defying S shape. Red versions of Olivier Mourgue’s 1964 Djinn chair were futuristic enough to appear on the space station in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Today, Joe Colombo is revered as a master of modern Italian design thanks to the provocative modular furniture pieces he created, such as the Tube chair and the Elda armchair, both of which embody the future-forward spirit of the Space Age.
The Space Age spirit extended to home building too. The futuristic Case Study Houses, which were designed by the likes of Pierre Koenig, Charles and Ray Eames, Richard Neutra and Whitney R. Smith, are considered a high point of modernism and the Southern California lifestyle.
Sometimes the nods to space exploration were more literal, like moon and star motifs or the 1965 Eclisse lamp by Vico Magistretti that saw the mid-century Italian designer integrating a movable inner shade to “eclipse” the light source. Alongside the pioneering moon missions, JVC manufactured the Videosphere portable television reminiscent of the Apollo 11 space helmets.
Although the style faded in the 1970s — with the 1975 joining of the Apollo and Soyuz spacecrafts signaling a new era of cooperation and the global oil crisis impacting the availability of plastics — the era’s innovations influenced designers into the 21st century such as Zaha Hadid and Djivan Schapira.
Find a collection of vintage Space Age seating, tables, lighting and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Leather and steel gaming table, Italy 1970s
Located in modena, Emilia-Romagna
Leather-edged game table with black painted steel body and chrome-plated steel footboard. Placed in the center of the table is a double-sided panel composed of the green carpet and t...
Iron
Table ' 4 People', Year: 1950, Italian
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Table Year: 1950 Country: Italian Wood It is an elegant and sophisticated table. You want to live in the golden years, this is the table that your project needs. We have specializ...
Wood
20th Century Chessboard Table by Michel Durand - 1970s
Located in Linkebeek, BE
Game table - Vintage - Seventies Measures : 68x65cm H:45,5cm - chess board : 65x65cm Material : Chrome - Smoked Glass - Resin "20th Century Plexiglas Chessboard by Michel Durand" ...
Chrome
Italian Round Rustic Game Table
Located in Westwood, NJ
Italian style rustic round game table with molded edge, made of mahogany, acacia and oak parquetry with reversible leather and chess inlaid center, an inlaid Backgammon board well, on an octagonal flared column pedestal base. Includes a wooden chess set...
Wood
Mid Century Leather Top Game Table
Located in Westwood, NJ
A Mid-Century Modern leather top square game table. The gilt-tooled leather top is ready for play, with pivoting hinged drawers on the fr...
Leather, Wood
Late 20th Century Octagonal Game Table in Oak
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Octagonal Game Table in Oak H 30" x D 55" FDV11584 *Wear consistent with age and use.
Oak
Louis XVI Style Travertine Top Dining Table or Game Table
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Elegant French Louis XVI style square dining table or game table featuring an Italian travertine top. The square stone top measures nearly 1 inch thick and is supported by a carved beech base with neoclassical style rosettes on the corners. The table has reeded edges and a lovely cerused or glazed finish that beautifully accents the travertine. The long slender legs are reeded and end with toupie feet. Perfect as a Mah Jong table...
Travertine
Mid-Century Steel Chess or Checkers Game Table, 1970s
By Paul Evans
Located in Miami, FL
Sleek Mid-Century modern chess or checkers game table made completely of steel with varying finished including brushed, polished and anodized black. Table is most probably by Design...
Steel
Early 19th Century Flip-Top Game Table with Inlaid Chessboard
Located in Stahnsdorf, DE
Early 19th Century Flip-Top Game Table with Inlaid Chessboard Refined early 19th-century game table, designed for chess and card games, exemplifying the understated elegance and fin...
Cherry, Maple, Walnut
$7,044
H 34.26 in W 53.15 in D 94.49 in
Dutch Billiard Table with Heating and Accessories, 20th Century
Located in Udenhout, NL
H.D. van der Meijden professionally heated billiard table with accessories. Classic, antique cafe billiards. Made from solid hardwood legs and frame. ...
Wood
19th Century English Regency Flip Top Chessboard Games Table
Located in Forney, TX
A fine quality, exquisitely handcrafted, antique English games / sewing table finished in Regency taste. Born during the third quarter of the 19th century, featuring stunning burl wa...
Leather, Satinwood, Walnut
$3,500
H 29 in W 37 in D 37 in
Chunky Mid Century Modern Oak and Cork Square Dining Table or Game Table
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A stunning and gorgeous square dining or card table circa 1960s. It features a simple modern design with a chunky stained oak frame and a cork top. The top has glass.
Oak, Glass, Cork
Vintage Burlwood Game Table by Hekman, Cabriole Legs, USA, Circa 1970s
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Vintage Burlwood marquetry top game table with cabriole legs by Hekman Furniture Company,
Burl
Dunbar Furniture Mid Century Mahogany Games Table
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A very well made square table in the Chinese manner with carved incurved inset edge, banded top and raised on square legs. Bears the Dunbar Furniture label on verso. Dimensions: 32 ...
Mahogany
$1,200
H 28 in W 30 in D 29.5 in
Early 20th Century Folk Art Hand-Painted Collapsible Game Table / Chess Board
Located in Brooklyn, NY
H.C. Dallmeyer wooden square table hand-painted and converted to a game/chess/checkers table (ca. 1910, USA). Ingenious design with foldable legs that allow the piece to fully collap...
Wood
Murrey Slime Green Fiberglass Pool Table, 1970s USA
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Retro Murrey pool table in a new stunning slime green felt. Came from a single owner who has had it in their home for the past 40 years. Good vintage condition. Wooden base, red plas...
Slate, Chrome
AMF 1970s Slime Green Championship Pool Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Retro AMF pool table in a stunning slime green felt with wood and chrome accents. Space age lines make this pool table a great statement piece and give it amazing character. Wooden p...
Slate, Chrome
1970s Space Age Op Art Dining Table in the style of Verner Panton
Located in Cincinnati, OH
A Space Age dining table with a round laminate top and a bright yellow bulls eye design to the surface sitting on a molded fiberglass and ABS plastic pedestal base in white. Brighten...
Plastic
Plano Table by Giancarlo Piretti for Castelli
Located in Hanover, MA
PRICE DISCOUNTED FROM $2,400 FOR 1STDIBS SATURDAY SALE – ONE WEEK ONLY. NO ADDITIONAL DISCOUNTS, NO HOLDS. ITEM WILL BE RETURNED TO REGULAR PRICING AFTER 7 DAYS A folding dining o...