11 Mid-Century Designers You Need In Your Life
The mid-century design adopts Scandinavian and American design influences to craft pieces that are stunningly modern, versatile and easy to incorporate into a mid-century modern home. From the awakening of the 20th Century, mid-century designs are bright, refreshing and have truly steered away from convention in the post-war era. To understand the best of mid-century design, here are eleven of the most significant mid-century designers that you need in your life.
1. Eames
Charles and Ray Eames were married designers who broke the mould with mid-century design. Their furniture designs typified modern America. Their product exudes happiness and positivity, designed to have an encouraging effect on the home. From sweeping curves, contrasting colours and angular products, Eames designs are synonymous with mid-century furnishings.
2. Florence Knoll
With a background in architecture, Florence Knoll designs mid-century pieces focussed on their functionality and practicality. Offering innovative solutions to stay organised, Knoll pieces focus on order and clean lines. In fact, Florence Knoll pieces were indeed the epitome of practical office style. Florence married the furniture manufacturer Hans Knoll and their partnership made was for many innovative designs.
3. Hans Wegner
Known for well-crafted and stylish furniture. Wegner combined his two passions: carpentry and designing. Wegner pieces are crafted to offer durability, sturdiness and comfort which come from the tapered legs, curved and polished wood and rounded edges for a smooth and chic finish. Taking inspiration from the well-made furniture and tapered legs, our mid-century modern bench uses beech tapered legs and stylish fabrics to create an ultra-chic mid-century piece.
4. Alvar Aalto
A popular Finnish designer, Aalto seamlessly blended Scandinavian and American style to create pieces that thoroughly screamed ‘modernism’. Combining natural effects with modern materials. Aalto’s mid-century designs focussed on metals, woods and glassware. Curves, sleek lines and a polished appearance are common across Aalto designs.
5. Gio Ponti
Angular and industrial, Gio Ponti furniture designs are incredibly distinctive, and it is no surprise that Ponti is one of the most influential designers in Italian Modernism. His passion for modernism shines through every product, building and furniture piece he has designed. With a long career, you can find many original Ponti pieces as well as many other designers who have taken inspiration from his work.
6. George Nakashima
Similar to Hans Wegner, George Nakashima was a renowned carpenter and master woodworker. Nakashima crafted mid-century pieces with care, attention and a full focus on wood in his designs. In fact, Nakashima was so passionate about using wood in furniture he believed wooden furniture could reveal the soul of the tree it came from.
7. Sergio Rodrigues
Offering a unique and personal twist on mid-century design, Rodrigues incorporated style from his native Brazil to create compelling compositions that had character. Each furniture piece designed by Rodriguez evokes the spirit of Brazil while still focusing on modern design and comfort.
8. Charlotte Perriand
Charlotte Perriand’s long career meant she experimented with many design trends, from naturalism to industrialism. However, Charlotte Perriand was one of the first to create a vision of early modernism. Her use of angles, clean finishes and crisp, clear purpose were influential and trend-setting.
9. George Nelson
A long and varied career, Nelson was a prolific designer and journalist. His editorial work for Architectural Forum gave him vast knowledge about the world of design, architecture and post-war design. Nelson becomes the design director for Herman Miller where he created some of the most iconic mid-century pieces, such as the coconut chair.
10. Milo Baughman
With a passion for design from a very early age, Milo Baughman focused on style and minimalism creating pieces that were innovative but still functional. One of Baughman’s objectives was to create furniture that is accessible to the public but still offers excellent design. Baughman utilised a range of material in his designs from steel, glass and chrome as well as upholstery fabrics and leather.
11. Karl Springer
Karl Springer designs are known for the luxury appeal, glamour and meticulous attention to detail. Before crafting furniture Karl Springer began as a bookbinder, he then turned his attention to designing mid-century furniture with luxury leather and skin covers. With a passion for luxe and expensive material, Karl Springer furniture was opulent and incredibly popular among high society.
If you’ve been inspired by mid-century design, visit our shop at Loose Button where we strive to craft mid-century pieces with a new and innovative touch and a luxury stylish appeal.