Modern Desks
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Desks
Oak
1960s American Vintage Modern Desks
Metal, Aluminum
2010s American Modern Desks
Wood
2010s Danish Modern Desks
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Desks
Oak, Lacquer
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Desks
Metal, Chrome
Mid-20th Century Modern Desks
Wood
1960s French Vintage Modern Desks
Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks
Marble, Brass
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Desks
Metal, Chrome
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Desks
Metal
20th Century English Modern Desks
Leather, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Desks
Crystal, Brass, Stainless Steel
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Desks
Wood, Elm
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Desks
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks
Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Desks
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Desks
Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Desks
Metal, Bronze, Steel, Cut Steel, Iron
2010s Italian Modern Desks
Iron
2010s American Modern Desks
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Desks
Wood
Late 20th Century North American Modern Desks
Maple
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Desks
Iron
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks
Brass
1960s American Vintage Modern Desks
Chrome
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Desks
Teak
1980s Vintage Modern Desks
Wood, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks
Metal
2010s Danish Modern Desks
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Desks
Metal
20th Century American Modern Desks
Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks
Laminate, Oak, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks
Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Modern Desks
Hardwood, Paint
1940s French Vintage Modern Desks
Oak, Lacquer
2010s Lebanese Modern Desks
Brass
1950s American Vintage Modern Desks
Steel, Iron
1930s American Vintage Modern Desks
Aluminum, Zinc
1970s Argentine Vintage Modern Desks
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Desks
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Desks
Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Desks
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Desks
Plywood
2010s European Modern Desks
Wood, Oak, Lacquer, Paper
2010s Portuguese Modern Desks
Leather, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Desks
Wood, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks
Steel
1990s American Modern Desks
Hardwood, Cherry
2010s French Modern Desks
Ash, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks
Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Desks
Metal
2010s American Modern Desks
Stainless Steel
1970s French Vintage Modern Desks
Aluminum, Steel
20th Century French Modern Desks
Brass, Wrought Iron
2010s German Modern Desks
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks
Hardwood





