Desks
18th Century and Earlier French Antique Desks
Bronze
1850s Swedish Biedermeier Antique Desks
Ash
Early 19th Century Italian Empire Antique Desks
Mahogany
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Brass
Late 19th Century English British Colonial Antique Desks
Mahogany
1860s English Louis XV Antique Desks
Ormolu
Early 1900s English Late Victorian Antique Desks
Walnut
1930s Dutch Art Deco Vintage Desks
Macassar, Oak
Late 19th Century Georgian Antique Desks
Mahogany
2010s American Modern Desks
Walnut
18th Century and Earlier British Hepplewhite Antique Desks
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Bronze
2010s French Desks
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary North American Mid-Century Modern Desks
Chrome
1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Metal
18th Century French Antique Desks
Metal
Mid-19th Century English Victorian Antique Desks
Walnut
1950s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Mahogany, Sycamore
2010s Portuguese Scandinavian Modern Desks
Oak, Walnut
1780s English George III Antique Desks
Brass
Late 19th Century French Antique Desks
Mahogany
Late 19th Century French Art Deco Antique Desks
Mahogany
1790s English George III Antique Desks
Hardwood
19th Century English Campaign Antique Desks
Brass, Metal
19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Desks
Bronze
19th Century British Georgian Antique Desks
Walnut
Early 20th Century Desks
Wood
1970s Canadian Vintage Desks
Oak
Mid-20th Century Czech Bauhaus Desks
Aluminum
18th Century Dutch Dutch Colonial Antique Desks
Walnut
1970s North American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Brass
1970s French Modern Vintage Desks
Stainless Steel
Late 18th Century Italian Antique Desks
Wood
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Metal
20th Century American Desks
Brass
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Desks
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Desks
Chrome
1780s Italian Antique Desks
Walnut
Late 19th Century English George II Antique Desks
Mahogany
Mid-19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Desks
Bronze
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
Steel
19th Century Swedish Biedermeier Antique Desks
Birch, Fir
20th Century English Modern Desks
Shagreen
21st Century and Contemporary English Regency Desks
Wood, Walnut, Leather
1830s English Regency Antique Desks
Rosewood
Early 19th Century French Empire Antique Desks
Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary British Georgian Desks
Leather, Walnut
1840s English Victorian Antique Desks
Mahogany
1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Steel
1830s Danish Antique Desks
Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary American Desks
Oak, Parchment Paper
18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks
Walnut
Late 19th Century French Belle Époque Antique Desks
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks
Wood, Leather
Mid-19th Century French Antique Desks
Ebony, Amboyna
Early 20th Century British Edwardian Desks
Brass
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Desks
Hardwood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage 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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