Space age

Vintage Space Age furniture and lighting from the late 1960s through the 1970s – when designers got properly optimistic about the future and it showed in what they made. This is the era of moulded plastics, pod chairs, ball lamps, and shapes that looked like they belonged on a spaceship rather than in a suburban living room.

Each piece here has been professionally restored in our Devon workshop. Space Age items need different treatment than wooden furniture – plastics get carefully cleaned without damaging original finishes, chrome is polished, fibreglass shells are assessed for cracks or repairs. We’re honest about condition because plastics age differently than wood, and you need to know what you’re getting.

What defines Space Age design:

The influence of the space race on everyday furniture – organic shapes, futuristic curves, bright colours or stark white finishes. Materials that felt modern at the time: moulded plastics (ABS, fibreglass, acrylic), chrome-plated steel, injection-moulded forms. Designers like Eero Aarnio, Verner Panton, and Joe Colombo pushing what furniture could look like when you weren’t limited to traditional construction methods.

You’ll find chairs with pod or ball shapes, pendant lights that look like planets, storage units with rounded edges and no visible joints, side tables in moulded plastic rather than wood. Some in bright orange, red, or yellow; others in white or chrome. The aesthetic is deliberately futuristic – this was furniture that looked forward rather than back.

Condition considerations:

Plastics from this era can be brittle now, prone to cracking or discolouration. We check structural integrity carefully – a crack in a fibreglass shell isn’t always a deal-breaker, but you need to know it’s there. Chrome pitting, scratches in acrylic, UV damage to coloured plastics – we’re transparent about all of it.

Some pieces retain maker’s stamps or labels (often moulded into the plastic or stuck underneath), which helps with authentication. Others need identifying from design details, construction methods, and material choices. There are plenty of later copies of famous Space Age pieces; we know the differences.

These come from house clearances and sales across Southwest England. They’ve sat in 1970s homes, offices, and boutiques – statement pieces when they were new, vintage collectables now. Not everyone’s taste, but if you want furniture that doesn’t look like everything else, this is it.