Paul McCobb for Lane Delineator Walnut Caned Side / End Table
Located in Southampton, NJ
Paul McCobb for Lane Altavista, side or end table featuring striking oiled walnut wood grains, single dovetailed drawer with a polished chrome pull and original caned shelf.
Chrome
Newly Refinished - Pair of B.P John “Correlaire” Bookcase Night Stands
Located in Los Angeles, CA
😁 Materials: Walnut, Chrome Pulls & Sabots This pair of Mid-Century Modern walnut nightstands was designed by Randolph Mohlhenrich for B.P.
Chrome
K12 Man's Chest by John Van Koert for Drexel 'Profile' Collection
By John Van Koert, Drexel
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Mid-century modern K12 Man’s Chest designed by John Van Koert for Drexel’s iconic “Profile” collection, circa 1950s. Crafted in richly grained walnut with sculptural, jewelry-inspire...
Chrome
Steel Frame Dresser By George Nelson For Herman Miller / Classic Modernist
By Herman Miller, George Nelson
Located in Buffalo, NY
three yellow lacquered wooden drawers with a natural finish on the interior.olive green sides.. hardware / pulls ,chrome-plated. The drawer height is 7.25".
Metal, Chrome
Stunning Tommi Parzinger Studded Handcuff Credenza Sideboard
By Parzinger Originals
Located in Cincinnati, OH
A luxurious chrome studded lemon-yellow credenza sideboard with unique heavy chromed handcuff door pulls. This exceptional piece has four doors, the interior has to one side an upper...
Metal, Chrome
$1,516Sale Price / set|20% Off
Vintage MCM Nightstands by American Of Martinsville
By American of Martinsville
Located in Lake Worth, FL
Offering One Of Our Recent Palm Beach Estate Fine Furniture Acquisitions Of A Pair of Vintage Mid Century Modern Nightstands by American Of Martinsville Featuring solid chrome drawer...
Chrome
Art Deco Burl Walnut Cloud Shaped Writing Desk Bureau, England , circa 1930
Located in Devon, England
Originating from England this is a fantastic 1930s Art Deco writing bureau of small proportions, a really truly superb piece of furniture. Veneered in a lovely figured walnut 'Flame ...
Chrome
Brazilian Modern Pair of Sergio Rodrigues “Yara” Jacarandá Side Tables, Brazil
By Sergio Rodrigues
Located in New York, NY
A refined example of Sergio Rodrigues’ architectural restraint, the “Yara” side tables distill structure, proportion, and material integrity into a compact yet powerful form. Designe...
Chrome
Peter Lovig Nielsen 'Cubus' Rolling Coffee Table in Brazilian Rosewood, Denmark
By Peter Løvig Nielsen
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Made in Denmark in the 1960s, this coffee table was designed by Danish modernist Peter Lovig Nielsen, best known today for his innovative boomerand desk, minimalist credenzas, and fl...
Chrome
Rare Paul McCobb 2pc. Bar Cabinet by H. Saks & Sons Connoisseur Collection
By Paul McCobb
Located in Cincinnati, OH
A unique and stunning walnut 2 piece bar cabinet with the top having a pull down door that is also a drink mixing and serving area with an aluminum surface and a upper built in light...
Aluminum, Chrome
Guido Faleschini for Mariani Leather and Suede Wrapped Marble Topped Cabinets
By i4 Mariani, Guido Faleschini
Located in Culver City, CA
Designed by Guido Faleschini for Mariani in the late 60's, the front of these cabinets is wrapped in a chocolate leather, with chrome drawer and door pulls, with shiny chrome accents...
Marble, Chrome
$21,500 / set
Pair of Art-Deco Chests
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Having perfect symmetry and scale architecturally inspired by mid-century Art-Deco skyscrapers. It's incredibly rare to find a matching pair like these!
Chrome
Vintage MCM to Modern Rosewood Buffet Credenza Lucite Legs Attr Bernhardt Flair
By Flair, Bernhardt, Milo Baughman
Located in Topeka, KS
Fabulous vintage Mid-Century Modern to modern Rosewood buffet or credenza with Lucite legs & chrome accents attributed to Bernhardt Flair.
Metal, Chrome
$1,600Sale Price|50% Off
George Nelson Desk for Herman Miller
By Herman Miller, George Nelson
Located in San Mateo, CA
Double pedestal desk by Herman Miller. This desk was probably a custom order. There are three wide drawers and three small drawers. The top small drawer has a sliding pencil tray. Th...
Chrome
Custom Lacquer Barbara Barry Side Table
By Barbara Barry
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A very fine Table made by Baker Furniture and designed by the iconic American designer Barbara Barry. The single drawer case surmounting scrolled X supports with a stretcher. Meticul...
Wood
Post-Modern 1980s Lacquered White Nightstands by Roger Rougier
By Milo Baughman, Roger Rougier, Raymond Loewy
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Post Modern two drawer white gloss lacquer nightstands, circa 1980 by Roger Rougier. Features a timeless space age design with white lacquer, black rubber accents and two ge...
Lacquer
Edward Wormley for Dunbar Rare Dresser, Model 5530, 1955
By Dunbar Furniture, Edward Wormley
Located in Chicago, IL
Edward Wormley for Dunbar Rare Dresser, Model 5530, 1955 Flush-paneled bleached cherry case over solid mahogany, set on chrome-plated brass tapered legs. Eight-drawer long case with ...
Metal
Osvaldo Borsani T96 Executive Desk for Tecno, Italy, 1956
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Chiavari, Liguria
The T96 is an executive desk that organises its architecture around two chromed pylons and a boomerang-shaped top, pushed out at each end into obtuse angles that open the desk toward...
Aluminum
Cees Braakman for Pastoe "Made to Measure" Series Executive Desk
By Cees Braakman, Pastoe
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This desk features a black enameled metal riser, brushed steel legs, double stacked drawers with signature curved birch interior and chrome drawer pulls and finished back. Good origi...
Steel
Florence Knoll Style Credenza with Matching File Cabinet by by Giacomo Buzzitta
By Stow Davis
Located in Dallas, TX
Beautiful credenza with matching file cabinet designed by Giacomo Buzzittan for Stow Davis. The matching set is constructed of Carrara marble, black lacquer with chromed steel legs a...
Marble, Steel
Restored Expansive Desk in Jacaranda, Jean Gillon, Italma Wood Art, Brazil, 1960
By Jean Gillon
Located in Deland, FL
Featuring clean, modernist lines and dual pedestals, the desk includes a left side with a pull-out shelf and three drawers, and a right side with one pull-out shelf and a single file...
Jacaranda
Art Deco Figured Wood Sideboard & Twin-Mirror Cocktail Cabinet, Circa 1930's
Located in Beirut, LB
An exceptional and rare example of "High Deco" furniture, this substantial sideboard (c. 1930) was crafted during the height of the Streamline Moderne movement, the piece features sp...
Mirror, Wood
Early Florence Knoll Credenza in Rosewood with Calacatta Gold Marble Top
By Knoll, Florence Knoll
Located in St. Louis, MO
Florence Knoll credenza in rosewood, drawer fronts are book matched with original beautiful Gold Calacatta marble top. The 10 drawer Rosewood cabinet has been restored, chrome pulls ...
Metal
Pierre Cardin Pair of Nightstands
By Pierre Cardin
Located in Highland, IN
Pierre Cardin's classic aesthetic is on full display with this beautiful pair of nightstands made for the French designer in the US by Dillingham. The white cases have linear graphi...
Metal
$5,196Sale Price|20% Off
Large Raymond Loewy Inspired Yellow Chapter One Gentlemans Chest Armoire
By Ettore Sottsass, Raymond Loewy, Broyhill
Located in Chattanooga, TN
This model is nearly impossible to find. Moreover, yellow is the most sought after option. Combined with the fact that we've restored this piece to outstanding condition, we're cer...
Plastic, Hardwood
Chest of 60 Drawers designed by Philippe Neerman by De Coene and Knoll, 1958
By Philippe Neerman, De Coene Frères, Knoll
Located in Antwerp, BE
This storage cabinet features 60 drawers and a pull-out worktop in the center of the unit, hand-crafted from solid wood with walnut fronts and leather handles and a stainless steel b...
Stainless Steel
$2,350
Eucalyptus Trees, Sunset Coastal Landscape Watercolor by Kipp Stewart
Located in Soquel, CA
Drexel soon unveiled Stewart and McDougall’s Declaration line, which was constructed entirely of natural walnut and featured the choice of white porcelain or brass drawer pulls and c...
Paper, Acrylic
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 celebrated 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.
Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. 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.