Warren Platner Side Table by Knoll
View Similar Items
Warren Platner Side Table by Knoll
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Manufacturer),Warren Platner (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Diameter: 15.75 in (40.01 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1980s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Highland, IN
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU90917133313
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.
Knoll
As a company that produced many of the most famous and iconic furniture designs of the 20th century, Knoll was a chief influence in the rise of modern design in the United States. Led by Florence Knoll, the firm would draw stellar talents such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen into its compass. Their work would help change the face of the American home and office.
The company was formed in 1938 by the German immigrant Hans Knoll. He first worked with his fellow ex-pat, the Danish designer Jens Risom, who created furniture with flowing lines made of wood. While Risom served in World War II, in 1943 Knoll met his future wife, Florence Schust. She had studied and worked with eminent emigré leaders of the Bauhaus, including Mies, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. She won Knoll over with Bauhaus notions of industrial arts, and an aesthetic that featured flat and tubular metal frames and angular forms. When Hans died in a car crash in 1955, Florence Knoll was appointed head of the company. It was as much through her holistic approach to design — a core division of the firm was dedicated to planning office systems — as Knoll's mid-century modern furnishings themselves that she brought about the sleek and efficient transformation of the American workplace.
Today, classic Knoll furnishings remain staples of modern design collections and decor. A history of modern design is written in pieces such as the elegant Barcelona chair — created by Mies and Lilly Reich — Saarinen’s pedestal Tulip chair, Breuer’s tubular steel Wassily lounge chair and the grid-patterned Diamond chair by Harry Bertoia.
As you can see from the collection of these designs and other vintage Knoll dining chairs, sofas and tables on 1stDibs, this manufacturer's offerings have become timeless emblems of the progressive spirit and sleek sophistication of the best of modernism.
- Platner Side Table by Knoll in Rare CopperBy Knoll, Warren PlatnerLocated in Highland, INWith his "Platner Collection" for Knoll in 1966, Warren Platner introduced a richness and luxury to post-war American modernism that had not existed previously. The matching group included side chairs, lounge chairs, a settee and tables. They were offered in polished chrome, rich bronze, and for a single year in 1969, in copper. The smallest of the collection of tables Warren Platner designed for Knoll in 1966, this side table nonetheless has great visual presence. The wire rods of the base capture space, create shifting moire' patterns, and support the top. This rare copper...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsCopper
- Rosewood Side Table by KnollBy KnollLocated in Highland, INThis end table has a stunningly beautiful top of rich, highly figured rosewood supported by an ebonized black base. Like all Knoll pieces it is impeccably constructed and features re...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- Florence Knoll Side or End Table by KnollBy Florence KnollLocated in Highland, INThis great little table designed by Florence Knoll perfectly exhibits her highly refined design sensibility and the quality of vintage Knoll production. The round teak top is support...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
MaterialsSteel
- Severin Hansen Side Table/ Nightstand by Haslev MobelfabrikBy Severin HansenLocated in Highland, INProduced by Haslev Møbelsnedkeri, this beautifully detailed and exquisitely constructed Severin Hansen teak side table has a shallow dra...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Side Tables
MaterialsTeak
- Deltahedron Rosewood Side TableLocated in Highland, INA stunning geometric form clad in rich rosewood, this deltahedron-shaped side table has a lovely small scale, sculptural presence, and serves perfectly as a drinks table. Measures...Category
Vintage 1970s American Modern Side Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- Lee Weitzman Side TableBy Lee WeitzmanLocated in Highland, INA playful post-modern design, this side table by Lee Weitzman is reductive in form, but also embraces surface decoration with the black and plumb crackled paint finish. The round top...Category
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood
$1,200
- Warren Platner Side Tables for KnollBy Warren Platner, KnollLocated in Houston, TXWarren platner pair of side or occasional tables Knoll International USA, 1960s Oak, bronzed steel Measures: 18.5 height × 24 diameter inches.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsSteel
$7,500 / set - Warren Platner for Knoll International Side Table in Glass and SteelBy Warren Platner, KnollLocated in Waalwijk, NLWarren Platner for Knoll International, coffee table, glass, metal, United States, design 1966, later production This iconic side table by Warren Platner is created by welding curve...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Pair of Warren Platner Side TablesBy Warren Platner, KnollLocated in Chicago, ILPair of Warren Platner Side Tables, welded curved nickel plated steel rods to circular frames, simultaneously serving as structure and ornament with inset oak tops.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsNickel
$5,500 / set - Warren Platner for Knoll Bronze Base Side Table with Walnut TopBy Warren Platner, KnollLocated in Dallas, TXAn iconic design by Warren Platner. A bronze finish side table with restored walnut top. Dated 1974.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Warren Platner for Knoll Mid Century End TableBy Warren Platner, KnollLocated in Countryside, ILWarren Platner for Knoll Mid Century End Table This table measures: 16 wide x 16 deep x 18.25 inches high, with a glass top of 24 ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
$1,295 / set - Warren Platner for Knoll Side-End Table, 1960By Warren PlatnerLocated in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABAIn the 1960s, Warren Platner transformed steel wire into a collection of sculptural furniture, creating a design icon for the modern era. The uniqueness of the furniture and its harm...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsSteel