Modern Desks and Writing 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 North American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Concrete
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Plywood
20th Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Burl, Wood
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Ash
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Gold, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Chrome
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Iron
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
1990s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
20th Century American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal, Bronze, Steel, Cut Steel, Iron
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
20th Century American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Laminate, Walnut
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Marble, Brass, Steel
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany, Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Mirror, Wood
1930s French Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Parchment Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass, Steel
2010s North American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Reclaimed Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Cocobolo
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Marble, Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Silver, Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
2010s Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Chrome
2010s Argentine Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal, Bronze, Steel, Cut Steel, Sheet Metal
1970s Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Bog Wood
1990s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Marble, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Guatemalan Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood