Desks
1890s English George III Antique Desks
Walnut
1920s American Renaissance Revival Vintage Desks
Mahogany
2010s Modern Desks
Chrome
19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Desks
Ormolu
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks
Metal
Mid-20th Century Belgian Art Deco Desks
Chrome
19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Desks
Ormolu
Late 19th Century French Antique Desks
Bronze
1950s American Campaign Vintage Desks
Brass
1850s English High Victorian Antique Desks
Burl
Late 19th Century English Chinese Chippendale Antique Desks
Mahogany
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Desks
Rosewood
2010s American Modern Desks
Metal, Bronze, Steel, Cut Steel, Sheet Metal
Late 18th Century French Directoire Antique Desks
Iron, Brass
20th Century French French Provincial Desks
Bronze
1810s Unknown Empire Antique Desks
Leather, Wood
Early 19th Century English Georgian Antique Desks
Oak
19th Century English Antique Desks
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Modern Desks
Brass
18th Century and Earlier British Antique Desks
Early 20th Century Swedish Neoclassical Desks
Elm, Mahogany
1820s Baltic Biedermeier Antique Desks
Pewter
21st Century and Contemporary British Art Deco Desks
Steel, Brass
Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks
Bronze
20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Desks
Chrome
Late 19th Century English Campaign Antique Desks
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Desks
Resin
Early 19th Century German Biedermeier Antique Desks
Birch, Burl
1860s English Louis XV Antique Desks
Ormolu
19th Century English Victorian Antique Desks
Walnut
Late 20th Century Italian Neoclassical Desks
Cherry
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks
Metal
Early 19th Century English Georgian Antique Desks
Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary British Georgian Desks
Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Desks
Brass
20th Century Italian Other Desks
Walnut
Late 18th Century Dutch Antique Desks
Walnut
19th Century Antique Desks
Mahogany
Mid-19th Century English George III Antique Desks
Mid-19th Century Chinese Anglo-Indian Antique Desks
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks
Steel
Early 20th Century Louis XVI Desks
Brass
1880s English Queen Anne Antique Desks
Mirror, Walnut, Burl
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Faux Leather, Oak
1950s American Vintage Desks
Chrome
Late 19th Century French Empire Antique Desks
Ormolu, Bronze
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Walnut
2010s American Modern Desks
Brass
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Leather, Wood
Mid-19th Century French Louis Philippe Antique Desks
Cherry
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks
Brass
Late 19th Century French Belle Époque Antique Desks
Bronze
1850s English Early Victorian Antique Desks
Hardwood
1970s Argentine Modern Vintage Desks
Wood
Early 18th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Desks
Lacquer
19th Century English Antique Desks
Marble, Ormolu
21st Century and Contemporary North American 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.
Read More
Ask an Interior Designer: Work-from-Home Edition
Leaping into a design project, whether it's refreshing the bedroom or redoing the whole house, can be overwhelming. Luckily, we know more than a few interior designers. You asked questions on Instagram, and now they're answering.
18 Home Offices for Workaholic Design-Lovers
Proof that working from home is a perk.