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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Tables
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Statuary Marble, Carrara Marble, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Travertine, Marble
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Travertine, Marble
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Travertine, Marble
2010s French Modern Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Tables
Walnut
1950s French Vintage Modern Tables
Metal
2010s Belgian Modern Tables
Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Velvet
2010s French Modern Tables
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Marble, Onyx, Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Carrara Marble, Statuary Marble
2010s Polish Modern Tables
Other
2010s French Modern Tables
Cherry, Oak
2010s Belgian Modern Tables
Wood
2010s French Modern Tables
Ceramic, Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Tables
Marble
2010s Spanish Modern Tables
Stone, Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Tables
Stone
2010s French Modern Tables
Sycamore
2010s Spanish Modern Tables
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Carrara Marble, Metal
2010s Belgian Modern Tables
Steel
2010s Belgian Modern Tables
Wood
2010s French Modern Tables
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Tables
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Tables
Slate
1990s Italian Modern Tables
Wood
2010s French Modern Tables
Slate
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Marble, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Marble
1990s Italian Modern Tables
Wood
1960s American Vintage Modern Tables
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Chrome
2010s Spanish Modern Tables
Oak
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Leather, Maple, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Marble, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Carrara Marble, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Crystal
2010s Lithuanian Modern Tables
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Marble, Steel
2010s French Modern Tables
Sycamore
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Marble, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Marble, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Travertine, Steel