Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Many of the most important works by acclaimed Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto can be attributed to a single design element: the L-leg. The L-shaped design allowed legs to be attached directly to Aalto’s sophisticated tables and seating, without the need for a connecting joint. This innovation, which he called “the little sister of the architectural column,” characterized the designer’s penchant for simple, easily adaptable furniture pieces, such as the side tables, coffee tables and dining tables he created, which straddled elegance and simplicity.
Developed in partnership with furniture manufacturer Otto Korhonen and patented in 1933, the L-shaped leg — the result of Aalto’s experimentation with bending birchwood, a pioneering technique at the time — would become a hallmark of tables, stools (see his iconic Stool 60), benches and chairs that Aalto designed and produced through his company, Artek, which he cofounded in 1935 with his wife and designer Aino, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl. The company quickly found success selling streamlined, modern furniture both in Finland and, thanks to a growing interest in Nordic furniture outside Scandinavia, internationally, including the UK where many early Artek pieces were imported by the company Finmar.
Like much of his furniture, most of Aalto’s tables, especially early models, are constructed either fully or in part with birch, which the designer referred to as a “form-inspiring, deeply human material.” The flexibility of his L-leg design allowed for easily interchangeable combinations of tabletops. It also standardized the design process for multiple shapes, with the same bentwood L-legs attached to round, square or rectangular tops for a variety of table models. This look is a hallmark of Aalto’s style — and, indeed, of mid-century Scandinavian modern design in general. It has been frequently riffed on and copied throughout the ensuing decades, though Artek still produces Aalto’s original designs.
Find a wide range of vintage Alvar Aalto tables on 1stDibs.
1970s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Ash, Birch
1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Wood
20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Plywood
1960s Finnish Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch
1970s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Ash
1970s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Ash, Birch
1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch
1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Wood
2010s Finnish Bauhaus Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Laminate, Bentwood
1970s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Ash
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch
1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch, Elm
1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Leather, Beech
1970s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Pine
1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Bouclé, Ash
1970s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Brass
1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Pine
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Brass
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Steel
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Iron
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Oak
2010s Finnish Bauhaus Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Laminate, Bentwood
Early 2000s Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch
1980s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch
1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch
1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch
1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch
1940s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch, Bentwood, Plywood
1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch
1990s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Dining Room Tables
Birch