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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Stone, Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Travertine, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Birch
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Onyx, Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Ash
1970s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Plastic
Late 20th Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Concrete
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Mahogany, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Oak
2010s Chinese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Carrara Marble
2010s Spanish Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Crystal, Marble, Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel, Iron
1960s French Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Ceramic, Wood
1960s French Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Ceramic, Wood
Early 2000s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Carrara Marble
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Oak
20th Century American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Onyx, Brass
1960s French Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Ceramic, Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
1970s Brazilian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Copper, Chrome
Late 20th Century French Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bronze
1960s French Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Ceramic, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
2010s Turkish Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Oak, Lacquer
1990s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass
2010s Chinese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Fiberglass
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel, Pewter
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
1970s North American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Fabric, Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Burl
20th Century Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Limestone
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood, Mahogany, Walnut
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass, Steel
1970s Belgian Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Slate, Iron
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Stone, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Travertine
1950s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Mahogany
1970s American Vintage Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple