Mid Century Modern Decorative Plates
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Candlesticks
Metal, Silver
Antique 1890s French Belle Époque Decorative Bowls
Silver Plate
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Silver Plate
Antique 19th Century French Victorian Decorative Boxes
Brass
Late 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-P...
Ceramic
Vintage 1950s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
Vintage 1950s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
Vintage 1950s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Letter Openers
Silver Plate
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Sheffield and Silverplate
Silver Plate
Vintage 1960s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Nickel
Late 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Vases
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-P...
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Gold, Gold Plate, Gold Leaf
Late 20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Silver Plate, Steel, Gold Plate
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Gold Plate, Brass
Vintage 1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Silver Plate
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Candlesticks
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-...
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Candelabras
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Silver Plate
1990s Italian Mid-Century Modern Jars
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1990s Italian Mid-Century Modern Jars
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Vintage 1950s European Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
Ceramic, Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
Ceramic, Glass
20th Century Philippine Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Silver Plate, Bronze
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Blown Glass
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Candlesticks
Silver Plate
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal, Gold Plate
Mid-20th Century Italian Art Deco Picture Frames
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal, Gold Plate
Vintage 1970s German Mid-Century Modern Candlesticks
Metal, Nickel
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Silver Plate
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Clay
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Letter Openers
Gold Plate
Late 20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Candlesticks
Metal
Mid-20th Century French Modern Animal Sculptures
Metal
Late 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-P...
Ceramic
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Candelabras
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
Silver Plate, Steel
20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Desk Sets
Silver Plate
Vintage 1930s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Silver Plate, Metal
Vintage 1950s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Sunburst Mirrors
Copper
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Vases
Silver Plate
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Copper, Enamel
Vintage 1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Pitchers
Silver Plate, Brass, Copper
Vintage 1940s French Art Deco Decorative Boxes
Metal, Silver, Silver Plate
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Gold Plate, Brass, Metal
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Mid Century Modern Decorative Plates For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Mid Century Modern Decorative Plates?
A Close Look at Mid-century Modern Furniture
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
- Emerged during the mid-20th century
- Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
- A heyday of innovation in postwar America
- Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
- A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
- Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
- Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
- Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
- Promotion of functionality
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
- Charles and Ray Eames
- Eero Saarinen
- Milo Baughman
- Florence Knoll
- Harry Bertoia
- Isamu Noguchi
- George Nelson
- Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
- Eames lounge chair
- Nelson daybed
- Florence Knoll sofa
- Egg chair
- Womb chair
- Noguchi coffee table
- Barcelona chair
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.
- 1stDibs ExpertSeptember 25, 2019
Mid-century home decor is characterized by clean lines, geometric shapes and materials like wood and tweed.
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