Modern Conference 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s Slovenian Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Granite, Steel, Chrome
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Wood
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Glass, Lucite
1970s Czech Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Ash, Beech, Elm, Wood
1970s Czech Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Brass, Metal
1970s Czech Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Conference Tables
Mahogany
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Travertine
2010s Canadian Modern Conference Tables
Metal, Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Glass, Driftwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Conference Tables
Leather, Walnut
2010s Australian Modern Conference Tables
Granite, Marble, Metal, Aluminum, Bronze
1960s American Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Brass
1960s North American Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Walnut
2010s American Modern Conference Tables
Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Travertine
2010s Canadian Modern Conference Tables
Steel
2010s English Modern Conference Tables
Walnut
1970s American Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Burl
1970s American Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Steel
1970s French Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Brass
1970s French Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Brass
1970s Slovenian Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Metal, Silver Leaf
1970s American Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Rosewood
1970s American Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Chrome
1970s Czech Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Chrome
1970s French Vintage Modern Conference Tables
Aluminum