Architect, furniture designer, interior designer, entrepreneur — Florence Knoll had a subtle but profound influence on the course of mid-century American modernism. Dedicated to functionality and organization, and never flamboyant, Knoll shaped the ethos of the postwar business world with her skillfully realized office plans and polished, efficient designs for sofas, credenzas, desks and other furnishings.
Knoll had perhaps the most thorough design education of any of her peers. Florence Schust was orphaned at age 12, and her guardian sent her to Kingswood, a girl’s boarding school that is part of the Cranbrook Educational Community in suburban Detroit. Her interest in design brought her to the attention of Eliel Saarinen, the Finnish architect and head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Saarinen and his wife took the talented child under their wing, and she became close to their son, the future architect Eero Saarinen. While a student at the academy, Florence befriended artist-designer Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames. Later, she studied under three of the Bauhaus masters who emigrated to the United States. She worked as an apprentice in the Boston architectural offices of Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe taught her at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
In 1941, she met Hans Knoll, whose eponymous furniture company was just getting off the ground. They married in 1946, and her design sense and his business skills soon made Knoll Inc. a leading firm in its field. Florence signed up the younger Saarinen as a designer, and would develop pieces by Bertoia, Mies and the artist Isamu Noguchi.
Florence Knoll's main work came as head of the Knoll Planning Group, designing custom office interiors for clients such as IBM and CBS. The furniture she created for these spaces reflects her Bauhaus training: the pieces are pure functional design, exactingly built; their only ornament from the materials, such as wood and marble. Her innovations — the oval conference table, for example, conceived as a way to ensure clear sightlines among all seated at a meeting — were always in the service of practicality.
Since her retirement in 1965, Knoll received the National Medal of Arts, among other awards; in 2004 the Philadelphia Museum of Art mounted the exhibition “Florence Knoll: Defining Modern” — well deserved accolades for a strong, successful design and business pioneer. As demonstrated on these pages, the simplicity of Knoll’s furniture is her work’s great virtue: they fit into any interior design scheme.
Find vintage Florence Knoll sofas, benches, armchairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Pair of Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Located in Sheffield, MA
A pair of similar but not identical stands have simple yet elegant contemporary and functional design with tapered legs and a square table top. Side tables, end tables, night stands...
Wood
$4,800 / set
H 17 in W 30 in D 30 in
Non Matching Pair of Rosewood & Crome Square Knoll Side End Tables Stands Mint
By Florence Knoll, Knoll
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Measure: Big table: 30 x 30 x 17. Small table: 24 x 24 x 17.
Chrome
Pair of Low Mid-Century Side Tables By Knoll
By Knoll
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Two vintage-modern side tables featuring sleek design with Formica wood finish to top and metal base. Manufactured by Knoll. Please confirm item location NY or NJ with dealer.
Metal
$6,000 / set
H 18.25 in W 19.5 in D 19.5 in
1960s Pair of Florence Knoll Bedside Tables / Nightstands in Walnut and Marble
By Knoll, Florence Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a pair of Florence Knoll Walnut Bedside Tables, Model 327 IS, originally designed in 1956. These particular examples date to the 1960s and have white marble tops. The design ...
Marble
Pair of Paul McCobb for Calvin Furniture End Tables Circa 1960s
By Paul McCobb, Calvin Furniture
Located in Peabody, MA
A pair of 1960s single drawer side tables in walnut and aluminum by Paul McCobb for Calvin Furniture’s Linear Group collection.
Aluminum
$720Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 19.25 in W 20 in D 27 in
Pair Mid-Century End Side Tables Nightstands American of Martinsville
By American of Martinsville
Located in Baltimore, MD
Striking pair of mid-century modern walnut nightstands or end tables by American of Martinsville, circa 1970’s, one of the most esteemed furniture producers of the Mid-century era. E...
Aluminum
$2,800 / set
H 25 in W 23 in D 17.5 in
Pair Heywood Wakefield Mid-Century Modern One Drawer Nightstands End Tables Mint
By Heywood-Wakefield Co.
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Pair Heywood Wakefield Mid-Century Modern one drawer nightstands end tables mint.
Brass
$1,629 / set
H 20.5 in W 28 in D 25 in
Pair of Mid Century Modern End Tables with Single Drawer by Lane Furniture
By Lane Furniture
Located in Freehold, NJ
This pair of mid century modern end tables by Lane Furniture features hardwood construction, original walnut finish, single dovetailed drawer with caned front, and tall tapered legs....
Walnut
$1,024Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 22.25 in W 16.25 in D 26 in
Pair 1970's Medium Toned Mid Century Nightstands/ End Tables
Located in Opa Locka, FL
Pair 1970's Mid Century Medium Toned Wood Nightstands/ End Tables. Nice size.
Wood
$1,850 / set
H 21 in W 28 in D 20 in
Handsome Pair of American of Martinsville, Mid-Century Modern End Tables
By American of Martinsville
Located in Pemberton, NJ
Handsome pair of American of Martinsville walnut step end tables. Manufactured by American of Martinsville - in Martinsville, VA. Extremely well constructed and sturdy. Upper sectio...
Metal
French Modern, Brutalist Nightstands, Oak, France, 1960s
Located in Stamford, CT
French Mid-Century Modern, Brutalist Nightstands or Bedside Tables, Oak, France, 1960s Pair of single drawer bedside tables designed and produced in France in the middle of the 20th...
Oak
John Keal, Bleached Mahogany, Open Nightstands, USA, 1960s
By John Keal, Brown Saltman
Located in Stamford, CT
John Keal, American Mid-Century Modern, Bleached Mahogany, Open Nightstands, USA, 1960s Pair of bleached mahogany nightstands designed by John Keal and produced by Brown Saltman in ...
Mahogany
Gio Ponti, Singer & Sons, Mid-Century Modern, Rare Sculptural Nightstands, 1950s
By M. Singer & Sons, Gio Ponti
Located in Stamford, CT
Gio Ponti, Singer & Sons, Mid-Century Modern, Walnut, Rare Sculptural Nightstands or End Tables, Italy/USA c. 1955 A rare and hard to find pair of mid-century modern bedside stands ...
Walnut
Swedish Modern, Nightstands, Pine, Sweden, 1970s
Located in Stamford, CT
Swedish Mid-Century Modern, Nightstands or Bedside Tables, Pine, Sweden, 1970s A pair of modernist pine nightstands designed and produced in Scandinavia in the later half of the 20t...
Pine
Maddox, Mid-Century Modern, Walnut, Stainless Steel, Nightstands, USA, 1960s
By Maddox Furniture
Located in Stamford, CT
Maddox, Mid-Century Modern, Walnut, Stainless Steel, Nightstands, Bedside Tables, USA, 1960s Pair of modernist nightstands or bedside tables designed and produced by Maddox Tables i...
Stainless Steel
Edmond J Spence, Swedish Modern, Maple, Rare Wave Nightstands, 1950s
By Edmond J. Spence
Located in Stamford, CT
Edmund J Spence, Swedish Mid-Century Modern, Burled Maple, Rare "Wave" Nightstands, 1950s Swedish modern nightstands designed by Edmond J. Spence and produced in Sweden circa 1950s....
Maple
