Barbara Barry Coffee Table

Barbara Barry intends for her furniture designs to connect people to the splendor of the natural world around them. Her lounge chairs, tables and other pieces reflect the influence of the Hollywood Regency style as well as Barry’s admiration for organic materials and the subdued color palettes of the great outdoors. Simple and calming, her furniture is quietly elegant and has garnered Barry renown worldwide as a leader in interior design.

A native of California, Barry was surrounded by artists from the moment she was born and credits her mother with instilling a strong sense of confidence in her. Barry’s mother, a painter, encouraged her to nurture her creative impulses. The designer initially pursued a degree in art — she is an active painter today — but quickly eschewed the norms of formal education, leaving school to travel through Europe.

While traveling, Barry fell in love with the wines and cheeses of the cities she visited, inspiring her to open her own cheese shop in Mendocino upon her return to California. Her predilection for interior design quickly began to show itself as she went about setting up and running her store, and Barry began drawing designs for her own furniture. She moved to Los Angeles and established her own design firm in 1985.

Working with small local businesses to get her pieces made, she became more passionate about expressing herself through her furniture and quickly amassed a following for her work. Today, for its thoughtful merge of clean lines, 1940s Hollywood glamour and the soft palettes of the sea, sky and foliage of her state, her understated furniture is an international success.

Barry is expressly opposed to the use of patterns, opting instead for solid neutrals that pair well with warm brass or vintage bronze lighting fixtures and allow for the colors in a painting on the living room wall to pop. She is focused on bringing harmony and order into a space, and her minimalist designs — acid-washed mahogany side tables, armchairs with dark stained rattan backrests — are sought after by A-list celebrities, politicians and leading manufacturers alike. Barry has created exclusive furniture collections and home decor for legendary brands including Baker Furniture, McGuire Furniture Company and others.

Find Barbara Barry decorative objects, seating, case pieces and more on 1stDibs.

As a practical focal point in your living area, antique and vintage coffee tables and cocktail tables are an invaluable addition to any interior.

Low tables that were initially used as tea tables or coffee tables have been around since at least the mid- to late-1800s. Early coffee tables surfaced in Victorian-era England, likely influenced by the use of tea tables in Japanese tea gardens. In the United States, furniture makers worked to introduce low, long tables into their offerings as the popularity of coffee and “coffee breaks” took hold during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

It didn’t take long for coffee tables and cocktail tables to become a design staple and for consumers to recognize their role in entertaining no matter what beverages were being served. Originally, these tables were as simple as they are practical — as high as your sofa and made primarily of wood. In recent years, however, metal, glass and plastics have become popular in coffee tables and cocktail tables, and design hasn’t been restricted to the conventional low profile, either.

Visionary craftspeople such as Paul Evans introduced bold, geometric designs that challenge the traditional idea of what a coffee table can be. The elongated rectangles and wide boxy forms of Evans’s desirable Cityscape coffee table, for example, will meet your needs but undoubtedly prove imposing in your living space.

If you’re shopping for an older coffee table to bring into your home — be it an antique Georgian-style coffee table made of mahogany or walnut with decorative inlays or a classic square mid-century modern piece comprised of rosewood designed by the likes of Ettore Sottsass — there are a few things you should keep in mind.

Both the table itself and what you put on it should align with the overall design of the room, not just by what you think looks fashionable in isolation. According to interior designer Tamara Eaton, the material of your vintage coffee table is something you need to consider. “With a glass coffee table, you also have to think about the surface underneath, like the rug or floor,” she says. “With wood and stone tables, you think about what’s on top.”

Find the perfect centerpiece for any room, no matter what your personal furniture style on 1stDibs. Browse a vast selection of antique, new and vintage coffee table and cocktail tables today.