Modern Side 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s American Modern Side Tables
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s French Modern Side Tables
Ceramic, Clay
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Side Tables
Rosewood
2010s American Modern Side Tables
Wood, Paint
2010s Czech Modern Side Tables
Clay
2010s Swedish Modern Side Tables
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Side Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Side Tables
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Side Tables
Glass, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Side Tables
Plywood
2010s French Modern Side Tables
Bronze
2010s American Modern Side Tables
Cast Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Side Tables
Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Side Tables
Gold, Steel
2010s Danish Modern Side Tables
Concrete
2010s German Modern Side Tables
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Tables
Travertine
2010s Brazilian Modern Side Tables
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Tables
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Tables
Marble
2010s Brazilian Modern Side Tables
Steel
2010s American Modern Side Tables
Steel, Iron
2010s Spanish Modern Side Tables
Ash, Smoked Glass
2010s Indian Modern Side Tables
Metal
2010s Indonesian Modern Side Tables
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Side Tables
Marble
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Side Tables
Brass, Iron
2010s Australian Modern Side Tables
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Tables
Travertine
2010s Swedish Modern Side Tables
Aluminum
2010s Spanish Modern Side Tables
Aluminum
2010s Danish Modern Side Tables
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Tables
Glass
2010s English Modern Side Tables
Other
2010s Canadian Modern Side Tables
Oak, Corian
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Side Tables
Blown Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Side Tables
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Tables
Gold Leaf
2010s Danish Modern Side Tables
Concrete
2010s German Modern Side Tables
Glass
2010s Turkish Modern Side Tables
Marble
2010s European Modern Side Tables
Bronze
2010s German Modern Side Tables
Birch
2010s French Modern Side Tables
Limestone, Brass
2010s American Modern Side Tables
Maple
2010s Danish Modern Side Tables
Marble, Steel
2010s German Modern Side Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Tables
Travertine
2010s Danish Modern Side Tables
Metal, Other
2010s German Modern Side Tables
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Side Tables
Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Side Tables
Epoxy Resin, Paper, Glass
2010s French Modern Side Tables
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Side Tables
Stainless Steel, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Side Tables
Blown Glass
2010s French Modern Side Tables
Beech
2010s Brazilian Modern Side Tables
Bronze
2010s French Modern Side Tables
Lacquer