With a surname that loosely translates to a synonym for “bizarre” in Italian, Milanese designer and architect Paolo Buffa is best known for capturing the best of both old and new in his plush, enveloping lounge chairs and wingback chairs as well as his range of modern tables, each dazzling and provocative but built using classical techniques.
Purposely playful and airy, mid-century Italian interiors encouraged merriment and socializing. Buffa’s work was well suited to this, but unlike the postwar designers who established recognizable trademarks and signatures, his vintage furniture for Cassina and other firms — the sculptural side tables and case pieces of walnut and solid oak, the luxurious sheepskin sofas — differed considerably from one design to the next, making them appealing to a range of interior decorators and socialites with specific taste. The son of a highly sought-after artist, Giovanni Buffa, Paolo graduated in 1927 from Politecnico di Milano. He then spent time working under architects and designers Gio Ponti and Emilio Lancia. Ponti, who himself crafted thousands of furnishings and endlessly creative rooms, was so taken with the young designer that in 1928 he featured his simple and elegant rosewood dressing table in his new magazine, Domus.
After opening a firm with his regular collaborator Antonio Cassi Ramelli, Buffa became one of the leading tastemakers of Italian mid-century modern furnishings, designing for villas and residential buildings across the country. His style was a mix of Art Deco, Rationalism, neoclassicism and a bit of whimsy. He used high-quality materials and regularly worked with local ateliers known for their fine craftsmanship to produce his designs, such as Serafino Arrighi and Marelli & Colico. In 1940, he partnered with the Mario Quarti furniture studio on the royal palace of Albania’s King Zog, with Buffa designing the furniture, and in 1951, Egypt’s King Farouk enlisted him to redecorate his yacht.
While Buffa’s transcendent pieces are now collector’s items, there are a few still in production, such as those he made with Angelo Marelli. His eponymous firm, the Italian furniture producer Eredi Marelli, still manufactures some designs based on Buffa’s archives.
Find a collection of vintage Paolo Buffa furniture today on 1stDibs.
Paolo Buffa round center or game table, walnut, five hidden drawers, 1950
By Paolo Buffa
Located in Rome, IT
elegant and fine game table by Arch. Paolo Buffa, circa 1950 also available as a center table five sculptural and carver legs, five hidden drawers, inlayed patterned top very good ...
Walnut
Italian Round Rustic Game Table
Located in Westwood, NJ
Italian style rustic round game table with molded edge, made of mahogany, acacia and oak parquetry with reversible leather and chess inlaid center, an inlaid Backgammon board well, on an octagonal flared column pedestal base. Includes a wooden chess set...
Wood
$6,850
H 26.5 in Dm 47.25 in
Osvaldo Borsani Round Dining / Center / Game Table with Travertine Top, Signed
By Osvaldo Borsani, Tecno
Located in Kansas City, MO
Osvaldo Borsani dining table or center table or game table with the original one inch thick travertine top with a slightly tapered edge. Black steel base with aluminum panels. The t...
Travertine, Aluminum, Steel
Vienna Secession Chess Table or Game Table, 1900s
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Magnificent and rare Vienna Secession chess table or game table. Striking Austrian design from the 1900s. Solid walnut and original walnut veneered base with decorative inlay. Four o...
Walnut
Paolo Buffa Dining Table, 1950
By Paolo Buffa
Located in Milano, IT
Dining table 1950 Paolo Buffa. Brass and wood.
Brass
French Louis XV or Rococo Style Dark Brown Walnut Game Table
Located in Barntrup, DE
A beautifully carved French Louis XV or Rococo-style walnut card table that can function as a narrow console table or open up to seat four people for games or card play. The top open...
Leather, Walnut
$3,295
H 29.25 in W 64 in D 36 in
Edward Wormley for Dunbar Walnut Flip Top Dining or Game Table, Newly Refinished
By Edward Wormley, Dunbar Furniture
Located in South Bend, IN
An exceptional Mid-Century Modern flip top game table or dining table By Edward Wormley for Dunbar USA, 1950s Walnut, with original brass hinges, leather wrapped feet, and velvet ...
Leather, Walnut
Guglielmo Ulrich Game Table, Italy 1950's
By Guglielmo Ulrich
Located in New York, NY
Flip top game table, when not in use the wood top has a sun marquetry, on the flip side, a velvet insert lets you play cards, each player has it’s own little pull out drink tray.
Walnut
Vintage 1950s Bent Rattan Game Table Set
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This exceptional 1950s game table set is a quintessential example of mid-century tropical modernism, perfect for those seeking to infuse their home with organic texture and vintage c...
Upholstery, Rattan
$8,475
H 29.5 in W 39 in D 39 in
1950s Mid-Century American Glamorous Smokey Mirrored Center Hall / Game Table
Located in New York, NY
This stunningly beautiful mid-century smoked mirrored table with slightly bowed and curved corners was realized in America. This timeless piece features a beveled, tessellated top with a undulating...
Mirror, Smoked Glass
Paolo Buffa, Mahogany, Bronze, Center Table, Italy, 1940s
By Paolo Buffa
Located in Manhasset, NY
Paolo Buffa, Italian Mid-Century Modern, Mahogany, Brass, Center Table, Italy, 1940s A Mahogany and bronze center table designed and produced Paolo Buffa in Italy c. 1940s. this exa...
Bronze
$7,200
H 28.85 in W 34 in D 33 in
French 1860s Napoleon III Walnut Game Table with Four Drawers and Cabriole Legs
Located in Atlanta, GA
A French Napoleon III period walnut game table from the mid-19th century, with leather top and four drawers. Created in France during the reign of Emperor Napoleon III, this walnut g...
Leather, Walnut
Round Walnut Two Tiers Center Coffee Table by Paolo Buffa
By Paolo Buffa
Located in Marcq-en-Barœul, Hauts-de-France
This very nice round coffee table is made of walnut with two glass tops. This is an Italian work by famous designer Paolo Buffa. Circa 1940
Walnut
Sold
H 30.32 in W 44.89 in D 45.28 in
Paolo Buffa Game Table in Maple Wood and Brass and Velvet, 1950s
By Paolo Buffa
Located in Milano, IT
Elegant game table by Paolo Buffa of the 1950s. Excellent quality and restored. The table is flower shaped with beautiful curves. Made of maple wood, the table has under the top a w...
Brass
Paolo Buffa, Round Game Table, circa 1955
By Paolo Buffa
Located in New York, NY
Round game table by Paolo Buffa, circa 1955, in stained wood. Beautiful table in great condition with scalloped edges and four drawers. Paolo Buff...
Wood
Game Table by Paolo Buffa
By Paolo Buffa
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Italian Game Table by Paolo Buffa Provenance Hotel Bristol Fully restored
Brass
Italian Game Table by Buffa
By Paolo Buffa
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Italian Game Table by Buffa Provenance : Hotel Bristol
Brass