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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1950s American Vintage Modern Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Tables
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Tables
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Marble
1970s American Vintage Modern Tables
Aluminum, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Walnut, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Tables
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Tables
Aluminum
Early 2000s American Modern Tables
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Leather
2010s African Modern Tables
Resin, Oak
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Tables
Steel
2010s Modern Tables
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Tables
Marble, Carrara Marble
2010s American Modern Tables
Brass
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Tables
Wood
2010s French Modern Tables
Stainless Steel
2010s Egyptian Modern Tables
Fiberglass
1970s French Vintage Modern Tables
Chrome
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Tables
Gesso, Mirror
2010s Canadian Modern Tables
Acrylic, Fir, Walnut, Oak, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Tables
Brass
2010s Turkish Modern Tables
Wood, Oak
2010s Mexican Modern Tables
Travertine
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Paper
Late 20th Century Modern Tables
Metal, Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Tables
Brass
2010s Egyptian Modern Tables
Brass
Early 2000s Dutch Modern Tables
Wood
2010s South Korean Modern Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Tables
Brass
2010s American Modern Tables
Zinc
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Tables
Metal
2010s French Modern Tables
Bronze
2010s European Modern Tables
Bronze
Late 20th Century Canadian Modern Tables
Laminate, Maple
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Wood, Plywood, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Steel
2010s American Modern Tables
Wood, Rosewood, Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Plastic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Brass, Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Tables
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Onyx, Statuary Marble
2010s European Modern Tables
Wood, Walnut, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Marble
2010s Turkish Modern Tables
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Brass, Bronze, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Glass
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Limestone
2010s Canadian Modern Tables
Stone
Modern tables for sale on 1stDibs.
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