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Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

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

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

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.

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Style: Mid-Century Modern
Period: 1950s
Set of Sixteen Museum Display Holders Made of Plexiglass
Located in Doornspijk, NL
These 16 beautifully shaped display holders were used in the anatomical department of Het Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden (the Museum of Cultural Anthropol...
Category

1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Copper

Italian Radiator Cover Midcentury in Perforated Iron Parts in Pure Gold, 1950s
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Italian radiator cover midcentury in perforated iron parts in pure gold 1950s. Upper surface in mirror, truly original pieces of great elegance.
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Crystal, Metal, Gold Plate

1950's Carvanite Set of Twelve Unused Candy Green and Ivory Bakelite Handles
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Mid-Century Green & Ivory Bakelite Pull Knobs Set of Twelve by Carvanite, these Candle Green Bakelite drawer pull with ivory trim, pulls/nobs perfect for living up a mid-century kitc...
Category

1950s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Bakelite

1950's Unused Butterscotch Orange & Double Lined Red Bakelite Drawer Pulls
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Mid-Century by Carvanite, these unused Butterscotch Orange & Double Lined Red Bakelite Bridge Drawer Pulls nobs perfect for living up a mid-century kitchen or cabinet. Bakelite hard...
Category

1950s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Bakelite

Mid Century Unused Burnt Orange & Double Lined Ivory Bakelite Drawer Pulls
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Mid-Century Orange & Ivory Bakelite Pull Knobs Set of Six, By Carvanite, these Burnt Orange Bakelite drawer pull nobs are perfect for living up a mid-century kitchen or cabinet. Bak...
Category

1950s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Bakelite

San Polo Ceramic Hanger Plate by Otello Pink from the 1950s
Located in Milano, MI
Clothes hanger plate made by Otello Rosa for Ceramica di San Polo Venezia in the 1950s Ø cm 26 Ø cm 8 h cm 22 Ceramica San Polo was a renowned Italian ceramic workshop active in Ve...
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Ceramic

William Watting for Fristho Wall Unit, the Netherlands 1950's
Located in Amsterdam, NL
High quality wooden wall unit with brass hooks. Three cabinets and seven shelves. 7 x shelves: x cm 1x cabinet glass doors: cm (LxDxH) 1 x des...
Category

1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Brass

Small Bamboo and Brass Flowers wall shelf vienna around 1950s
Located in Wien, AT
Bamboo and Brass Flowers wall shelf vienna around 1950s Original condition
Category

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Brass

2 Wall consoles made of golden lacquered cast iron with glass shelf, Italy 1950s
Located in Wolfurt, AT
Set of 2 small Wall consoles made of golden lacquered cast iron with glass shelf, Italy 1950s
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Iron

Clef de Sol étagère by Mathieu Matégot
Located in Henley-on Thames, Oxfordshire
Clef de Sol bookshelf Produced by Ateliers Matégot France, c.1955 White painted metal (later painted) documentation : - MONDINEU, Mathieu Mategot, éd. Jousse Ets, Paris, 2003, p.229...
Category

1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Metal, Steel

documented wall shelf by Raoul Guys
Located in Henley-on Thames, Oxfordshire
Yellow painted steel and rattan wall shelf designed by Raoul Guys in exceptional original condition Manufactured by Airborne France circa 1950 Similar example can be found in  Mo...
Category

1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Steel

Wall Shelf by Ilmari Lappalainen for Asko
Located in Lambertville, NJ
lmari Lappalainen wall mounted birch shelf, early 50's made by ASKO Finland.
Category

1950s Finnish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Birch

Wall-Mounted Bar Cabinet Designed by Eugenio Escudero
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Amazing design in mahogany wood and brass accents, circa 1950.
Category

1950s Mexican Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Wood

Mathieu Matégot Red Metal Wall Shelve 1950s
Located in Den Haag, NL
Designed by Mathieu Matégot. Red metal perforated shelve. Manufactured by Artimeta The Netherlands in the 1950's
Category

1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Metal

Mid-century Wall Wooden Shelf, 1950's.
Located in Praha, CZ
Made in Czechoslovakia Made of Wood The wood was washed and a hard wax oil was applied With aged patina Good Original Condition
Category

1950s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Wood

Paul McCobb Wall-Mounted Floating Console
Located in Culver City, CA
Introducing an extraordinary mid-century wall-mounted floating three-tier console, a sought-after piece designed by the esteemed Paul McCobb for Bryce Originals in the 1950s. With it...
Category

1950s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Steel, Cut Steel

Wall Unit in Elmwood by Poul Cadovius for Royal System, Denmark, 1950s
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Black wooden risers and elmwood veneer book shelves and cabinet with black metal hooks. This wall unit consist of: 2 x shelf 80 x 20 cm 1 x shelf 80 ...
Category

1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Metal

Large 1950s Italian Mid Century Teak Maple Freestanding Shelving System 18 Piece
Located in Sherborne, Dorset
Recently imported from Italy, this is a good example of post war Italian Avant Garde design. Measuring an impressive 3-metres from floor to ceiling – a common height in Italian apartments – with opportunity to arrange the shelves to suit. This impressive freestanding storage...
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Brass

Vintage Italian Wall Unit by Dassi, 1950s Fully Restored
Located in Rome, IT
Wall Unit by Dassi, Italy, 1950s This sculptural bookcase with a modern mid-century design in a typical Italian style also similar to that of Osvaldo Borsani and Ico Parisi is a ...
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Wood

Florence Knoll Sideboard Wall Bar Unit Teak 1954 Knoll International Mid Century
Located in Munster, NRW
Wall mounted sideboard unit by Florence Knoll, made by Knoll International, Stuttgart in 1954. Rare opportunity to acquire an original Knoll Internat...
Category

1950s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Teak

Gio Ponti style, fitted wall
Located in Milano, Lombardia
An incredibly beautiful design of an equipped wall. Multifunctional panels that used to equip an entire wall in the 50s are popular on the vintage market...
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Wood

Italian Modern Sidebar by Vittorio Dassi
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This vintage Italian wall unit features stunning Mid-Century design and offers a modular cabinet display perfect for storage in any modern setting. Rich lacquered wood finish is comp...
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Wood

Vintage Fontana Arte Style Glass and Brass Coat or Hat Rack
Located in East Hampton, NY
This is the largest mirrored coat rack in the style of Fontana Arte with glass and brass. Features 4 original glass discs to hang coats, the rack above for hats and 3 brass hooks for...
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Brass

Italian Modern Wall Unit With Bar
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This gorgeous modular bar unit offers a beautiful mix of rosewood and colored paneling, with unique metal accents, and fantastic overhead lighting. Truly i...
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Wood

Italian Wall Shelves System
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Tall midcentury metal shelves, adjustable shelving position metal base with Formica veneer. The shelves can be disassemble as shown on the ph...
Category

1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Metal, Brass

Mid-Century Modern Bookshelf in Hardwood, Brass & Steel Geraldo de Barros Brazil
Located in New York, NY
The MF 710 bookshelf by Geraldo de Barros is stunning & probably the most complete of the systems created by him, despite having only 3 basic components: columns, boxes, and shelves....
Category

1950s South American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Brass, Iron

Cees Braakman Japanese Series Wall Mount Vanity in Teak and Cream
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Cees Braakman Japanese Series wall mount vanity with teak top and cream drawer. In original condition with some wear, consistent with age and use.
Category

1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Teak

1950s Monumental Desk Dry Bar Wall Cabinet System Eugenio Escudero Mexico
Located in Chula Vista, CA
1950s Eugenio Escudero extravagant custom piece desk dry bar wall unit system. Fabulous piece entertainment receiving desk social mingle center. Unmarked attribution Eugenio Escuder...
Category

1950s Mexican Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Bronze

Pair of James Mont Wall Brackets
Located in Hanover, MA
Pair of stylized Asian modernist triangular wall mounted brackets in black lacquer and gold leaf by James Mont Designs. Demilune display ledge is ...
Category

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Wood, Lacquer

Edward Wormley Long John Shelf for Dunbar
Located in Chicago, IL
Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Long John Shelf can be used as shelf or console. Walnut wood with great sapwood striped details.
Category

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Walnut

Italian Brass and Glass Hanging Shelf Osvaldo Borsani Style
Located in New York, NY
Italian brass and glass hanging shelf style of Osvaldo Borsani.
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Brass

String Coat Rack Plus Original Hooks Bauhaus Style by K. Fichtel Erlau Germany
Located in Vienna, AT
String Coat rack with hooks designed by Karl Fichtel for Drahtwerke Erlau, Germany around 1955. Its quite reduced visual character shows strong re...
Category

1950s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Brass, Wire

Italian Wall Console Attr. to Melchiorre Bega in Walnut and Blue Fabric
Located in Milano, IT
Large Italian console or wall shelf from the 1950s. The console is attributed to the great designer Melchiorre Bega because of its shape and line...
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Fabric, Walnut

S. Pinna Wooden Wall Piece Italian Mid Century
Located in Antwerp, BE
S. Pinna; Wooden; Wall Piece; Art Piece; Italian; Mid Century; Craftmanship Hand-crafted wooden wall piece. The carefully crafted details create depth and hold a historical value.  
Category

1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Glass, Wood

Wall-Mounted Bar Cabinet Designed by Eugenio Escudero
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Amazing design in mahogany wood and brass accents, circa 1950.
Category

1950s Mexican Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Mahogany

Carl Auböck Coat Rack Wardrobe, Wood Patinated Blackened Brass Hooks, 1950s
Located in Hausmannstätten, AT
A coat check by Carl Auböck, Vienna, Austria, manufactured in midcentury, circa 1950. It consists of a refurbished wooden frame and six polished brass hooks with lovely patina. Five ...
Category

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Brass

Carl Auböck Coatrack Wardrobe, Beechwood Patinated Brass Bronze Hooks, 1950s
Located in Hausmannstätten, AT
A coat rack by Carl Auböck, Vienna, Austria, manufactured in midcentury, circa 1950. It is made of a beechwood frame in an aged and very warm tone. There are six patinated brass hooks (similar to bronze) which can be positioned randomly on the rows. This wardrobe is in very good original condition with only little wear. About Carl Auböck II 25 August 1900, Vienna (Austria)-17 July 1957, Vienna (Austria) Carl Auböck was an Austrian painter and designer of the Classic modern movement. His best-known designs include the Baumtisch (eng. "tree table") and the Umkehrlampe (eng. "reversible lamp"). Auböck began his apprenticeship as a bronze worker and chaser in his father's workshop. From 1917-1919, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. After this, he followed his teacher Johannes Itten to the Bauhaus in Weitmar and became friends with the director, Walter Gropius. Little over a year later, he left in order to take over his father’s workshop in Vienna and raise a family. Here, through his circle of friends and acquaintances, he became convinced of the ideas of Adolf Loos and developed into an opponent of the Viennese workshops. Alongside his Viennese bronze and Art Deco design work for the domestic and American markets, he began to produce paintings and drawings. The styles he developed in the early 1940s for everyday objects achieved cult status after the Second World War. In May 1945, he served a six-month prison sentence in the Vienna District Court I due to his membership in the NSDAP. At the end of the 1940s, he worked with his son Carl in the workshop. In 1954, he was awarded a total of four gold medals at the Triennale in Milan. In 2010, Auböck’s works were placed under protection by the Austrian Federal Monuments Office (BDA). Hundreds of original designs were produced during his long creative career but his Baumtisch and Umkehrlampe are outstanding examples. Carl Auböck / Carl Aubock...
Category

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Brass

Set of 3 Rare 'Delft' Shelves by Constant Nieuwenhuijs for 't Spectrum, 1957
Located in Steenwijk, NL
This set of 3 shelves, called 'delft ', is a design by Constant Nieuwenhuijs. Nieuwenhuijs was a member of the CoBrA movement. He is known as a F...
Category

1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Metal

Bert England for Johnson Furniture Forward Trend Wall Mounted Cabinet
Located in St. Louis, MO
Bert England for Johnson furniture wall-mounted cabinet, leather covered doors with brass stud hardware.
Category

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Brass

Wall Mounted Shelf by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
Located in Sagaponack, NY
An Edward Wormley designed shelf in solid walnut supported by two (2) laminated mahogany brackets in the original black lacquer finish. Manufactured by Dunbar in the 1960s. Shelf is ...
Category

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Walnut

Jacques Adnet Oak and Leather Wall Shelf, circa 1950
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Jacques Adnet oak and leather wall shelf, circa 1950.
Category

1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Brass

Important Benjamin Baldwin Burl Wood Shelf or Wall Console
Located in Chicago, IL
Benjamin Baldwin custom wall-mounted console in burled elm, from the C.F. Murphy Jr. residence, Chicago. Hidden bracket for Minimalist look secures to wall. Woodwork Corporation of A...
Category

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Burl

Carl Auböck Wardrobe Coat Rack Beechwood Patinated Brass Bronze Hooks, 1950s
Located in Hausmannstätten, AT
A wardrobe by Carl Auböck, Vienna, Austria, manufactured in midcentury, circa 1950. It is made of a beech wood frame in an aged and very warm tone. There are six patinated brass hook...
Category

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Brass

Italian Mid-Century Pair of Wall Coat Racks
By Jeam
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pair of 1950s wall coat racks by Jeam-Verona. Formica in vinyl upholstery with the traditional painting of Verona. it can be sold as one for $1100. USA continental in home delivery $500
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Iron

Urio Three-Section Bookcase by Ico Parisi for MIM, Roma
Located in East Hampton, NY
Parisi revisited a project done in 1946 for Arte Casa Cantù, updating materials and production technology for Industrial production required in the late 1950s. The bookcase is compr...
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Metal, Aluminum

Wardrobe, Austria 1950
Located in Wien, AT
Wardrobe, Austria, 1950 original condition
Category

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Brass, Iron, Nickel

Pilastro White Perforated Wall Mount Metal Book Shelf
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Mid-Century, Mathieu Mategot inspired, white perforated industrial wall mount shelf with contrasting black wire frame by Pilastro. Dutch designed, designer was most likely Floris Die...
Category

1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Metal

Modular Bookcase in Cherry Midcentury Italian Design 1950s Shelves Drawers Dassi
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Modular bookcase in Cherry midcentury Italian Design 1950s shelves drawers Dassi.
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Cherry

Rosewood Cado System Wall Unit
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Highly versatile and functional Cado System wall unit in Brazilian rosewood by Danish designer Poul Cadovius. Wall unit can be customized with va...
Category

1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Rosewood

Mid-Century Three-Tiered Bookcase or Display Unit in Solid Oak and Iron
Located in Miami, FL
Solid oak and iron on this 1950s McCobb style bookshelf or freestanding display unit. Excellent condition. The iron has a beautiful patina and would great in any midcentury or conte...
Category

1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Iron

Mid-century Modern shelves and wall cabinets for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Mid-Century Modern shelves and wall cabinets for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage shelves and wall cabinets created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include wall decorations, case pieces and storage cabinets, more furniture and collectibles and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Mid-Century Modern shelves and wall cabinets made in a specific country, there are Europe, North America, and United States pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original shelves and wall cabinets, popular names associated with this style include Joel Escalona, Poul Cadovius, Paul Evans, and Dorothee Maurer-Becker. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for shelves and wall cabinets differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $64 and tops out at $60,000 while the average work can sell for $3,448.

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