Desks
1780s German Louis XVI Antique Desks
Walnut
Early 19th Century French Empire Antique Desks
Mahogany
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Desks
Brass, Bronze, Iron
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Brass
20th Century English Regency Desks
Leather, Walnut
1880s Antique Desks
Mahogany
Mid-20th Century English Art Deco Desks
Bakelite, Walnut
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Rosewood
Early 18th Century Antique Desks
Walnut
20th Century English Georgian Desks
Leather, Hardwood
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Desks
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks
Wood
Late 18th Century Chippendale Antique Desks
Cherry
Mid-20th Century English Art Deco Desks
Walnut, Bakelite
19th Century English Victorian Antique Desks
Leather, Hardwood
Late 19th Century American Late Victorian Antique Desks
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Desks
Metal
1950s European Other Vintage Desks
Rosewood, Wood
Late 20th Century American Desks
Brass, Stainless Steel
1830s English Antique Desks
Brass, Steel
19th Century American High Victorian Antique Desks
Walnut
19th Century British Antique Desks
Mahogany
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Teak
2010s French Industrial Desks
Brass, Copper
1950s Italian Space Age Vintage Desks
Wood
20th Century English Victorian Desks
Leather, Yew
1960s European Vintage Desks
Steel
Early 1900s Georgian Antique Desks
Mahogany
1910s French Vintage Desks
Brass
Early 20th Century Art Nouveau Desks
Wood
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century English Art Deco Desks
Chrome
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Steel, Aluminum
19th Century English Chinoiserie Antique Desks
Mahogany
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Brass
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Steel
19th Century English Victorian Antique Desks
Walnut
1860s British Antique Desks
Walnut
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Desks
Oak
1970s European Modern Vintage Desks
Teak
Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Desks
Leather, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Modern Desks
Brass
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks
Leather, Wood
1870s English Victorian Antique Desks
Burl
1790s George II Antique Desks
Mahogany
Early 20th Century English Desks
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks
Wood
Early 1900s English Edwardian Antique Desks
Other
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks
Brass
2010s Federal Desks
Leather, Mahogany
1890s French Antique Desks
Kingwood
Early 20th Century English Chippendale Desks
Leather, Mahogany
19th Century English Antique Desks
Ormolu
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Oak, Walnut
Mid-18th Century English Georgian Antique Desks
Mahogany
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Brass
18th Century Portuguese Renaissance Antique Desks
Wood
Vintage and Antique Desks for Sale — Shop Handcrafted Mid-Century Modern Desks, Art Deco Desks and Other Desks and Tables on 1stDibs
There’s no reason that the corner of your home you’ve dedicated to work shouldn’t also reflect your personality and sense of style. A collection of unique vintage and antique desks can be found on 1stDibs today.
The right desk can be a good fit for your space and help keep you organized when you need it most. For many, the word “desk” can have a negative connotation. Derived from the Latin desca, meaning “table to write on,” the word can understandably evoke memories of stuffy classrooms or monotonous workdays.
As working from home has become more widespread for part of the workforce, many professionals who work remotely park themselves at the dining-room table or at the kitchen countertop to do so. If you’ve got the space, it's healthy to set aside an area in your home designated for work. A good desk can keep you on track and keep your newly minted home office free of clutter and distractions.
Within your own walls, an office area can be both personal and productive, decorated exactly to your taste or just an unobtrusive addition that aligns with the energy of the space as is. When shopping for a desk, keep height, space and specs in mind. It’s helpful to know if you’ll need the desk to offer storage, such as drawers or a hutch, or if it should fit alongside your bedroom wall as cleanly as possible.
An antique writing desk, for example, will offer a spacious, streamlined work experience with a desktop that affords real estate for your notebooks, pens, laptop and research materials. Secretary desks reveal small inner storage compartments — pigeonholes, cubbies, recesses or drawers — when their hinged leaves are folded out.
Maybe you'd prefer a vintage mid-century modern desk that seamlessly incorporates drawers for storage.
Nebraska-born designer Don S. Shoemaker became inspired by Mexico’s tropical woods, such as cocobolo, a Mexican rosewood, and he decided to work with the material in the postwar years to create desks and other furnishings. Elsewhere, made according to the same high standards as the company’s chairs, celebrated mid-century manufacturer Herman Miller produced desks over the years in a number of versions, created by designers like George Nelson, Gilbert Rohde and Bruce Burdick.
Whether you want a dramatic rolltop-style furnishing akin to the 18th-century secretary commissioned by Louis XVI or a contemporary piece made of everything from linoleum to fallen trees, a new desk and clever arrangement of desktop accessories can brighten the workday in any home.
For every passion project, year-end report or spontaneous million-dollar app idea, find the desk you need on 1stDibs.
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