Hi my name is Oliver and welcome to Alto Stile.
Please see our latest pieces of mid century furniture, and if you have any questions or would like to come and view please ask.
Mid Century Furniture
Beautifull restored and reupholstered to look amazing in any interior
Mid Century Furniture Sourced
Alto Stile was founded to bring rare and interesting pieces of mid century furniture to the local London and online marketplace.
We source beautiful pieces of design from Denmark, Italy, Sweden and France and sympathetically restore and re-upholster with quality and attention to detail.
We focus on pieces that are not often seen in the UK, taking time and effort to bring them back to their original condition.
If you are looking for something different, something with mid century style and elegance to enhance your home please take a look at our current mid century furniture collection.
How We Can Help
Alto Stile (Italian for high style) reflects our passion for mid century furniture.
Sourcing and restoring furniture to its former glory so that it will look stunning in your home.
We have a frequently asked questions and delivery page which are full of useful information, and an about us page if you would like to find out more about us.
We are based in North London and are open Monday to Saturday (Please call first). If you would like to get in touch please fill out the contact form, phone or email.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Oliver
Mid Century Furniture Sourced
Alto Stile was founded to bring rare and interesting pieces of mid century furniture to the local London and online marketplace.
We source beautiful pieces of design from Denmark, Italy, Sweden and France and sympathetically restore and re-upholster with quality and attention to detail.
We focus on pieces that are not often seen in the UK, taking time and effort to bring them back to their original condition.
If you are looking for something different, something with mid century style and elegance to enhance your home please take a look at our current mid century furniture collection.
How We Can Help
Alto Stile (Italian for high style) reflects our passion for mid century furniture.
Sourcing and restoring furniture to its former glory so that it will look stunning in your home.
We have a frequently asked questions and delivery page which are full of useful information, and an about us page if you would like to find out more about us.
We are based in North London and are open Monday to Saturday (Please call first). If you would like to get in touch please fill out the contact form, phone or email.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Oliver
Mid Century Design History
Mid century modern, a bit of an ambiguous term refers to design from the early 1940’s to the mid 1960’s.
It is a modernist aesthetic as in form follows function, but there is a relaxing of the style from the earlier designs of the 1930’s. Mid century modern design is still simple and restrained but the forms become freer, they become more organic.
Post war is when this new take on modernism really started to flourish.
The destruction of the second world war provided fertile ground for new innovative design. A desire to look forward to a brighter future coupled with major advances in science and technology (nuclear power, chemicals, medicines to name a few) created a real optimism.
Bold new ideas were encouraged and seen by many at the Britain Can Make It (1946) and Festival Of Britain (1951) exhibitions, where furniture design was heavily featured.
Many countries were influenced by this zeitgeist but the two that stood out were Scandinavia, especially Denmark and Italy.
Both countries having a strong craft / cabinetmaking tradition as well as a mass of publications and information on new design, pushed the barriers and exemplify what we regard as mid century modern design today.
Please see the bibliographies below on some of the key designers and manufacturers from this period.
Mid Century Furniture Designers
Hans Wegner
Arne Jacobsen
Finn Juhl
Fritz Hansen
Gio Ponti
Franco Albini
Ico Parisi
