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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 New Zealand Modern Tables
Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Tables
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Tables
Bamboo
Early 2000s American Modern Tables
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Tables
Wood, Poplar, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Glass
2010s Canadian Modern Tables
Brass
2010s Chinese Modern Tables
Walnut
2010s Balkan Modern Tables
Marble
1960s French Vintage Modern Tables
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Tables
Wood, Teak
2010s American Modern Tables
Granite, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Tables
Wood, Teak
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Resin, Fiberglass, Lacquer
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Tables
Ebony
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Tables
Steel
2010s American Modern Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Tables
Concrete
Late 20th Century Modern Tables
Stone
2010s American Modern Tables
Zinc
1970s Slovak Vintage Modern Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Onyx, Travertine, Marble
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Wood
2010s African Modern Tables
Brass
2010s Chinese Modern Tables
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Tables
Steel
1990s American Modern Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Plexiglass
2010s Danish Modern Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Tables
Wood
2010s American Modern Tables
Walnut, Wenge
2010s Dutch Modern Tables
Resin
1990s American Modern Tables
Abalone
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Tables
Marble, Metal
Early 2000s Italian Modern Tables
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Metal, Stainless Steel, Steel, Cut Steel
2010s French Modern Tables
Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Tables
Wood, Oak
20th Century American Modern Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Glass
2010s Modern Tables
Stone, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Lebanese Modern Tables
Mother-of-Pearl, Oak
2010s American Modern Tables
Aluminum
2010s European Modern Tables
Wood, Plywood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Brass
2010s Modern Tables
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Tables
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Tables
Glass, Lucite
2010s American Modern Tables
Plywood, Lacquer
2010s South African Modern Tables
Copper
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Tables
Steel
1990s Finnish Modern Tables
Wood
2010s American Modern Tables
Cedar
Modern tables for sale on 1stDibs.
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