Modern Console 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century Modern Console Tables
Glass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Console Tables
Wood
Early 2000s French Modern Console Tables
Iron, Gold Leaf
1970s French Vintage Modern Console Tables
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Console Tables
Glass, Wood
20th Century French Modern Console Tables
Marble, Wrought Iron
1970s French Vintage Modern Console Tables
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Console Tables
Agate, Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Console Tables
Travertine, Brass, Steel
Mid-20th Century French Modern Console Tables
Zinc, Steel
2010s Belgian Modern Console Tables
Wenge
1970s French Vintage Modern Console Tables
Brass, Steel
Late 20th Century Philippine Modern Console Tables
Coral
2010s Modern Console Tables
Resin, Wood, Teak, Reclaimed Wood
1930s French Vintage Modern Console Tables
Copper, Iron
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Console Tables
Brass
1930s French Vintage Modern Console Tables
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Console Tables
Wood
2010s American Modern Console Tables
Wood, Lacquer
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Console Tables
Stone, Marble, Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Console Tables
Cement
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Console Tables
Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Console Tables
Mahogany
1990s Modern Console Tables
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Console Tables
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Console Tables
Marble
1990s Italian Modern Console Tables
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Console Tables
Laminate, Wood
2010s American Modern Console Tables
Lucite
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Console Tables
Travertine
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Console Tables
Sandstone
2010s Canadian Modern Console Tables
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Console Tables
Glass, Oak
1990s French Modern Console Tables
Marble, Bronze
20th Century Italian Modern Console Tables
Brass, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Console Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Console Tables
Brass
1990s Modern Console Tables
Wood