Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern American 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.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s 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, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used 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 influence 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.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century 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, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Composition
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Mirror, Lucite
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Travertine
1970s North American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Chrome
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Marble, Carrara Marble
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Travertine
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Nickel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Travertine, Iron
1970s Unknown Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Brass
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Steel
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Wood
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Wood, Burl
1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Metal
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Brass, Pewter
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Stone, Travertine, Marble
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Wood, Burl
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Burl
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Laminate
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Walnut
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Carrara Marble
Late 20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Mirror
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Brass
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Aluminum
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Walnut, Burl
Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Belgian Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Bronze
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Marble, Brass
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Rosewood
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Oak
20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Travertine
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Brass
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Burl
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Carrara Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Travertine
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Travertine
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Fiberglass
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Coral
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Marble
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Rattan
20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Wood
20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Brass
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Marble
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Chrome
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Chrome
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Wood
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Bamboo
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Rosewood
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Leather, Bamboo, Glass