Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
20th Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Lucite, Wood
1970s French Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bronze
1990s Unknown Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Chrome
20th Century American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass, Burl
1970s North American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Brass
1970s Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Limestone, Chrome
1970s Belgian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
1970s French Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Burl, Lacquer
Late 20th Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum
1980s French Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Cherry
1970s Czech Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Ash, Beech, Elm, Wood
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum
1960s French Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood, Oak
1970s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bronze, Enamel
Late 20th Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
Mid-20th Century French Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Lava, Steel
1980s French Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
Mid-20th Century North American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass, Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
1970s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
1970s Dutch Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bronze
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
1970s Belgian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Aluminum
1960s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome
1970s Belgian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
1960s North American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
1980s Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
1960s French Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Lava
1980s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Plywood, Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass, Stainless Steel
1940s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Reed, Glass
1970s Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Fiberglass
20th Century American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Lacquer, Mother-of-Pearl, Maple
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Other
Late 20th Century American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Lucite
1980s Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome
1960s German Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century French Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome
Late 20th Century European Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
Late 20th Century French Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
1970s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
1970s Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass, Resin, Formica, Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Enamel
1980s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
Mid-20th Century American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Brass