Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
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.
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary European Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Wood
1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Steel
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Nutwood
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Marble
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Travertine, Stainless Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Glass, Rosewood
1960s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Teak
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Metal, Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Giltwood, Wood, Walnut, Glass, Lacquer
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Teak
1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Brass
1980s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Laminate, Ash
1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Leather
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Rosewood
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Travertine, Brass
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Chrome
1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Metal
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Metal
20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Faux Leather
1960s Brazilian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Marble, Iron
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary German Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Glass, Oak
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Brass, Chrome
1970s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Brass
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Rosewood
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Burl
1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Aluminum
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Chrome, Brass, Steel
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Aluminum
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Hardwood
2010s Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Brass
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Elm
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Rattan
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Bronze
1950s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Brass
1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Metal
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Steel
1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Marble
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Rosewood
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Limestone, Wrought Iron
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Brass, Chrome
1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Aluminum
1650s Italian Antique Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Bamboo, Rattan
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Brass
1960s Brazilian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Wood
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Metal
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Brass
20th Century Belgian Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Stone, Marble
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Walnut
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Marble, Metal, Stainless Steel
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Goatskin, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Metal, Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Wood
1950s English Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
Teak