Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

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

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

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.

Style: Mid-Century Modern

Creator: Gaetano Sciolari

Brass 12-Arm Chandelier by Angelo Brotto for Esperiai, Italy, 1960s

Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Brass 12-Arm Chandelier by Angelo Brotto for Esperiai, Italy, 1960s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Large Mid Century Modern Chandelier Model Concorde Design by Gaetano Sciolari

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Chandelier Glass Nickel Brass by Gaetano Sciolari, Italy Mid Century

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Gaetano Sciolari Chandelier Pendant Brass and Chrome Italy 1970s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Sciolari Spider Chrome Chandelier, 1960s

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Chandelier or Sconces in Chrome and Glass by Gaetano Sciolari, Italy, 1970s

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Mid Century Modern 8 Arm Chrome Mottled Murano Glass Chandelier by Sciolari

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Chandelier or Table Lamp Sculpture by Gaetano Sciolari Chrome 9 Light Italy 1970

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Gaetano Sciolari XXL Chandelier with chrome and aluminium fixture, Italy, 1970s

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Mid-Century Italian Chandelier by Sciolari, circa 1970

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Mid Century Italian Modern Chandelier by Sciolari in Gun Metal Chrome Brass

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Gaetano Sciolari Pendant Lamp Chandelier

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Sculpture Italian Design Chandelier Crystal Brass Gold Aldo Marchetti 1970s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Chrome and Glass Chandelier Pendant by Gaetano Sciolari, Italy, 1960s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Sculpture Chandelier Sciolari , glass, metal, Italian design 1970

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Italian Mid Century Modern Brass Chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Mid-Century Modern Italian 8 Drop Light with Chrome Chandelier Gaetano Sciolari

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Clear Gold Glass Tube Chandelier by Sciolari, 1970s

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Gaetano Sciolari Chandelier in Chromo, Glass and Brass Mid-Century Modern

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Hurricane Chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Minimal Sculpture Ceiling Lamp Sciolari Design Italian Design, 1970s

1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Set of Sculptural Ceiling and Wall Light Flush Mount Chandelier by Leola, 1960s

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Steel Crystal Chandeliers, 1970s Italian Design

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Eight-Light Spoke Chandelier by Sciolari

1860s North American Antique Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Gaetano Sciolari for Lightolier

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Bronzed Sciolari Aluminum Minimal Geometric Chandelier Italian Design Gold

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Sculpture Sciolari Chandelier Aluminum Design and Glass, 1970s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1970s Chrome, Brushed Brass and Glass Chandelier by Sciolari

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Italian Large Mid-Century Brass and Crystal Chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari, 70s

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1960 s 9 light Chrome and Glass Chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Ovali Chandelier by Angelo Gaetano Sciolari

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

A Large Gold Plated Murano Glass Tubed Chandelier By Gaetano Sciolari

1960s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Sciolari Gold and Crystal Chandelier

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1970s Chrome, Brushed Brass and Glass Chandelier by Sciolari

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Design Chrome Crystal Chandelier by Italian Designer Angelo Gaetano Sciolari

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Mid Century Sciolari Eight Arm Sixteen Light Pierced Chrome Chandelier

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1970 s Brass, Iron Glass Chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

Modernist Midcentury Gaetano Sciolari Crystal and Chrome Sculptural Chandelier

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants

1960’s Six-Light Gold-Plated Brass and Crystal Glass Chandelier by G. Sciolari

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants