Rochester Stamping Works

Industrial floor lamps, bar stools, desks and other industrial-style furnishings have experienced a resurgence in popularity with the rise of interest in minimalist design.

It's a look that celebrates the past even as it suggests vigor, productivity and brawn. The newly chic industrial style of decor repurposes the simple, sturdy furniture of an earlier world of commerce — brushed-metal storage cabinets and display shelves, task lamps and pendant lights with enameled shades, work tables with worn wooden tops and cast-iron bases — and couples them with aesthetic touches emblematic of energy and optimism, from bright upholstery fabrics to flowers.

The rise in prominence of the industrial style has come hand-in-hand with the residential repurposing of former manufacturing and warehouse districts throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. In many loft apartments created in shuttered factories, the architectural envelope has been left intact.

Industrial-style interiors feature elements like raw brick walls, exposed steel beams and oak floors whose history is written in every pit and gouge. Iron and glass transom windows give definition and interest to small kitchen areas anchored by kitchen islands made of marble, steel and brass, while taxidermy or vintage neon signs serve as wall art in living rooms dotted with leather club chairs. Patina is the keynote to a decor in sync with such surroundings. 

On 1stDibs you will find industrial furniture designs that wear their age beautifully — and were built to last.

From cupolas to cookware and fine art to filaments, copper metal has been used in so many ways since prehistoric times. Today, antique, new and vintage copper coffee tables, mirrors, lamps and other furniture and decor can bring a warm metallic flourish to interiors of any kind.

In years spanning 8,700 BC (the time of the first-known copper pendant) until roughly 3,700 BC, it may have been the only metal people knew how to manipulate.

Valuable deposits of copper were first extracted on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus around 4,000 BC — well before Europe’s actual Bronze Age (copper + tin = bronze). Tiny Cyprus is even credited with supplying all of Egypt and the Near East with copper for the production of sophisticated currency, weaponry, jewelry and decorative items.

In the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, master painters such as Leonardo da Vinci, El Greco, Rembrandt and Jan Brueghel created fine works on copper. (Back then, copper-based pigments, too, were all the rage.) By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, decorative items like bas-relief plaques, trays and jewelry produced during the Art Deco, Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau periods espoused copper. These became highly valuable and collectible pieces and remain so today.

Copper’s beauty, malleability, conductivity and versatility make it perhaps the most coveted nonprecious metal in existence. In interiors, polished copper begets an understated luxuriousness, and its reflectivity casts bright, golden and earthy warmth seldom realized in brass or bronze. (Just ask Tom Dixon.)

Outdoors, its most celebrated attribute — the verdigris patina it slowly develops from exposure to oxygen and other elements — isn’t the only hue it takes. Architects often refer to shades of copper as russet, ebony, plum and even chocolate brown. And Frank Lloyd Wright, Renzo Piano and Michael Graves have each used copper in their building projects.

Find antique, new and vintage copper furniture and decorative objects on 1stDibs.

If your chilly winter nights are largely spent warming up by the fireplace, you’re going to need a set of antique or vintage fireplace tools and chimney pots to keep things tidy.

There’s something intrinsically primal yet comforting about having a fire in one’s home. A fire in a fabulous antique fireplace brings warmth, both literal and intangible, to a living room, den or bedroom. On a cold, snowy night, there is nothing quite so satisfying as having a warm cup of mulled wine and watching the flames dance in golden splendor.

Of course, one needs the accompanying accoutrements to keep a fireplace orderly. However, newly minted tools may not match the carefully considered decor and specific furniture style that you had in mind for your space. Fortunately, antique and vintage fireplace tools were so well made that they still work decades later. These pieces also have the added benefit of being quite stylish and elegant in their design so they won’t stand out in a minimalist space.

Andirons keep the logs off the floor of the fireplace so air can better circulate and keep the fire bright. An andiron, importantly, will prevent a burning log from rolling out of a fireplace and keep a fire burning evenly as well as prevent any mess from accumulating. Some andirons are simple iron brackets to elevate the wood, but others are more ornate baskets that introduce a touch of luxury to the fireplace.

Chimney pots are extensions added to the top of a smokestack. They’re completely visible from your home’s exterior, so choose one that you love. We like a tapered terracotta version. A chimney pot will elongate the chimney as well as help draft air to keep a fire alight. It may also prevent smoke from billowing around the room, which is, of course, extremely hazardous to your health. A fire’s smoke will also damage your furniture as well as any adjacent art. Smoke and soot can stain, leaving things to look dreary and dark. Chimney pots were very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Victorian-era chimney pots still make for an attractive addition to contemporary homes.

We can all agree that a fireplace is going to elevate your space. To complete the look, find a collection of antique and vintage fireplace tools and chimney pots today on 1stDibs.