$1,895
H 14 in W 58 in D 17 in
1990s Postmodern Glass Waterfall Sculptural Black Circular Wood Coffee Table
By Massimo Vignelli
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Postmodern Glass Waterfall Edge Sculptural Coffee Table. Stunning table features a graceful
Steel
$4,800
H 13.5 in W 49 in D 32.25 in
Italian Blue Glass + Chrome Coffee Table Attributed to Cristal Arte, 1970s
By Cristal Arte
Located in Chicago, IL
An Italian coffee table from the 1970s, attributed to Cristal Arte. The rectangular form stretches
Chrome
Mid Century Brass and Glass Coffee Table, by Jean-Danial Salvat
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
Mid Century Brass and Glass Coffee Table, by Jean-Danial Salvat This wonderful piece is signed by
Art Glass
$2,450
H 16.25 in W 33.38 in D 33.38 in
Black Lacquer and Glass Geometric Square Coffee Cocktail Table Postmodern
Located in New York, NY
A very beautiful geometric square coffee/cocktail table in black lacquer with glass top, Postmodern
Glass, Wood
$1,363 / item
H 11.03 in W 19.69 in D 19.69 in
Xaloc Chocolate Coffee Table 50 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc chocolate coffee table 50 with glass top by MOWEE Dimensions: D50 x W50 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Cream Coffee Table 80 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc cream coffee table 80 with glass top by Mowee. Dimensions: D80 x W80 x H28 cm. Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc White Coffee Table 120 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc white coffee table 120 with glass top by MOWEE Dimensions: D120 x W80 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc White Coffee Table 80 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc white coffee table 80 with glass top by Mowee. Dimensions: D80 x W80 x H28 cm. Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Salmon Coffee Table 80 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc salmon coffee table 80 with Glass top by Mowee. Dimensions: D80 x W80 x H28 cm. Materials
Aluminum
$2,261 / item
H 11.03 in W 31.5 in D 47.25 in
Xaloc Chocolate Coffee Table 120 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc chocolate coffee table 120 with glass top by MOWEE Dimensions: D120 x W80 x H28 cm
Aluminum
Xaloc Navy Coffee Table 50 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc navy coffee table 50 with glass top by MOWEE Dimensions: D50 x W50 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc White Coffee Table 50 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc white coffee table 50 with glass top by MOWEE Dimensions: D50 x W50 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Bronze Coffee Table 80 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc Bronze coffee table 80 with glass top by Mowee. Dimensions: D80 x W80 x H28 cm. Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Silver Coffee Table 120 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc silver coffee table 120 with glass top by Mowee. Dimensions: D120 x W80 x H28 cm. Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Grey Coffee Table 50 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc grey coffee table 50 with glass top by Mowee. Dimensions: D50 x W50 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Cream Coffee Table 50 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc cream coffee table 50 with glass top by MOWEE Dimensions: D50 x W50 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Gold Coffee Table 120 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc gold coffee table 120 with glass top by MOWEE Dimensions: D120 x W80 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Burgundy Coffee Table 120 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc Burgundy coffee table 120 with glass top by MOWEE Dimensions: D120 x W80 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Bronze Coffee Table 120 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc Bronze coffee table 120 with glass top by MOWEE Dimensions: D120 x W80 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Black Coffee Table 80 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc black coffee table 80 with glass top by Mowee. Dimensions: D80 x W80 x H28 cm. Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Grey Coffee Table 80 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc grey coffee table 80 with glass top by Mowee. Dimensions: D80 x W80 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Navy Coffee Table 120 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc navy coffee table 120 with glass Top by Mowee. Dimensions: D120 x W80 x H28 cm. Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Burgundy Coffee Table 80 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc burgundy coffee table 80 with glass top by Mowee. Dimensions: D80 x W80 x H28 cm. Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Gold Coffee Table 50 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc gold coffee Table 50 with Glass Top by Mowee. Dimensions: D50 x W50 x H28 cm. Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Silver Coffee Table 50 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc Silver coffee table 120 with glass top by MOWEE Dimensions: D50 x W50 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Silver Coffee Table 80 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc silver coffee table 80 with glass top by Mowee. Dimensions: D80 x W80 x H28 cm. Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Cream Coffee Table 120 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc cream coffee table 120 with glass Top by Mowee. Dimensions: D120 x W80 x H28 cm. Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Grey Coffee Table 120 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc grey coffee table 120 with glass top by Mowee. Dimensions: D120 x W80 x H28 cm. Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Black Coffee Table 50 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc black coffee table 50 with glass top by Mowee. Dimensions: D50 x W50 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Navy Coffee Table 80 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc Navy coffee table 80 with Glass top by Mowee Dimensions: D80 x W80 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Salmon Coffee Table 50 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc salmon coffee table 50 with glass top by MOWEE Dimensions: D50 x W50 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Salmon Coffee Table 120 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc Salmon coffee table 120 with glass top by MOWEE Dimensions: D120 x W80 x H28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Black Coffee Table 120 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc black coffee table 120 with glass top by Mowee. Dimensions: D120 x W80 x H28 cm. Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Burgundy Coffee Table 50 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc Burgundy coffee table 50 with glass top by Mowee Dimensions: D 50 x W 50 x H 28 cm
Aluminum
Xaloc Gold Coffee Table 80 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc gold coffee table 80 with glass top by Mowee Dimensions: D 80 x W 80 x H 28 cm Materials
Aluminum
Xaloc Bronze Coffee Table 50 with Glass Top by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc bronze coffee table 50 with glass Top by Mowee Dimensions: D 50 x W 50 x H 28 cm Materials
Aluminum
$1,095
H 20 in W 27.5 in D 27.5 in
Floating Walnut and Glass Coffee/Cocktail Table mannered after Milo Baughman
By Milo Baughman
Located in Medina, OH
space with this post modern designed coffee table or cocktail table, with its floating appearance. The
Glass, Walnut
$8,374 / item
H 14.97 in W 53.15 in D 19.69 in
Spider Coffee Table in Crystal Glass & Steel by Barberini & Gunnell
Located in Geneve, CH
Spider Coffee Table in Crystal Glass & Steel by Barberini & Gunnell Limited Edition of 30 + 2 AP
Stainless Steel
$1,281
H 15.16 in W 51.19 in D 29.93 in
Large vintage postmodern glass coffee table with lightning bolt base
Located in Hastings, GB
A stunning large postmodern curved glass coffee table, on a black iron base which has lightning
Iron
$607Sale Price|55% Off
H 15.75 in W 54 in D 24 in
Postmodern Mirrored Glass Top Coffee Table with Chrome Accented Base
Located in Freehold, NJ
This postmodern coffee table features chrome accented legs and base with mirrored glass top
Chrome
$750
H 11.23 in W 31.5 in D 31.5 in
Seven Salotti Italian Coffee Table in Brown Leather and Black Glass
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Seven Salotti, coffee table, leather, glass, Italy, 1970s The coffee table by Seven Salotti
Leather, Glass
$1,750
H 12.5 in W 39.38 in D 39.38 in
1986 Philip Jackson ‘Scacco’ Marble & Glass Coffee Table for Cattelan Italia
By Cattelan Italia
Located in Los Angeles, CA
’ coffee table is a commanding focal point for a contemporary living room, a minimalist lounge, or a modern
Marble
$17,107 / item
H 11.82 in W 29.53 in D 17.72 in
Monolit Coffee Table in Silver Modular Mirror Glass Bricks by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Monolit Coffee Table in Silver Modular Mirror Glass Bricks by Homa. Dimensions: W 75 x D 45 x H 30
Glass, Mirror
$7,174
H 17.72 in W 25.6 in D 45.67 in
'Balance' inflated metal coffee table, stainless steel and glass
By Stephen Newby
Located in Newcastle Upon Tyne, GB
Inflated metal coffee table. Highly mirror polished stainless steel and 10mm toughened glass with
Stainless Steel, Metal, Steel
$6,500 / item
H 14 in W 30 in D 36 in
Spectre Coffee Table by Franco V, Handcrafted Steel & Glass, USA
By Franco V
Located in Brooklyn, NY
, this post-modern style piece features a 3/4" thick glass top resting upon a striking geometric base
Steel
$3,828
H 12.6 in W 68.51 in D 30.71 in
Ouverture Coffee Table by Poltrona Frau, 1980s Chromed Steel & Glass
By Poltrona Frau
Located in IT
Italian chromed steel and smoked glass Ouverture coffee table for Frau, 1980s Original Frau
Steel
$24,213 / item
H 14.97 in Dm 39.38 in
Transparent Glass Coffee Table in Cherry Wood & Brass Frame by DOLOMITISCH
Located in Geneve, CH
Mirage Cherry Wood, Brushed Brass, Transparent Glass Coffee Table by DOLOMITISCH Dimensions: D 100
Glass, Oak
From Above Coffee Table Clear Glass Warm White by Warm Nordic
Located in Geneve, CH
From Above Coffee Table Clear Glass Warm White by Warm Nordic Dimensions: D72 x H37 cm Material
Steel
Postmodern Glass Lucite & Brass Coffee Table, 1980s
By Karl Springer
Located in Madison, WI
This minimalist, post modern Miami Regency 1980's coffee / cocktail table . This piece would look
Chrome
$22,000
H 14.97 in W 76.78 in D 51.19 in
Pere Cosp Singel Model Coffee Table Iron Spain Post War Reconstruction
By Signed P. Cosp
Located in Lège Cap Ferret, FR
PERE COSP (Barcelona, 1907-2007). Coffee table, 1948-1949. wood and iron feet. With marks of use
Iron
$98,695 / item
H 14.18 in W 47.64 in D 74.41 in
Two Tier Sculptural Dichroic Glass Coffee Table by ODA LIK Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Two Tier Sculptural Dichroic Glass Coffee Table by ODA LIK Studio. Limited Edition. Dimensions: W
Stainless Steel
$4,115 / item
H 13.39 in W 55.12 in D 27.56 in
Bent Straight Coffee Table in Clear Crystal Glass by Barberini & Gunnell
Located in Geneve, CH
Bent Straight Coffee Table in Clear Crystal Glass by Barberini & Gunnell Limited Edition of 30 + 2
Glass
$950
H 14.75 in W 51 in D 25.5 in
Memphis Design Coffee Table, Lacquered Black and Red, Glass Top, 1980
By Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Group, Aldo Rossi, Massimo and Lella Vignelli, Shiro Kuramata
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Memphis Design Style Coffee Table circa 1980 "lacquer finish in glossy black and red" "glass is
Glass, Lacquer
Giovanni Offredi Onda Glass Coffee Table for Saporiti ca. 1970's
By Saporiti, Giovanni Offredi
Located in New York, NY
Classic Post Modern Italian design glass top coffee table designed by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti
Steel
$18,339 / item
H 17.13 in W 53.15 in D 29.53 in
American Walnut and Glass Sidewinder I Coffee Table by David Tragen
Located in Geneve, CH
American Walnut and Glass Sidewinder I Coffee Table by David Tragen Dimensions: W 135 x D 75 x H
Cherry, Walnut, Glass
$18,339 / item
H 17.13 in W 53.15 in D 29.53 in
American Cherry and Glass Sidewinder II Coffee Table by David Tragen
Located in Geneve, CH
American Cherry and Glass Sidewinder II Coffee Table by David Tragen Dimensions: W 135 x D 75 x H
Glass, Cherry, Walnut
$1,515Sale Price|54% Off
H 15.25 in W 46.25 in D 46.25 in
Roger Rougier asymmetrical lacquered wood and beveled glass coffee table
By Roger Rougier
Located in Toronto, ON
Extraordinary Coffee table by Roger Rougier in lacquered wood with beveled glass. The lacquered
Glass, Wood, Lacquer
Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
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.