Sabine Marcelis Lazy Susan

Dutch-Kiwi designer Sabine Marcelis’s work is at the forefront of contemporary material innovation in product and installation design. She works with glass manufacturers and more, forging partnerships across her industry to bring her ambitiously experimental projects to fruition.

Marcelis’s focus is on allowing happenstance sensory experiences to emerge by juxtaposing combinations of unlikely materials and colors. She was educated at the Design Academy Eindhoven and since founding her eponymous studio in 2011 in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, she has built a remarkable roster of clients in fashion, architecture and art.

Marcelis has created signature pieces for the likes of Rem Koolhaas’s architecture firm OMA, high-fashion labels Fendi and Isabel Marant and luxury beauty brand Aēsop. She has also exhibited at the Salone del Mobile in Milan and won Wallpaper* magazine’s Designer of the Year award for 2020.

Marcelis was invited to create a sculptural intervention for the interiors of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich’s iconic Barcelona Pavilion, which saw the debut of the pair’s timeless Barcelona chair in 1929. For her “No Fear of Glass” exhibition, the designer subverted the original request made to van der Rohe to “not use too much glass” by designing chaise longues, pillar lights and a fountain that feature glass as the main material. The rest of her work is informed by a similarly sophisticated playfulness, as evident in the charming forms she creates — she has designed doughnut-shaped rugs, the multifunctional resin Candy Cube side tables and colorful asymmetrical glass mirrors.

Marcelis has the rare ability to create dynamic and fluid experiences by pushing the limits of craftsmanship. While her enchanting seating, lighting and other furnishings may appear effortless due to their fluid and simple forms, they are the result of relentless attention to detail and venturesome experiments with materiality.

Shop a variety of Sabine Marcelis's designs on 1stDibs.

A hallmark of design in an entertainment space is the centerpiece. Its main function is to draw the eye to a specific place in the room and promote symmetry. In dining areas, antique, new or vintage centerpieces can bring the entire tablescape of fine fabrics and china together.

A sculptural Art Deco–inspired primrose yellow cake stand is an example of how a singular item can transform the table. The New York– and Los Angeles–based interior designer Alexandra Loew agrees, suggesting that one such 1930s-era Schneider Glass piece, for example, could add a cheerful jolt to any staid dining table. Julia Buckingham, ​​of the Chicago firm Buckingham Interiors + Design, defines her style as “modernique” and shares with 1stDibs a striking dining-room project for Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS: white multidimensional art for the walls, monochromatic fabric from Pierre Frey for the dining chairs and large vases that are inspired by antlers for centerpieces, which she created for Global Views..

Centerpieces can be functional to the environment or a conversation starter. Explore a wide variety of antique, new and vintage centerpieces on 1stDibs — there are options for any space in one’s home. And don’t forget, unique centerpiece options for your dining table can also include an antique soup tureen brightened with flowers, stemless drinkware and other glass with flower heads, decorative vases and vessels and more.