Young Mid Century Modern Dining Set
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Serving Pieces
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Beech
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Contemporary Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Contemporary Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
Late 20th Century American Modern Dressers
Metal
2010s Contemporary Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Pottery, Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic, Stoneware
Vintage 1960s Australian Mid-Century Modern Tableware
Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Ceramic, Stoneware
Vintage 1940s North American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic, Stoneware
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic, Stoneware
Vintage 1940s North American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1970s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
Vintage 1970s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Plastic
Vintage 1950s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Plastic
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Murano Glass
Vintage 1960s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Bamboo, Plastic
Vintage 1960s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Bamboo, Opaline Glass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Paint
Mid-20th Century American Modern Black and White Photography
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
Vintage 1960s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Game Tables
Bronze, Pewter
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Elm
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
Metal
1960s American Modern Black and White Photography
Silver Gelatin
Vintage 1920s Art Deco Pier Mirrors and Console Mirrors
Wood, Lacquer
Vintage 1930s Swedish Art Deco Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
Ceramic
Antique Early 1900s American Arts and Crafts Wall Mirrors
Bronze
18th Century Other Art Style Landscape Paintings
Tempera
2010s Neo-Expressionist Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Neo-Expressionist Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Vintage 1960s Dining Room Chairs
Mahogany, PVC, Upholstery
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Maple
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Walnut
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Upholstery
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Living Room Sets
Metal
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
Teak, Plywood
1960s Modern Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Stools
Iron
Vintage 1970s English Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Opal, Brass
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
Early 2000s Danish Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Walnut
Vintage 1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Vintage 1960s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Bamboo, Plastic
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Young Mid Century Modern Dining Set For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Young Mid Century Modern Dining Set?
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.
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