Conglo Table

Norwegian architect Erling Viksjø devoted his career to cultivating a marriage between art and architecture. He was an early champion of modernism and one of the country's most influential postwar architects. He even designed his own line of terrazzo-topped coffee tables. While Viksjø's buildings are described as brutalist for their plentiful use of concrete, they were often expressively embellished through the architect’s collaborations with famous artists.

Viksjø was born in Trondheim and studied architecture at the now-closed Norwegian Institute of Technology, graduating in 1935. He moved to Oslo and found employment at the Ove Bangs architectural office, where he later became the lead architect. During World War II and the Nazi occupation of Norway, Viksjø was imprisoned for more than a year. As soon as the war ended, he established his own architectural firm.

One reason for Viksjø’s success after setting out on his own was the development of the sand-blasted concrete facade. He co-invented the technique with engineer Sverre Jystand and patented it in 1950. Viksjø collaborated extensively with artists like Pablo Picasso, Carl Nesjar, Synnøve Anker Aurdal, Hannah Ryggen and Ramon Isern, who elevated his designs into functional art installations.

Some of the most notable projects Viksjø completed over his career include the Tromsø Bridge (completed 1960), Bakkehaugen Church (completed 1961), Norsk Hydro office building (completed 1962) and Standard Telefon Kabelfabrikk office building (completed 1967).

Throughout his adult life, Viksjø also drew, painted and crafted furniture. His tables employed materials like rosewood, stone and concrete, transferring his architectural style to smaller scales.

Viksjø died in Oslo in 1971, leaving behind a legacy of works that still stand throughout Norway.

On 1stDibs, find a selection of Erling Viksjø tables and other furniture.

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 — shop Art Deco coffee tables, travertine coffee tables and other antique and vintage coffee tables and cocktail tables today.