At 1stDibs, there are many versions of the ideal lucite writing desk for your home. Each lucite writing desk for sale was constructed with extraordinary care, often using
plastic,
lucite and
metal. Find 101 options for an antique or vintage lucite writing desk now, or shop our selection of 11 modern versions for a more contemporary example of this long-cherished piece. There are many kinds of the lucite writing desk you’re looking for, from those produced as long ago as the 20th Century to those made as recently as the 21st Century. A lucite writing desk made by
Mid-Century Modern designers — as well as those associated with
Modern — is very popular. A well-made lucite writing desk has long been a part of the offerings for many furniture designers and manufacturers, but those produced by
Vladimir Kagan,
Modshop and
Herman Miller are consistently popular.
A lucite writing desk can differ in price owing to various characteristics — the average selling price 1stDibs is $4,867, while the lowest priced sells for $900 and the highest can go for as much as $55,000.
Arguably the world’s most ubiquitous man-made material, plastic has impacted nearly every industry. In contemporary spaces, new and vintage plastic furniture is quite popular and its use pairs well with a range of design styles.
From the Italian lighting artisans at Fontana Arte to venturesome Scandinavian modernists such as Verner Panton, who created groundbreaking interiors as much as he did seating — see his revolutionary Panton chair — to contemporary multidisciplinary artists like Faye Toogood, furniture designers have been pushing the boundaries of plastic forever.
When The Graduate's Mr. McGuire proclaimed, “There’s a great future in plastics,” it was more than a laugh line. The iconic quote is an allusion both to society’s reliance on and its love affair with plastic. Before the material became an integral part of our lives — used in everything from clothing to storage to beauty and beyond — people relied on earthly elements for manufacturing, a process as time-consuming as it was costly.
Soon after American inventor John Wesley Hyatt created celluloid, which could mimic luxury products like tortoiseshell and ivory, production hit fever pitch, and the floodgates opened for others to explore plastic’s full potential. The material altered the history of design — mid-century modern legends Charles and Ray Eames, Joe Colombo and Eero Saarinen regularly experimented with plastics in the development of tables and chairs, and today plastic furnishings and decorative objects are seen as often indoors as they are outside.
Find vintage plastic lounge chairs, outdoor furniture, lighting and more on 1stDibs.
Vintage desks and writing tables span centuries of design. The writing table came first, a simple surface built for correspondence, while the drawered desk followed as record-keeping at home and in the office grew more demanding.
Styles to Know
Any desk at least 20 years old falls under this broader vintage category. If you want a tapered-leg, mid-century look specifically, browse mid-century modern desks; Louis XVI and Art Deco secretary desks bridge the writing-table and desk forms. A vintage table lamp adds task lighting to either.
How to Choose the Right Vintage Piece
Writing tables often carry little to no storage of their own, so a separate file cabinet or desk organizer may be worth planning for, alongside a close look at the surface dimensions against the space available. Each piece comes from a vetted 1stDibs seller, with era, designer and condition detailed, and every purchase is covered by the 1stDibs Promise.