Polished Bimetal Two Tone Brass Steel Table

While luxury furniture designer Corinna Warm has lived in Berlin, Milan, London and Los Angeles, she has garnered herself a place in the center of the design world regardless of her physical address. Her commitment to excellence is exemplified in her designs for pendant lights, floor lamps, side tables and more — she works with natural materials and sleek, understated forms to create pieces that offer comfort and elegance in any living space.

Warm moved from her home in Berlin, Germany, to attend the prestigious Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design in London, UK, initially intending to study graphic design before switching to product design after having visited the campus’s workshop facilities. After graduation, she moved to Milan, Italy. Warm worked for well-known designers such as Shin and Tomoko Azumi, Isao Hosoe and Tom Dixon, among others. Warm returned to London to accept a position working for David Linley, a British furniture designer widely known for his focus on craft. This would be a pivotal moment in her career — with Linley, the nephew of Queen Elizabeth II and founder of the royal cabinetmaker workshop Linley in 1985, Warm encountered the principles of cabinetmaking and the fundamentals of well-made, durable furnishings. She developed new skills and a clear mindset in her approach to design. 

At the 2007 London Design Festival, Warm successfully launched Studio Warm, initially a furniture brand recognized for its merging of contemporary and classical elements. Today it is a multi-disciplinary design consultancy.

In 2008, Warm opened her London studio, where she offers her luxury furniture designs, expertly crafted using traditional techniques. Riding the wave of her massive success in Europe, Warm expanded her studio to Los Angeles, California. She splits her time between London and L.A. 

Warm finds inspiration for her bespoke work where her clients see it. It could be the natural world, fashion, film or even music. She avoids social media trends and spends her time offline and hands-on. Choosing to work directly with her makers and craftspeople, Warm prefers an immersed approach to her work. She sees design as more than style and function — furniture is the heart of every home and centers around creating memories, hence the quality of her work must be superior, as she intends to deliver something that can be part of a legacy.

On 1stDibs, find a selection of Corinna Warm tables, lighting, case pieces and storage cabinets.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”

Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.

Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.

It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.

Whether burnished or lacquered, antique, new and vintage brass furniture can elevate a room.

From traditional spaces that use brass as an accent — by way of brass dining chairs or brass pendant lights — to contemporary rooms that embrace bold brass decor, there are many ways to incorporate the golden-hued metal.

“I find mixed metals to be a very updated approach, as opposed to the old days, when it was all shiny brass of dulled-out silver tones,” says interior designer Drew McGukin. “I especially love working with brass and blackened steel for added warmth and tonality. To me, aged brass is complementary across many design styles and can trend contemporary or traditional when pushed either way.”

He proves his point in a San Francisco entryway, where a Lindsey Adelman light fixture hangs above a limited-edition table and stools by Kelly Wearstler — also an enthusiast of juxtapositions — all providing bronze accents. The walls were hand-painted by artist Caroline Lizarraga and the ombré stair runner is by DMc.

West Coast designer Catherine Kwong chose a sleek brass and lacquered-parchment credenza by Scala Luxury to fit this San Francisco apartment. “The design of this sideboard is reminiscent of work by French modernist Jean Prouvé. The brass font imbues the space with warmth and the round ‘portholes’ provide an arresting geometric element.”

Find antique, new and vintage brass tables, case pieces and other furnishings now on 1stDibs.

The right vintage, new or antique tables can help make any space in your home stand out.

Over the years, the variety of tables available to us, as well as our specific needs for said tables, has broadened. Today, with all manner of these must-have furnishings differing in shape, material and style, any dining room table can shine just as brightly as the guests who gather around it.

Remember, when shopping for a dining table, it must fit your dining area, and you need to account for space around the table too — think outside the box, as an oval dining table may work for tighter spaces. Alternatively, if you’ve got the room, a Regency-style dining table can elevate any formal occasion at mealtime.

Innovative furniture makers and designers have also redefined what a table can be. Whether it’s an unconventional Ping-Pong table, a brass side table to display your treasured collectibles or a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk to add an air of nostalgia to your loft, your table can say a lot about you.

The visionary work of French designer Xavier Lavergne, for example, includes tables that draw on the forms of celestial bodies as often as they do aquatic creatures or fossils. Elsewhere, Italian architect Gae Aulenti, who looked to Roman architecture in crafting her stately Jumbo coffee table, created clever glass-topped mobile coffee tables that move on bicycle tires or sculpted wood wheels for Fontana Arte. 

Coffee and cocktail tables can serve as a room’s centerpiece with attention-grabbing details and colors. Glass varieties will keep your hardwood flooring and dazzling area rugs on display, while a marble or stone coffee table in a modern interior can showcase your prized art books and decorative objects. A unique vintage desk or writing table can bring sophistication and even a bit of spice to your work life. 

No matter your desired form or function, a quality table for your living space is a sound investment. On 1stDibs, browse a collection of vintage, new and antique bedside tables, mid-century end tables and more .