Modern 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Tables
Murano Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Tables
Chrome
2010s British Modern Tables
Travertine, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Tables
Jade, Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Tables
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Tables
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Tables
Copper
1970s Vintage Modern Tables
Glass, Wood
1970s Austrian Vintage Modern Tables
Cane, Bentwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Marble, Brass, Aluminum, Gold
2010s Mexican Modern Tables
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Tables
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Tables
Brass
2010s American Modern Tables
Zebra Hide
2010s Spanish Modern Tables
Concrete
2010s German Modern Tables
Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Tables
Wood, Scrap Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Glass
2010s Chinese Modern Tables
Fiberglass
2010s Greek Modern Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Modern Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Tables
Wood
2010s Turkish Modern Tables
Stone, Travertine
2010s North Korean Modern Tables
Mother-of-Pearl, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Crystal, Steel
1930s Swedish Vintage Modern Tables
Enamel
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Metal
1990s French Modern Tables
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Tables
Stone, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Wood, Birdseye Maple, Maple
1980s American Vintage Modern Tables
Brass
2010s Turkish Modern Tables
Oak, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Glass
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Tables
Travertine
1960s American Vintage Modern Tables
Ash
2010s Guatemalan Modern Tables
Wood
1990s Italian Modern Tables
Glass
2010s American Modern Tables
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Metal
2010s Canadian Modern Tables
Ash, Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Tables
Brass, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Central American Modern Tables
Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Tables
Burl
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Tables
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Tables
Chrome
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Tables
Cocobolo
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Tables
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Tables
Metal, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Tables
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Wood
Modern tables for sale on 1stDibs.
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