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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Steel
1990s American Modern Tables
Cast Stone, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Cement, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Guatemalan Modern Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Metal, Bronze
2010s Mexican Modern Tables
Hardwood, Oak
2010s French Modern Tables
Marble
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Tables
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Tables
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Marble
1960s American Vintage Modern Tables
Chrome
2010s American Modern Tables
Wood, Cedar
2010s American Modern Tables
Wood, Maple
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Wood, Oak, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Tables
Brass
2010s American Modern Tables
Wood, Cedar
2010s Spanish Modern Tables
Wood
1960s Finnish Vintage Modern Tables
Birch
2010s Canadian Modern Tables
Wood, Ash, Cherry, Maple, Oak, Walnut
2010s German Modern Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Tables
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Maple, Walnut, Resin
2010s American Modern Tables
Wood, Mahogany
2010s Lebanese Modern Tables
Marble, Brass
2010s Chinese Modern Tables
Marble
2010s Indian Modern Tables
Bronze
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Oak
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Metal
2010s German Modern Tables
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Tables
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Plastic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Plastic
Mid-20th Century British Modern Tables
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Tables
Oak
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Fir
2010s Unknown Modern Tables
Marble, Metal, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Wood
2010s Modern Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Tables
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Plastic
2010s Canadian Modern Tables
Wood, Walnut, Oak, Maple, Cherry, Ash
2010s American Modern Tables
Travertine, Stainless Steel, Brass
2010s American Modern Tables
Mahogany
2010s Modern Tables
Marble
2010s Canadian Modern Tables
Hardwood
20th Century French Modern Tables
Elm
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Tables
Glass, Wood, Walnut