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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood, Walnut
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass, Lacquer
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood, Ash
1970s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Metal
1940s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Plywood
1950s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Laminate, Walnut
1950s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
Early 2000s Dutch Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Bronze, Brass
Late 20th Century British Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Shell, Glass, Wood
1950s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
2010s Danish Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Oak
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Gold
1970s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Carrara Marble, Marble, Travertine, Onyx, Brass, Stainless Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Cement
Early 2000s Danish Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Lucite
2010s Pakistani Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Brass
2010s Pakistani Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
1960s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Iron
1980s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Coral, Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Hardwood, Paint
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Cut Glass, Walnut, Art Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Oak
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass, Chrome
1970s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Mahogany
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
2010s Mexican Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Iron
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Teak
2010s German Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass
1960s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bronze, Pewter
2010s Ukrainian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Travertine
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Iron
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple, Stained Glass
Late 20th Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Bronze