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Art Deco Desks

ART DECO STYLE

Art Deco furniture is characterized by its celebration of modern life. More than its emphasis on natural wood grains and focus on traditional craftsmanship, vintage Art Deco dining chairs, tables, desks, cabinets and other furniture — which typically refers to pieces produced during the 1920s and 1930s — is an ode to the glamour of the “Roaring Twenties.” 

ORIGINS OF ART DECO FURNITURE DESIGN

CHARACTERISTICS OF ART DECO FURNITURE DESIGN

  • Bold geometric lines and forms, floral motifs
  • Use of expensive materials such as shagreen or marble as well as exotic woods such as mahogany, ebony and zebra wood
  • Metal accents, shimmering mirrored finishes
  • Embellishments made from exotic animal hides, inlays of mother-of-pearl or ivory

ART DECO FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

VINTAGE ART DECO FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

Few design styles are as universally recognized and appreciated as Art Deco. The term alone conjures visions of the Roaring Twenties, Machine Age metropolises, vast ocean liners, sleek typography and Prohibition-era hedonism. The iconic movement made an indelible mark on all fields of design throughout the 1920s and ’30s, celebrating society’s growing industrialization with refined elegance and stunning craftsmanship.

Widely known designers associated with the Art Deco style include Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Eileen Gray, Maurice Dufrêne, Paul Follot and Jules Leleu.

The term Art Deco derives from the name of a large decorative arts exhibition held in Paris in 1925. “Art Deco design” is often used broadly, to describe the work of creators in associated or ancillary styles. This is particularly true of American Art Deco, which is also called Streamline Moderne or Machine Age design. (Streamline Moderne, sometimes known as Art Moderne, was a phenomenon largely of the 1930s, post–Art Nouveau.)

Art Deco textile designers employed dazzling floral motifs and vivid colors, and while Art Deco furniture makers respected the dark woods and modern metals with which they worked, they frequently incorporated decorative embellishments such as exotic animal hides as well as veneers in their seating, case pieces, living room sets and bedroom furniture.

From mother-of-pearl inlaid vitrines to chrome aviator chairs, bold and inventive works in the Art Deco style include chaise longues (also known as chaise lounges) and curved armchairs. Today, the style is still favored by interior designers looking to infuse a home with an air of luxury and sophistication.

The vintage Art Deco furniture for sale on 1stDibs includes dressers, coffee tables, decorative objects and more.

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Style: Art Deco
Period: 19th Century
Functionalist Tubular Steel Desk by Gottwald and Chair by Slezak 1930s
Located in Wien, AT
Functionalist tubular steel desk by Hynek Gottwald and chair by Slezak 1930s. This one of a kind directors desk with a very nice walnut veneer has been completely restored. The ma...
Category

Mid-19th Century Czech Antique Art Deco Desks

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Late 19th Century Ebonised and Brass Inlay Desk by Maison Krieger
Located in Madrid, ES
Late 19th century ebonised and brass inlay desk by Maison Krieger. A good quality and of elegant proportions, late 19th century French Ebonized desk with brass inlay...
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Art Deco Desks

Materials

Wood

French Mahogany Marble Top Buffet with Mirror Maison Koenig, Liège, 1895
Located in Sofia, BG
Large mahogany Art Deco buffet Maison Koenig Liège made in 1895. There is light beige marble top, three drawers and two front doors with origi...
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Art Deco Desks

Materials

Mahogany

Art Deco Birch Plywood Jewelers Desk, Manner of Alvar Aalto
Located in Buffalo, NY
One of a kind jewelers desk, custom built in the 1930s for upscale gift store and gallery in downtown buffalo New York, beautifully crafted and designed,...
Category

1830s American Antique Art Deco Desks

Materials

Birch, Plywood

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Alvar Aalto Mahogany Desk for Artek with Drawers and Pull Out Work Surfaces
Located in Chicago, IL
The model #500 mahogany desk designed by Alvar Aalto, made in Sweden for Artek, Finland. Six drawers with two pull-out work surface boards. A nice example...
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1940s Swedish Vintage Art Deco Desks

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Mahogany

Vintage Bauhaus Chromed Tubular Steel Wardrobe by Hynek Gottwald, 1930s
Located in Żory, PL
This Bauhaus-style wardrobe was produced by Hynek Gottwald in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s. Features three doors, an internal clothes rail and five shelves. The wardrobe stands on chr...
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Early 20th Century Art Deco Desks

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Steel

Restored Bauhaus Chromed Tubular Steel Wardrobe from Hynek Gottwald, 1930s
Located in Żory, PL
This Bauhaus-style wardrobe in walnut was manufactured by Hynek Gottwald in Czech Republic in the 1930s. Features three doors, two shelves and two clothes rails. The wardrobe stands ...
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Early 20th Century Art Deco Desks

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Steel

French Buffet Cabinet, Louis XVI Style Ebonized with Marble Top
Located in Montreal, Quebec
French buffet cabinet, Louis XVI style, ebonized with marble top, early 20th century. In the spirit of Hollywood Regency and Maison Jansen. T...
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Early 20th Century French Art Deco Desks

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Original Green Bauhaus Wardrobe, by Hynek Gottwald, Veneer, Chrome, Czech, 1930s
Located in Horomerice, CZ
Made by Hynek Gottwald, a company credited with being the pioneers of metal furniture. This item features classic Bauhaus design elements. Elements of this style are neutral colors...
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Early 20th Century Czech Art Deco Desks

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Restored Bauhaus Chromed Tubular Steel Wardrobe from Robert Slezak, 1930s
Located in Żory, PL
This Bauhaus-style wardrobe was manufactured by Robert Slezak in Bystrice pod Hostynem (Czech Republic) in the 1930s. Features two doors and three adjustable shelves. The wardrobe st...
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1930s Vintage Art Deco Desks

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Steel, Chrome

Vintage American Art Deco Desk
Located in North Hollywood, CA
This vintage art deco desk from United States is a stunning piece from the 1930s. Its unique design features two shaped columns, each containing four pull-out drawers, as well as an ...
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1930s American Vintage Art Deco Desks

Materials

Leather, Rosewood, Walnut, Burl

Vintage American Art Deco Desk
Vintage American Art Deco Desk
H 31 in W 57.5 in D 27.5 in
Louis XVI-Style sideboard/buffet mahogany with white marble top
Located in Houston, TX
The quality of the mahogany used in this piece is excellent It is flame / crotch mahogany which is exceptionally good. The white marble top is original and has no repairs. The finis...
Category

Early 20th Century French Art Deco Desks

Materials

Mahogany

French 19th Century Inlay Lady’s Desk
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
This is a darling petite lady’s writing desk from France circa 1850. Sleek and uncluttered design, typical of its Louis XVI style. A wonderful white marble top is encircled by an ele...
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19th Century French Antique Art Deco Desks

Materials

Stone, Marble, Metal, Brass

French 19th Century Inlay Lady’s Desk
French 19th Century Inlay Lady’s Desk
H 52.13 in W 31.5 in D 17.25 in
Art Deco Office Desk Nut
Located in Kraków, Małopolska
We present Art Deco desk from 1940. Every piece of furniture that leaves our workshop from the beginning to the end is subjected to manual renovation, so as to restore its original ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Czech Art Deco Desks

Materials

Oak

Art Deco Office Desk Nut
Art Deco Office Desk Nut
H 31.11 in W 63 in D 30.71 in
Bauhaus Tubular Steel Desk by André Lurçat, Manufactured by Thonet, circa. 1935
Located in Berlin, DE
Bauhaus tubular steel desk designed by André Lurçat and probably manufactured by Thonet. Chrome plated tubular steel, stained oak veneer, circa 1930.
Category

1930s German Vintage Art Deco Desks

Materials

Metal, Chrome

Bauhaus Tubular Steel Cupboard Cabinet with Secretary Desk by R. Slezak, 1930s
Located in Żory, PL
This Bauhaus style cupboard in oak and walnut, was produced in the 1930s by Robert Slezak. The cabinet is multifunctional, divided into 5 parts. There are 4 drawers, 3 shelves, 2 di...
Category

Early 20th Century Art Deco Desks

Materials

Oak, Walnut

Previously Available Items
Brass Conductors Reception Podium, Reading Lamp Stand
Located in Chillerton, Isle of Wight
Brass Conductors Reception Podium, reading lamp stand This is a charming piece full of character, it is heavy and very stable with a double light above the book holder The chunky...
Category

Late 19th Century Antique Art Deco Desks

Materials

Brass

Eugenio Quarti 1867-1929 Desk With Twin Table Decorated with Floral Inlays
Located in Madrid, ES
Eugenio Quarti 1867-1929 desk with twin table decorated with floral inlays Eugenio Quarti, "prince of cabinetmakers", was born in 1867 in Villa d'Almè, a small town in the province of Bergamo, to a family dedicated to wood crafts. Bruno Munari At the age of 14, his father sent him to Paris, where he worked as an apprentice in a cabinet-making workshop. At the end of the 1980s, dell'800 returned to Italy and settled in Milan, where he worked, for a short time, with Carlo Bugatti. In the same year, he will open his own workshop in via Donizetti. The first pieces of furniture they draw and produce are clearly derived from Bugattiana. Vittore Grubicy de DragonDal 1894, the year in which he participated in the international exhibition in Antwerp and in the international workers' exhibition in Milan, in 1898 Eugenio Quarti developed a personal idea of ??modernist furniture, thanks also to the spurs of Vittore Grubicy, freeing himself definitely from the stylistic heritage of Bugattian and find new ways to define a totally personal style. In the same year he participated in the Turin exhibition featuring predominantly dark wood modernist furniture decorated with "inlays" of metal, ivory, tortoise and mother-of-pearl; he is now totally free from the stylistic elements of the past, establishing himself as an artist with a unique and formed personality. Precious wood furnishings such as teak, mahogany, rosewood, maracaibo, walnut, natural or stained maple are enriched with subtle inlays, metallic strands and precious materials, distributed to follow and highlight profiles. Inside which decorative motifs of stylized plants or animals are inserted. In 1900 he participated in the international exhibition in Paris, where he received the coveted "Grand Prix" jury prize. Launched with undisputed success, he sees that his clientele is growing more and more within the aristocracy and upper bourgeoisie; The furniture produced is increasingly luxurious and very expensive. Once the workshop in via Donizetti remains, he opens a new one of 100 square meters in via Palermo, where he remains until 1904. From this moment on, Eugenio Quarti, who produces exclusively isolated pieces to be included in already finished furniture contexts, begins a production aimed at creating complete environments that are often complex and grandiose. At the end of 1904, Quarti moved to a new factory designed by Luigi Conconi, in Carlo Poma street. Here, gradually and in a typical business perspective of the moment, from the beginning to a production that establishes the objective of a progressive expansion of customers; He proposes, along with luxurious and precious furniture, also a more economical and mass production. From 1906 he introduced geometric elements in the decorations, light and dark chessboard inlays and hemispheres in wood or glass with a clear Viennese allusion. After the first decade of the century are the furniture for important Milanese houses and the Camparino bar in the Galleria Vittorio Veneto II, where, in 1923, he will replace the old furniture still linked to the Empire style with his furniture. A deep and significant restyling operation that he sees a close collaboration with Angiolo d'Andrea and Alessandro Mazzuccotelli. He died six years later, leaving the management of the company to his son Mario (1901-1974), who inherited the company from his father and restructured it. In the 30s of the 900s, the "Quarti - Mobili d'arte" will have about 200 employees. Undoubtedly, Eugenio Quarti, one of the great Italian cabinetmakers of the 20th century, worked with the most prestigious architects of his time. Giuseppe Sommaruga, Luigi Broggi, Alfredo Campanini, just to name a few. He also worked as a decorator, designing complete furniture for public and private buildings. It was he who designed the furniture for the Palazzo Castiglioni in Milan, the Villa Carosio in Baveno, the Grand Hotel and Casinò in San Pellegrino Terme, and the Hungaria Palace Hotel on the Lido in Venice. However, he also disdained less important orders such as the furniture for the Villa Mariani in Bordighera, the residence of the painter Pompeo Mariani...
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Late 19th Century Italian Antique Art Deco Desks

Materials

Wood

Art Deco Birch Plywood Jewelers Desk, Manner of Alvar Aalto
Located in Buffalo, NY
One of a kind jewelers desk, custom built in the 1930s for upscale gift store and gallery in downtown buffalo New York, beautifully crafted and designed,...
Category

1830s American Antique Art Deco Desks

Materials

Birch, Plywood

Burl Wood Chest of Drawers
Located in Culver City, CA
Burl maple chest, with ebonized moulding. Upper drawers hide a drop down desk with original green leather insert, and compartmentalized storage.
Category

19th Century French Antique Art Deco Desks

Materials

Burl, Leather, Maple, Wood

Burl Wood Chest of Drawers
Burl Wood Chest of Drawers
H 60 in W 32 in D 16.5 in

Antique, New and Vintage Art Deco Desks

Antique, new and vintage Art Deco desks bear the hallmarks of the popular movement that originated in France and influenced architecture as well as the design of everyday objects, from furniture to cars. The term Art Deco gets its name from a large decorative arts exhibition held in Paris in 1925.

Furniture makers who worked in the Art Deco style were reacting to — and were inspired by — Art Nouveau. They preferred simple lines and rich, dark woods. Art Deco furniture designs were modern and frequently embellished with bold ornamental elements made from modern metals. Defined by dazzling geometric shapes and intricate details, Art Deco–style desks can add character and class to any office and can be found in a variety of shapes and materials.

On 1stDibs, shop an ever-expanding selection of original antique Art Deco desks and roll-top desks from designers and brands such as Gilbert Rohde, Casa Botelho, Koket and Venfield.

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