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Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

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

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 legendary 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.

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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Style: Mid-Century Modern
Period: 19th Century
20th Mid-Century Spanish Buffet Secretaire, Escritoire Cabinet Oak
Located in Labrit, Landes
Vintage buffet escritoire secretary cabinet, made circa 1960 in Spain. Oak, wrough iron, brass and moleskine. Desk very convenient to store and close in a room with several functions...
Category

Mid-19th Century Spanish Antique Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Wrought Iron

Oval Mahogany Pedestal Cabinet With Carvings From The 1820's
Located in Lejre, DK
Oval pedestal cabinet decorated with mahogany carvings from around the 1820s. Measurements in cm: H:143 W:71 D:44
Category

1820s Danish Antique Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Mahogany

19th Century French Rustic Buffet
Located in Wiesbaden, DE
Rustic Armoire in solid oak, France, 18th century. This old buffet was unearthed in a farm in the Vosges, it is an authentic piece of rustic furniture. Handcrafted in the 1800s, made from raw wooden...
Category

19th Century French Antique Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Oak

Chinese Antique Colonial Showcase in Fine Wood
Located in Milano, IT
Gorgeous antique showcase of fine French manufacture, created for English colonists, belonging to the 1800s. This stunning display case is made entirely of a very fine dark wood, fabulously crafted and embellished. There are 4 feet to support the structure, S-shaped in fine wood, black in color, very durable. The feet are decorated with simply fantastic wooden spheres. Above we see a rectangular frame decorated like a frieze, with various squiggles and wooden spheres that go to create bunches of grapes, which give a really beautiful and scenic effect. Going up we see two window opening doors, very beautiful, with spherical wooden handles. The decorations are located in the center of the rectangle of the sash: the subject is a flowering tree branch with a sweet little bird perched on it, supreme nature prevails. Going up further rises the showcase proper, again framed by the wood used for the base. There is a central handle at the left side, which helps to open the one window sash...
Category

Early 19th Century Chinese Antique Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Glass, Wood

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Antique Louis XV Style Vernis Martin China Display Cabinet/Vitrine, circa 1900
Located in Portland, OR
Antique Louis XV style Vernis Martin China display cabinet/Vitrine, circa 1900. The cabinet having a pierced brass gallery to the top and a brass frieze below with hanging floral gar...
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Early 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

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Walnut

19th Century French Faux Bamboo Armoire or Wardrobe
Located in Winter Park, FL
A 19th century French faux bamboo armoire, or wardrobe, made of pitch pine with solid beechwood faux bamboo details. Beveled m...
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19th Century French Antique Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

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Mirror, Pine, Beech

Ormolu and Boulle Ebonised Wood Antique Vitrine Cabinet
Located in London, GB
With panels of inlaid brass, the central door depicting a scene with cherubs playing amidst arabesque scrolls with phoenix and other exotic birds, the flanking glazed doors separated...
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19th Century English Antique Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

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Brass, Bronze

Display Cabinet-Glass, Brass & Mahogany by The Joslin Showcase Company of Boston
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Large mahogany display cabinet made by the Joslin Showcase Company of Boston, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1893. The cabinet is made it two pieces. The upper part has three glass shelves plus the bottom wooden shelf. The base has six working drawers and four sliding doors with fielded panels. The two end drawers are false and don't open. The original nickel shelf...
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Early 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

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Nickel, Brass

19th Century Belgian Bleached Oak Armoire
Located in High Point, NC
This Belgian armoire, crafted circa 1850, boasts a noble pale oak finish that enhances its stately presence. Tall and ample, the chest provides a pleth...
Category

19th Century Belgian Antique Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Oak

19th Century Belgian Bleached Oak Armoire
19th Century Belgian Bleached Oak Armoire
H 94.9 in W 98.8 in D 20.9 in
DREXEL Velero Mid 20th Century Spanish Style Slate Top Console Cabinet
Located in Charlotte, NC
A Spanish style console cabinet by Drexel, from their Velero Collection. Pecan with a distressed finish, slate top and brass hardware. Features a...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

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Slate, Brass

Pair of Corner Vitrines French Midcentury Yew Wood Showcase Cabinets
Located in Labrit, Landes
Pair of yew wood showcase cabinets corner vitrines French midcentury, circa 1960 Measure of the fassade: 25.6 in. (65 cm) Good condition with some mar...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Glass, Wood

French Empire Style "Somno" Mahogany Pedestal Bedside Cabinet, 1870
Located in Philadelphia, PA
An empire style, cylinder shaped "somno" mahogany pedestal bedside cabinet with original marble top and closed door offering an interior storage space on three claw feet legs. Beau...
Category

1870s French Antique Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Marble

Pair of 20th Century French Provencal Bleached Oak Buffets Cabinets
Located in Wiesbaden, DE
A pair of two door provencal cabinets from France, circa 1940. Representing the casual yet refined aesthetic of the French countryside, patinated, enhancing the natural textured fig...
Category

1940s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Oak

Renato Zevi Brass and Chrome Italian Showcase Vitrine with Glass Doors, 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Amazing midcentury smoked glass doors with chrome finishes and smoked glass shelves. This fantastic piece was designed by Renato Zevi in Italy during the 1970s. This item is extre...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Brass, Chrome

Danish Art Deco Pedestal Cabinet in Ebonized Mahogany
Located in Kastrup, DK
Danish art deco pedestal cabinet in ebonized mahogany. Offers a convex front with a single door that opens to reveal five shelves. Made in high quality by carpenter master Otto Meyer...
Category

Early 20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Mahogany

Pair of Burl Wood, Brass and Glass Showcase Curio Cabinets
Located in Dallas, TX
Pair of china vitrine cabinets by Tomlinson are an excellent example of their timeless quality and design. This rectangular top cabinet features two doors with glass panels and brass...
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20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Brass

Previously Available Items
Mid-Century French Cabinet with Aluminium and Glass Doors, France 1950s
Located in Hønefoss, 30
A beautiful French Mid-Century buffet in Oak with metal feet, aluminium and glass doors with drawers. Anonymous, France 1950s.
Category

Mid-19th Century French Antique Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Aluminum

19th century oak sideboard
Located in København K, DK
Low Hans Jørgen Wegner sideboard with oak veneer front with two solid sliding doors with woven cane panels, enclosing shelves and trays, solid oak legs with dark wood leg ends. Produ...
Category

Late 19th Century Danish Antique Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Oak

19th century oak sideboard
19th century oak sideboard
H 30.32 in W 78.75 in D 19.3 in
1960s Danish Vintage Teak Bar Cart / Drinks Trolley
Located in London, GB
A stylish and rare vintage Danish drinks cart in teak, this dates from the 1960s. It is of super quality, and is in great condition for its age. The interior contains shelves and a s...
Category

Mid-19th Century Danish Antique Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Teak

Ernst Schwadron Cerused Triple Cabinet
Located in Hanover, MA
A truly unique three piece storage sideboard consisting of three cerused double door cabinets set on a single trapezoidal plinth base by Viennese architect and designer, Ernst Schwad...
Category

1840s American Antique Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Oak

Small Mid-Century Modern Lockable Walnut Cabinet or Mini-Bar or Dry Bar
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An adorable yet highly functional cabinet that can be locked to house your valuable or confidential items. This Mid-Century Modern cabinet has a beautiful walnut grain and inside has...
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Mid-19th Century Danish Antique Mid-Century Modern Cabinets

Materials

Walnut

Mid-century Modern cabinets for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Mid-Century Modern cabinets for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage cabinets created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include case pieces and storage cabinets, more furniture and collectibles, tables and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Mid-Century Modern cabinets made in a specific country, there are Europe, North America, and United States pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original cabinets, popular names associated with this style include Lawson-Fenning, Joe Colombo, Paul McCobb, and Edward Wormley. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for cabinets differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $125 and tops out at $228,000 while the average work can sell for $4,501.

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