During the 1930s, a company called Interlübke was established by brothers Leo and Hans Lübke to produce affordable bedroom furniture such as dressers, beds and other items for homeowners in the founders' native Germany. While the brand has changed and expanded its offerings over the years, it is still committed to producing well-made handcrafted furnishings for the home.
Cor is Latin for heart, and COR furniture exemplifies the qualities at the heart of exceptional design: practicality, comfort and style. The company's sofas, lounge chairs and coffee tables capture the essence of the best of mid-century modernism. Simple silhouettes, quality materials and function-first designs ensure that vintage COR furniture is still in high demand with collectors all over the world.
COR was founded in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany, in 1954 by Leo Lübke — in the name of his son, Helmut — and the Prince of Bentheim-Tecklenburg, a northern German county. Nearly a couple of decades prior, in 1937, a manufacturer of bedroom furniture called Interlübke was established by Leo and his brother Hans. The latter’s son Horst, who was managing partner from 1972, retired during the 1990s and his son Helmut Lübke joined Interlübke and shifted the brand’s focus toward modular furniture systems. During the 1980s, the Prince of Bentheim-Tecklenburg left COR and the Lübke family became its sole owner. In 2006, COR-Interlübke retail locations opened their doors.
COR, which was primarily focused on upholstered furniture from its earliest days, made its mark in 1959 with a sleek modular seating system consisting of five parts called Quinta, which was created by designer Michael Bayer (the first creative director at Interlübke). The upholstered line boasted clean, angular contours and appealed to the day's ever-broadening flexible interior design sensibilities. The same thinking is applied at Interlübke, where designers busied themselves during the 1960s with developing storage furniture that could be endlessly expanded upon. At COR, the Quinta remained in production until 1978. The success of the Quinta was followed by the 1964 Conseta system, which featured a sofa and other pieces of seating designed by Friedrich Wilhelm Möller.
The following decades saw more successful collaborations at the Lübke family-run brands with designers like Peter Maly — who designed Memphis-style cabinets for Interlübke and postmodern seating in Pop art colors for COR — and Luigi Colani. The latter, a German industrial designer born Lutz Colani, created a range of gorgeous organically shaped Space Age seating for BASF and Fritz Hansen, serveware for Rosenthal and worked on automobile designs for Fiat. Colani designed the popular Orbis line for COR during the 1970s.
In 2000, the Arthe sofa by Wulf Schneider was awarded the prestigious Red Dot Award from the North Rhine-Westphalia Design Centre.
COR is still owned and operated by the Lübke family’s parent company Gebrüder Lübke GmbH & Co. KG and continues to produce furniture at the Rheda-Wiedenbrück factory, sourcing leather from southern Germany and upholstery from Italy. COR partnered with Jehs+Laub, a renowned Stuttgart-based studio, in 2010. In 2022, Interlübke was sold to Domovari, a manufacturer of bathroom accessories and interiors.
Find a collection of Interlübke furniture on 1stDibs.
1980s German Post-Modern Interlübke DUO Writing Desk by Peter Maly
By Peter Maly, Interlübke
Located in St. Louis, MO
A rare find in the states, 1980s Post-Modern Silver Gray & Black DUO Desk by German designer / architect Peter Maly for Interlübke. Asymmetrical heavy wood grain top with storage col...
Metal
Postmodern desk, interlübke
By Interlübke
Located in Neuss, NW
Postmodern desk by interlübke from the 1980s. Corpus in black with two drawers, a roller shutter door and various storage compartments, a table top and a frame made of black lacquere...
Steel
Bodil Kjaer Desk
By Bodil Kjaer
Located in San Francisco, CA
A rare and early Bodil Kjaer desk in wenge by E. Pederson & Sons. The desk has four drawers with a chrome and brass key. Polished chrome-plated steel frame. Signed with applied manuf...
Chrome
Midcentury Executive Boomerang Desk
Located in Esperance, NY
For sale is this very unique large executive boomerang desk. The top is made out of laminate and the bottom is solid wood.
Walnut
1968 Executive Desk
By Warren Platner
Located in Hanover, MA
Executive desk formerly belonging to noted architect George M. Notter, (1933–2007) of the Boston firm Anderson Notter Finegold (now known as Finegold Alexander Architects). Current institutional memory at the firm suggests it was a special order from Herman Miller for the then new New York offices of MGM, however Herman Miller's archivist was unable to confirm. Styling, particularly the distinctive slim milled aluminum tracks through which the entire drawer carriage glides is clearly similar to Warren Platner's designs for Lehigh-Leopold which were then among the most costly of executive office furnishings. The bent flat bar chromed steel base with its distinctive pigeon toe splay is somewhat similar to a table base in Stow Davis' Electa Series, designed by Alexis Yermakov circa 1971. Walnut laminate top is very clean with no issues. One corner edge shows a small separation. The only identifying markings are within the milled aluminum channel: G.P. F.I. 2 And the date Dec. 20, 1968. See image 18. Between the rectangular laminate top and the chrome base is a heavy blackened steel plate. Underneath the bent chrome pigeon toe feet are bars of a thick phenolic material which act as floor protector. We can have keys made to fit the two locking drawers. Tim Anderson...
Aluminum, Steel, Chrome
Mid-Century Modern Italian Writing Desk, 1960s
Located in Puglia, Puglia
Italian desk from the 1960s, restored and shellac polished. Note the brass handles and feet, the green glass top with original period adhesive paper underneath and the black painted ...
Brass, Iron
Cascade Wall Desk
By Bourgeois Boheme Atelier
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This wall-mounted desk by Bourgeois Boheme Atelier is inspired by the French mid-century design. Crafted in oak, this compact desk is perfect for today needs, it is compact, versatil...
Brass
Mid Century Modern Drexel Burl Walnut Writing Desk
Located in Houston, TX
Mid Century Modern Drexel Burl Walnut Writing Desk. Book matched walnut top with one single drawer. Wear appropriate for age 56w x 27d x 29.25h SKU 6-770 555
Walnut, Burl
Mid-Century Modern Walnut Writing Desk
Located in Clarksboro, NJ
This listing is for a Mid-Century Modern Walnut Writing Desk. Featuring a straight line design, rectangular walnut top, six drawers with milk glass knobs, four modern legs, finished ...
Milk Glass, Wood, Walnut
Florence Knoll Desk
By Florence Knoll
Located in Chicago, IL
Knoll International Planed Office Group double pedestal desk with modesty panel model 1503. Features five drawers one for files. Modesty pane...
Metal
Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Walnut Writing Desk
By Jens Risom
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Elevate your workspace with this 1960s Mid-Century Modern walnut writing desk by Jens Risom. This desk showcases rich walnut grain, clean architectural lines, and a sleek floating to...
Walnut
Modern Minimal Writing Desk
Located in Nyack, NY
The Modern Minimal Writing Desk's all solid wood construction is evident throughout. Turned legs, radiused edges and soft corners all contribute to the organic nature of this design....
Ash, Walnut
$3,500
H 35 in W 73 in D 37 in
Post-Modern Italian Executive Desk Piano Black Burl by G&C Italia Art Deco Style
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Made in the 1980s in Italy, this desk features a sleek, post-modern, and angular design. Finished in a gloss piano black complemented by burl drawer-fronts, the large work surface ha...
Burl, Lacquer
Ideale writing desk #1 by Dale Italia
By Dale Italia
Located in Milan, IT
Aesthetics and functionality combine in the Ideale solid wood desk. A piece of high-quality craftsmanship tailor-made for everyday use as well as to furnish with style. The desk feat...
Wood