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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s American Modern Tables
Leather, Mahogany, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Fiberglass
2010s Belgian Modern Tables
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Tables
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Tables
Fiberglass
2010s Indian Modern Tables
Bronze
2010s Indian Modern Tables
Stone, Bronze
2010s French Modern Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Tables
Travertine, Wrought Iron
1990s Italian Modern Tables
Wood
2010s Indian Modern Tables
Quartz, Brass
2010s Indian Modern Tables
Slate, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Tables
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Gold Leaf
2010s Egyptian Modern Tables
Fiberglass
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Wood, Plywood, Oak
Mid-20th Century American Modern Tables
Laminate, Walnut, Paint
2010s German Modern Tables
Stainless Steel
2010s French Modern Tables
Sycamore
2010s American Modern Tables
Wood, Mahogany
2010s Spanish Modern Tables
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Plastic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Tables
Epoxy Resin, Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Tables
Plaster, Paint
2010s Indian Modern Tables
Pyrite
2010s French Modern Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Glass
2010s German Modern Tables
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Tables
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Glass
2010s American Modern Tables
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Tables
Stone
1950s French Vintage Modern Tables
Burl
2010s Chinese Modern Tables
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Wood, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Tables
Slate
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Marble
2010s Brazilian Modern Tables
Onyx, Bronze
2010s German Modern Tables
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Chrome
2010s Mexican Modern Tables
Wood, Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Tables
Stone
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Iron
2010s French Modern Tables
Metal
2010s German Modern Tables
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Chrome
20th Century Italian Modern Tables
Stone, Travertine
2010s Spanish Modern Tables
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Foam
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Bronze