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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass, Iron
2010s Egyptian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
2010s South African Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Lacquer
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Stone, Marble, Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Fiberglass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Oak
Early 2000s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Iron
Late 20th Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass, Aluminum, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum, Lead, Gold Leaf
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Carrara Marble, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood, Oak, Driftwood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
1970s Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Limestone, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood, Walnut
2010s Brazilian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Lacquer
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Plastic, Laminate
2010s Egyptian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Mother-of-Pearl, Walnut
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
2010s Egyptian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Pine
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel, Iron
Early 2000s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Rosewood
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Ceramic, Plastic
1960s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Metal
2010s French Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Cherry, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Brass
2010s European Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
1980s Colombian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bone
Late 20th Century French Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Plexiglass
2010s Egyptian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Aluminum, Steel, Cut Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Stone, Travertine, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Travertine, Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Brass
2010s South African Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Quartz
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass