Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
Small Laguna Oak Wood Eye Mirror by Morica Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Small Laguna Oak Wood Eye Mirrors by Morica Design Dimensions: D 4 x W 73 x H 48 cm Materials: Mirror, Laguna oak. Available in Canaletto Walnut, Laguna Oak, or Oak wood. Please con...
Mirror, Wood
Medium Laguna Oak Wood Eye Mirror by Morica Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Medium Laguna Oak Wood Eye Mirrors by Morica Design Dimensions: D 4 x W 104 x H 68 cm Materials: Mirror, Laguna oak. Available in Canaletto Walnut, Laguna Oak, or Oak wood. Please c...
Mirror, Wood
$1,773 / item
Itinera Eclipsis II 80 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project
Located in Geneve, CH
Itinera Eclipsis II 80 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project Dimensions: D 3/5 x Ø 80 cm. Materials: Black powder painted iron, Black Marquinia marble, brushed brass, mirror, and wood. Avai...
Marble, Brass
Itinera Res Lunare IV 120 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project
Located in Geneve, CH
Itinera Res Lunare IV 120 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project Dimensions: D 3/5 x Ø 120 cm. Materials: Black powder painted iron, corten steel, mirror, and wood. Available in different fi...
Iron, Steel
$7,700 / item
Sun Wall Mirror by Ruda Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Sun Wall Mirror by Ruda Studio Dimensions: Ø 100 x H 100 cm. Materials: MDF, painted rye straw, brass and mirror. Weight: 10 kg. Dimensions are customizable. Please contact us. Ou...
Brass, Other
Jeu Des Right Eye Timber Hardwood Wall Mirror by Marco Calhau
Located in Geneve, CH
Jeu Des Right Eye Timber Hardwood Wall Mirror by Marco Calhau Dimensions: D 20 x W 30 x H 70 cm. Materials: Timber hardwood, and mirror. All pieces are handmade and under order at o...
Hardwood
Vaca Colgada Wall Mirror in Leather & Metal Frame by Oscar Maschera
Located in Geneve, CH
Vaca Colgada Wall Mirror in Leather & Metal Frame by Oscar Maschera Dimensions: Ø 100 x H 130 cm. Metal frame: D 15 x W 90 x H 120 cm. Materials: Leather, metal, and mirror. Our...
Metal
$910 / item
Bellatrix Mirror
Located in Geneve, CH
Bellatrix mirror Dimensions: W 58.2 x D 2.5 x H 132 cm Material: 4 mm faceted mirror on black painted MDF Weight: 8 kg Bellatrix & Polaris mirrors...
Mirror
$6,674 / item
Dark Ghost Wall Mirror by OOM Contemporary Glass
Located in Geneve, CH
Dark Ghost Wall Mirror by OOM Contemporary Glass Dimensions: Ø 90,5 cm. Materials: Ceramic enamels on dark grey glass, mixed techniques. Discover the Dome Collection, where glass ar...
Enamel
Ambrosia Wall Mirror in Cast Resin & Metal Hardware by Joseph Algieri
Located in Geneve, CH
Ambrosia Wall Mirror in Cast Resin & Metal Hardware by Joseph Algieri Dimensions: D 12,7 x Ø 38,1 cm. Materials: Cast resin, resin, mirror, and metal.
Metal
$3,710 / item
Janus II 100 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project
Located in Geneve, CH
Janus II 100 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project Dimensions: D 5 x Ø 100 cm. Materials: Brushed steel, mirror, brushed brass, crystal fusing hand-painted, and wood. Available in different...
Crystal, Brass, Steel
$3,208 / item
Ombrée Small Hand-Sculpted Mirror, Laurene Guarneri
Located in Geneve, CH
Ombrée small hand-sculpted mirror, Laurene Guarneri Limited edition. Handmade. Gold mirror and yellow glass. Sizes: 40 x 2.5 cm (Could be made to order in other dimensions). ...
Glass, Mirror
$2,823 / item
Lapis 1 Mirror by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Lapis 1 Mirror by Homa Dimensions: W 31 x D 16 x H 42 cm Materials: Blown Glass. Silver Mirror. HOMA is a contemporary design atelier based in Istanbul. The atelier’s trademark proc...
Glass, Mirror
$3,080 / item
Small Sammukhin Wall Mirror by Studio Indigene
Located in Geneve, CH
Small Sammukhin Wall Mirror by Studio Indigene Dimensions: W 61 x D 7 x H 153 cm Materials: Reclaimed Teak Wood, Brass. Colors Brown; Natural Wooden Finish Sammukhin / समुखन्, spea...
Brass
$5,437 / item
Bharani Mirror by Culto Ponsoda
Located in Geneve, CH
Bharani mirror by Culto Ponsoda Dimensions: D 8 x W 85 x H 156 cm Materials: Velvet, wood, mirror. Available in other colors. Multiposition mirror with wooden frame. Padded an...
Velvet, Mirror, Wood
$6,674 / item
White Aura Wall Mirror by OOM Contemporary Glass
Located in Geneve, CH
White Aura Wall Mirror by OOM Contemporary Glass Dimensions: Ø 95 cm. Materials: Copper luster and ceramic enamels on ultra-white glass, mixed techniques. Discover the Dome Collecti...
Copper, Enamel
Semi-circle Cherry Wood and White Square Mirror by DOLOMITISCH
Located in Geneve, CH
Zenith Cherry Wood, Glossy Lacquered, Bevelled Mirror by DOLOMITISCH Dimensions: D 66 x H 17 cm Materials: Cherry Wood, Glossy Lacquered Wood, Bevelled Mirror. "Customization of ...
Cherry, Lacquer
$6,674 / item
White Aura Wall Mirror by OOM Contemporary Glass
Located in Geneve, CH
White Aura Wall Mirror by OOM Contemporary Glass Dimensions: Ø 95 cm. Materials: 24k gold luster and ceramic enamels on ultra-white glass, mixed techniques. Discover the Dome Collec...
Enamel
$1,773 / item
Itinera Lamina II 80 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project
Located in Geneve, CH
Itinera Lamina II 80 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project Dimensions: D 3/5 x Ø 80 cm. Materials: Black powder painted iron, Black Marquinia marble, brushed brass, mirror, and wood. Availa...
Marble, Brass
$933 / item
Ora Mirror by Doimo Brasil
Located in Geneve, CH
Ora Mirror by Doimo Brasil Dimensions: D 60 x H 5 cm Materials: Finishing: Veneer. Also available in D 90 x H 5, D 130 x H 5 cm. Please contact us. With the intention of provid...
Wood
Jeu Des Left Eye Timber Hardwood Wall Mirror by Marco Calhau
Located in Geneve, CH
Jeu Des Left Eye Timber Hardwood Wall Mirror by Marco Calhau Dimensions: D 30 x W 30 x H 50 cm. Materials: Timber hardwood, and mirror. All pieces are handmade and under order at ou...
Hardwood
Lapis 21 Sculptural Smoke Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Lapis 21 Sculptural Smoke Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa Dimensions: W 25 x D 18 x H 46 cm Materials: Blown Glass. Smoke Mirror. HOMA is a contemporary design atelier based in ...
Glass, Mirror
$8,202 / item
Arizona Estremoz Marble Mirror by InsidherLand
Located in Geneve, CH
Arizona Estremoz Marble Mirror by InsidherLand Dimensions: D 4 x W 84 x H 115 cm. Materials: Estremoz marble, polished brass, bronze mirror. 46 kg. Available in other finishes. In t...
Marble, Brass
Flow Line I Contemporary Sculptural Silver and White Mirror by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Flow Line I Contemporary Sculptural Silver and White Mirror by Homa Dimensions: W 48 x D 38 x H 16 cm Materials: Blown Glass. Silver Mirror. HOMA is a contemporary design atelier ba...
Glass, Mirror
$1,563 / item
Atlas Insula 80 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project
Located in Geneve, CH
Atlas Insula 80 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project Dimensions: Ø 80 cm. Materials: Mirror. Available in different finishes and sizes. Please contact us. ATLAS The geometry is reflected ...
Mirror
Itinera Res Lunare II 80 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project
Located in Geneve, CH
Itinera Res Lunare II 80 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project Dimensions: D 3/5 x Ø 80 cm. Materials: Black powder painted iron, brushed brass, mirror, and wood. Available in different fin...
Brass, Iron
Faceted Lucite Wall Mirror
Located in Dallas, TX
Stunning 1970s faceted lucite wall mirror in the style of Karl Springer. Crystal clear lucite frame in very good condition. Solid, heavy, and totally unique! Lucite frame in very goo...
Mirror, Lucite
$2,170 / item
Vesuvius 100 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project
Located in Geneve, CH
Vesuvius 100 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project Dimensions: D 3/5 x Ø 100 cm. Materials: Black powder painted iron, mirror, lava stone, glass fusion handpainted, copper, and wood. Availa...
Stone, Copper, Iron
Lapis 6 Sculptural Silver Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Lapis 6 Sculptural Silver Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa Dimensions: W 20 x D 18 x H 50 cm Materials: Blown Glass. Silver Mirror. HOMA is a contemporary design atelier based in...
Glass, Mirror
Lapis 4 Sculptural Silver Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Lapis 4 Sculptural Silver Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa Dimensions: W 30 x D 18 x H 38 cm Materials: Blown Glass. Silver Mirror. HOMA is a contemporary design atelier based in...
Glass, Mirror
Abyss Brown Designer Sculptural Mirror with Silver and Glass by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Abyss Brown Designer Sculptural Mirror with Silver and Glass by Homa Dimensions: D 97 x H 7 cm Materials: Convex Oxidized Mirror. HOMA is a contemporary design atelier based in Ist...
Mirror
$7,444 / item
Purdah Full Length Mirror by INDO-
Located in Geneve, CH
Purdah Full Length Mirror by INDO- Dimensions: D 10.2 x W 61 x H 208.3 cm. Materials: Satin brass, mirrored glass and gold leaf. Each piece is car...
Brass, Gold Leaf
Lapis 8 Sculptural Silver Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Lapis 8 Sculptural Silver Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa Dimensions: W 41 x D 17 x H 43 cm Materials: Blown Glass. Silver Mirror. HOMA is a contemporary design atelier based in...
Glass, Mirror
Jeu Des Mouth Timber Hardwood Wall Mirror by Marco Calhau
Located in Geneve, CH
Jeu Des Mouth Timber Hardwood Wall Mirror by Marco Calhau Dimensions: D 10 x W 60 x H 40 cm. Materials: Timber hardwood, and mirror. All pieces are handmade and under order at our w...
Hardwood
$10,781 / item
36” Floating Gradient Mirror by Phillip Jividen
Located in Geneve, CH
36” Floating Gradient Mirror by Phillip Jividen Dimensions: Ø 91 x H 3.20 cm Materials: Aluminium, Glass Mirror is customizable in both color and dimensions. Additionally, it is avai...
Aluminum
Bud IV Sculptural Handblown Glass Silver, Green and Red Mirror by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Bud IV Sculptural Handblown Glass Silver, Green and Red Mirror by Homa Dimensions: W 43 x D 31 x H 27 cm Materials: Blown Glass. Silver Mirror. HOMA is a contemporary design atelier...
Glass, Mirror
$2,181 / item
Fringe Mirror Orange by Tero Kuitunen
Located in Geneve, CH
Fringe mirror orange by Tero Kuitunen Material: oak, glass mirror, textile fringes. Dimensions: ⌀ 53 x H 3 cm Also available : different colors. Do you remember the old fabric lamp ...
Textile, Mirror, Oak
Narciso Dos Wall Mirror in Grey Quarry Stone & Glass Mirror by Andres Monnier
Located in Geneve, CH
Narciso Dos Wall Mirror in Grey Quarry Stone & Glass Mirror by Andres Monnier Unique Piece Dimensions: D 5 x W 60 x H 160 H cm. Materials: Grey Quarry stone and glass mirror. Availa...
Stone
Limited Edition Carina Nebula Concave Multicolor Oxidized Mirror by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Limited Edition Carina Nebula Concave Multicolor Oxidized Mirror by Homa Dimensions: D 97 x H 7 cm Materials: Concave Oxidized Mirror, Hanger: Brass. HOMA is a contemporary design a...
Brass
$1,785 / item
Drip Wall Mirror by Studio Super Sunday
Located in Geneve, CH
Drip Wall Mirror by Studio Super Sunday Dimensions: D 2,9 x W 46,4 x H 101,6 cm. Materials: Wood and mirror. Available in three different colors. Please contact us. We are a Canadi...
Mirror, Wood
$1,750 / item
Pixel Saffron Yellow Wall Mirror by Studio Tonino
Located in Geneve, CH
Pixel Saffron Yellow Wall Mirror by Studio Tonino Dimensions: D 11 x W 80 x H 80 cm. Materials: Polyethylene and mirror. Weight: 12 kg. Available in different color options. Prices ...
Other
Limited Edition Nebula III Concave Multicolor Oxidized Mirror by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Limited Edition Nebula III Concave Multicolor Oxidized Mirror by Homa Dimensions: D 97 x H 7 cm Materials: Concave Oxidized Mirror, Hanger: Brass. HOMA is a contemporary design atel...
Brass
Lapis 22 Sculptural Silver Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Lapis 22 Sculptural Silver Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa Dimensions: W 37 x D 17 x H 40 cm Materials: Blown Glass. Silver Mirror. HOMA is a contemporary design atelier based i...
Glass, Mirror
Lapis 19 Sculptural Silver Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Lapis 19 Sculptural Silver Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa Dimensions: W 37 x D 20 x H 39 cm Materials: Blown Glass. Silver Mirror. HOMA is a contemporary design atelier based i...
Glass, Mirror
$11,038 / item
The Eye of the Universe II Mirror by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
The Eye of the Universe II Mirror by Homa Dimensions: D 97 x H 7 cm Materials: Concave Mixed Technique Mirror, Hanger: Brass. HOMA is a contemporary design atelier based in Istanbul...
Brass
Vanity Small Foldable Wall Mirror by Memoir Essence
Located in Geneve, CH
Vanity Small Foldable Wall Mirror by Memoir Essence Dimensions: D 12 x W 35 x H 50 cm. Materials: Polished stainless steel and clear and aged mirr...
Stainless Steel
$7,444 / item
Lunar Large Hand-Sculpted Mirror, Laurene Guarneri
Located in Geneve, CH
Lunar large hand-sculpted mirror, Laurene Guarneri. Limited edition. Handmade. Materials: Sky blue colored mirror, dark blue colored mirror, dar...
Glass, Mirror
$2,660 / item
Itinera Res V 120 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project
Located in Geneve, CH
Itinera Res V 120 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project Dimensions: D 3/5 x Ø 120 cm. Materials: Black powder painted iron, steel corten, mirror, and wood. Available in different finishes a...
Iron, Steel
$1,400 / item
Itinera Res I 80 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project
Located in Geneve, CH
Itinera Res I 80 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project Dimensions: D 3/5 x Ø 80 cm. Materials: Black powder painted iron, brushed brass, mirror, and wood. Available in different finishes an...
Brass, Iron
$1,750 / item
Pixel Lime Green Wall Mirror by Studio Tonino
Located in Geneve, CH
Pixel Lime Green Wall Mirror by Studio Tonino Dimensions: D 11 x W 80 x H 80 cm. Materials: Polyethylene and mirror. Weight: 12 kg. Available in different color options. Prices may ...
Other
$3,115 / item
Vanity Square Wall Mirror by Le Deun Luminaires
Located in Geneve, CH
Vanity Square Wall Mirror by Le Deun Luminaires Dimensions: W 41 x D 5 x H 61 cm. Materials: Silver mirror. They are a French company established in 1997, specializing in designing...
Silver
$5,390 / item
Cloud Mirror I by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Cloud Mirror I by Homa Dimensions: W 54 x D 60 x H 0.4 cm, Half Marble Frame: Ø 65 x 8 x 3 cm Materials: Smoke and Silver Oxidized Mirror, Clear Glass. HOMA is a contemporary desi...
Mirror, Glass
$1,096 / item
Tafla O6 Pink Matt Wall Mirror by Zieta
By Zieta
Located in Geneve, CH
Tafla O6 Pink Matt wall mirror by Zieta Dimensions: D6 x W50 x H55 cm Material: Powder-coated carbon steel. Also available in different colors and finishes. Cotton Candy Collectio...
Steel
$2,555 / item
Vanity Oval Wall Mirror by Le Deun Luminaires
Located in Geneve, CH
Vanity Oval Wall Mirror by Le Deun Luminaires Dimensions: W 32 x D 5 x H 48 cm. Materials: Silver mirror. They are a French company established in 1997, specializing in designing a...
Silver
$15,402 / item
Fragment Wall Mirror by ROCHE & FRÈRES
Located in Geneve, CH
Fragment Wall Mirror by ROCHE & FRÈRES Limited Edition Of 8 Pieces + 4 A.P. Dimensions: D 1,6 x W 67 x H 173 cm. Materials: Polished and hand-forged stainless steel and silver mirror. Weight: 34 kg. Ice Memory Collection...
Stainless Steel
Lapis 15 Sculptural Silver Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Lapis 15 Sculptural Silver Mirror with Handblown Glass by Homa Dimensions: W 39 x D 15 x H 40 cm Materials: Blown Glass. Silver Mirror. HOMA is a contemporary design atelier based i...
Glass, Mirror
Itinera Res Lunare II 120 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project
Located in Geneve, CH
Itinera Res Lunare II 120 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project Dimensions: D 3/5 x Ø 120 cm. Materials: Black powder painted iron, brushed brass, mirror, and wood. Available in different f...
Brass, Iron
$2,310 / item
MG401 Small Mirror by Malte Gormsen
Located in Geneve, CH
MG401 Small MIrror by Malte Gormsen Dimensions: D 3 x W 50 x H 90 cm. Materials: Browned brass. Available in different dimensions. Please contact us. Malte Gormsen Møbelsnedkeri is...
Brass
$1,715 / item
Itinera Res III 90 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project
Located in Geneve, CH
Itinera Res III 90 Wall Mirror by Atlas Project Dimensions: D 3/5 x Ø 90 cm. Materials: Black powder painted iron, Green Guatemala marble, mirror, and wood. Available in different ...
Marble, Iron
$898 / item
Medium Arch Mirror by Saturday Yard Work
Located in Geneve, CH
Medium Arch Mirror by Saturday Yard Work Dimensions: W 40 x D 30 x H 2.5 cm Materials: Aluminium. Finish: Semi-reflective polished face / blackened texture. SATURDAY YARD WORK by N...
Aluminum