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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Spanish Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
2010s European Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Oak, Wood, Plywood
2010s Portuguese Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
2010s French Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Marble
1950s French Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Resin
2010s British Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood, Oak, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
20th Century Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Laminate
2010s French Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Travertine
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
20th Century North American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Glass, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
1990s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
20th Century Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Marble, Onyx, Brass, Stainless Steel, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Onyx, Marble, Brass
2010s European Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
2010s Canadian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Stainless Steel, Iron
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel, Chrome
2010s European Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Ash, Wood, Plywood
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal, Brass, Steel, Cut Steel, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
2010s British Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood, Oak, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood, Oak
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Travertine, Brass
2010s European Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Ash, Wood, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Glass
2010s European Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Ash, Wood, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Walnut, Burl
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel, Iron
2010s French Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
2010s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel