- Want more images or videos?Request additional images or videos from the seller
Mid-Century American Desk
About
Details
- CreatorWarren Platner (Designer)
- DimensionsHeight: 29.5 in. (74.93 cm)Width: 84 in. (213.36 cm)Depth: 39 in. (99.06 cm)
- StyleMid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques
- Place of Origin
- Period
- Date of Manufacturecirca 1960s
- ConditionReupholstered. Refinished.
- Seller LocationHouston, TX
- Reference Number1stDibs: LU1503228575022
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingShips From: Houston, TX
- Return Policy
This item cannot be returned.
About the Designer
Warren Platner
Though his vintage furniture and interiors are icons of mid-century modernism, architect and furniture designer Warren Platner took his stylistic inspiration from as far back as 18th-century France, once saying about his seminal collection for Knoll that his design intent was to evoke “the kind of decorative, gentle, graceful kind of design that appeared in period style like Louis XV.”
Indeed, the marriage of modern sensibility and classical grace is a marker of Platner’s style across furnishings and interiors — both genres in which he left an enduring legacy.
Born in 1919 in Baltimore, Maryland, Platner studied architecture at Cornell before cutting his teeth working for design icons like Eero Saarinen and Kevin Roche, eventually serving as head of interior design in the latter’s office. In 1965, Platner opened his own office, in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he continued to hone his particular brand of graceful modernism.
Knoll released the Platner Collection of seating and tables in 1966. (Originally designed in 1962, the suite took nearly four years of development to bring to life.) The decorative bent-metal-and-glass pieces — an armchair, a dining table and more — make certain nods to the trademarks of his former employers, but also to the shapes of historic European furniture. The sculptural elegance of his line recalls Saarinen’s iconic Tulip collection, which includes armchairs and dining tables, while his materiality aligns with Roche’s cutting-edge use of glass and metal for the headquarters of the Ford Foundation in New York.
Many of Platner’s Knoll pieces would go on to find homes in a certain fabled locale: the Windows on the World restaurant at the original World Trade Center, whose interiors Platner was tapped to outfit in the mid-1970s. Upon the opening of the restaurant in 1976, New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger dubbed its style “sensuous modernism” — an apt tagline for Platner’s oeuvre as a whole.
Platner died in 2006 at the age of 86. His furniture is still produced by Knoll, and original examples — along with idiosyncratic custom works he created for interior design clients — are coveted by collectors today.
Find vintage Warren Platner furniture on 1stDibs.
- Mid-Century French DeskLocated in Houston, TXDesk is created out of walnut wood with light polish, 4 elongated legs are ebonized, which presents juxtaposition between light and dark colors of the wood. Desk has 2 spacious drawe...Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsWalnut
$7,900 - Hungarian Mid-Century DeskLocated in Houston, TXDesk is made out of beautiful walnut wood, displaying mesmerizing wood grain on the table top. There are 2 keyed spacious drawers on the left side and 3 smaller drawers on the right ...Category
Vintage 1950s Hungarian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Mid-Century French Desk in WalnutLocated in Houston, TXMid-century French desk Desk is rectangular table top, re-upholstered in a new graphite cowhide. It has a chrome trimming at the edges and beautiful wood grain is displaying on th...Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Art Deco French DeskLocated in Houston, TXBeautiful desk is made out of walnut wood, middle section of the desk top is covered with cowhide. Desk has 4 spacious drawers with wide chrome handles. Has prominent base and wide l...Category
Vintage 1940s French Art Deco Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsChrome
$8,600 - Art Deco French Grand DeskLocated in Houston, TXArt Deco table is made out of high quality walnut wood. It composed out of 2 spacious comportments with lots of room/drawers for storage. Both compartments are connected with each ot...Category
Vintage 1940s French Art Deco Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsChrome
$21,500 - French Art Deco Desk in PalisanderLocated in Houston, TXUnusual design of the desk makes it a very unique piece. Made out of Palisander wood, table has two legs composed from metal plates. In the middle of the table front there is a small...Category
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsPalisander
You May Also Like
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Metal
Vintage 1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks
Wood
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Pine, Lacquer, Paint, Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Vintage 1970s Chinese Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Teak
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
Walnut
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
Chrome
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
Recently Viewed
View MoreThe 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Insured Global Delivery