Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
Tangram modular table, Massimo Morozzi, Cassina, 1988
Located in Milano, Lombardia
The Tangram Table, designed by Massimo Morozzi for Cassina in the 1980s, is an iconic example of innovative design. This unique table is composed of four modules that can be configur...
Wood
$24,496 / item
Helle Hardwood Dining Table by Bowen Liu
Located in Geneve, CH
Helle Hardwood Dining Table by Bowen Liu Dimensions: D 40 x W 72 x H 30 cm Materials: Hardwood, White Oak, Stainless Steel Based in, produced and shipped from the US. The award-wi...
Other, Stainless Steel
$9,817 / item
Ttttable by Mob
Located in Geneve, CH
TTTTable by MOB Designer: BAST (France) Dimensions: H 72 x D 110 x W 300 cm Material: 2mm steel sheet, 2mm aluminium sheet, 10mm steel bar, blue medium glossy painting. The board of a table is much more than a mere support: it is a line that divides two worlds. On its upper part certain codes are maintained, there are prescribed ways and conventions. Above that level reigns the protocol, the scopic, the customs and courtesies. Everything changes under the table. There appear the flirtations, the furtive gestures, the hidden. In this invisible field dominate the unseen signals and the secret codes, the tactile ones. Also the pets rest covered by an architecture to their measure and, inadvertently, doze. Under that plane, the feet are confused and mixed in a small choreography, where the human and artificial legs...
Aluminum, Steel
Deposit 50% / Set of 2 Andrea and Luca Coffee Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 2 Andrea and Luca coffee table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci Dimensions: Andrea: D 94 x W 71 x H 28 cm. Luca: D 140 x W 86.5 x H 32 cm. Materials: Travertine, bronze legs. Umbert...
Travertine, Bronze
Set of 3 Divergente Textured Black Marble Table with Split Top by Andres Monnier
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 3 Divergente tables by Andres Monnier One of a Kind. Dimensions: W 100 x D 160 x H 70 cm / W 90 x D 80 x H 70 cm Materials: black marble. 1 x Divergente Dos table 2 x Diverge...
Marble
$3,581 / item
Luna 150 Metal Console Table by Laurence Du Tilly
Located in Geneve, CH
Luna 150 Metal Console Table by Laurence Du Tilly Dimensions: D 150 x W 37 x H 85 cm Materials: Metal Also available in two hundred different colors from the RAL color chart, please...
Metal, Other
$7,915 / item
Toy Coffee Table by Panorammma
Located in Geneve, CH
Toy Coffee Table by Panorammma Dimensions: ⌀ 70 x H 40 cm Materials: Blue Calacite, Pink and Black Monterrey Marble, Caramel and Green Onyx Rounded pillars of blue calcite, pink ma...
Marble, Onyx, Other
$630 / item
Object 046 Center Table by NG Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Object 046 Center Table by NG Design. Dimensions: D 70 x W 70 x H 40 cm. Materials: powder coated steel. Also available: All of objects available in different materials and colo...
Steel
$5,991 / item
M Console Table by Goons
Located in Geneve, CH
M console table by Goons. Dimensions: W 122 x D 270 x H 74 cm. Materials: Wood. Dimensions can be adjusted +/- 10 cm. Goons is located in Paris, France. All of their designs...
Wood
$10,791 / item
Pica Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Pica table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci Dimensions: D 30" x W 72" x H 29 in Materials: aluminium mill finish, glass tabletop (grey glass or bron...
Aluminum
$4,340 / item
Riso Side Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Riso side table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci Dimensions: D 10" x W 17.5" x H 11 in Materials: Green / black marble, black finished l-beam Umberto Bellardi Ricci is an Italian scul...
Marble
Maurice Villency Italian Travertine Pedestal Table
Located in Hudson, NY
An Italian travertine center table by Maurice Villency. Post modern period, the square table top with a double beveled edge is supported on an angular travertine pedestal base. Maur...
Travertine
Block glass coffee table for living room designer Nanda Vigo for Acerbis 1970s
By Acerbis, Nanda Vigo
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Iconic 1970s design coffee table with square glass top and mirror cube at base Drawn by Nanda Vigo in the early 1970s for the well-known company Acerbis excellent overall condition...
Glass, Mirror, Wood
$36,275 / item
Jumbo Calacatta Table by Etamorph
Located in Geneve, CH
Jumbo Calacatta Table by Etamorph Dimensions: ⌀ 120-140 x H 74 cm. Materials: Calacatta + Brass. Base carved from a block of natural stone and manuall...
Stone, Brass
$26,070 / item
Pd 04 Coffee Table by Piotr Dąbrowa
Located in Geneve, CH
PD 04 coffee table by Piotr Dabrowa Unique Piece Dimensions: W 166 x D 90 x H 25.5 cm Materials: Arabescato Grigio Orobico marble, oxidised brushed steel. Also available in other...
Marble, Steel
$12,204 / item
Herida Table by Sofia Alvarado
Located in Geneve, CH
Herida table by Sofia Alvarado Dimensions: D 91 x W 91 x H 40 cm Materials: dragon wood / lacquered metal Limited Edition 1/10 FI is an ornamental artist who embodies the creative R...
Metal
$4,340 / item
Riso Side Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Riso side table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci Dimensions: D 10" x W 17.5" x H 11 in Materials: Beige Marble, black finished l-beam Umberto Bellardi R...
Marble
$5,413 / item
Unique Spill Table by Goons
Located in Geneve, CH
Unique spill table by Goons Dimensions: W 97 x D 147 x H 33 cm Materials: Wood Dimensions can be adjusted +/- 10 cm Goons is located in Paris, France. All of their designs a...
Wood
$10,989 / item
Large Ita Center Table by Estudio Prosa
Located in Geneve, CH
Large Ita Center Table by Estudio Prosa Dimensions: W 150 x D 110 x H 30 cm Materials: Wood. Available in Cedro Arana, Jequitiba, Muiracatiara, or Cumaru wood options. Please contac...
Wood
$13,528 / item
Salvante C2 Coffee Table by Piotr Dąbrowa
Located in Geneve, CH
Salvante C2 coffee table by Piotr Dabrowa Unique Piece Dimensions: D 70 x H 34 cm Materials: Calacatta Viola marble, walnut burl. Also available: Calacatta marble, Rosa Peralba m...
Marble
$31,002 / item
Ovoid Table by Cal Summers
By Cal Summers
Located in Geneve, CH
Ovoid Table by Cal Summers Dimension: W 140 x D 113 x H 23 cm Materials: Patinated Steel. Cal Summers is a British designer who makes bespoke handmade fu...
Steel
Narco Teak Collection Centre Table Round by AMBER x IÑIGO CALLEJA
Located in Geneve, CH
Narco Teak Collection Centre Table Round by AMBER x IÑIGO CALLEJA Dimensions: D 130 x H 45 cm. Materials: Dry Teak Trunks Base, charred and stained pitch black, Ivory cream Marble t...
Marble
Divergente Textured Black Marble Table with Split Top by Andres Monnier
Located in Geneve, CH
Divergente Uno Table by Andres Monnier One of a Kind. Dimensions: D 80 x W 90 x H 70 cm. Materials: black marble. A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from...
Marble
$630 / item
Object 013 Center Table by NG Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Object 013 Center Table by NG Design Dimensions: D70 x W70 x H40 cm Materials: Powder coated steel. Also Available: All of objects available in different materials and colors on dem...
Steel
$2,019 / item
Centro Table by Mingardo
Located in Geneve, CH
Centro table by Mingardo Dimensions: D80 x W80 x H75 cm Materials: RAL 9005 black varnished iron structure and satin natural brass details Weight: 26 kg Also Available in diff...
Brass, Iron
Unique French Oak Table Spline, Hand-Carved and Signed by Maxime Goléo
Located in Geneve, CH
Unique French Oak Table Spline, Hand-Carved and Signed by Maxime Goléo Unique piece Dimensions: W 180 x D 83 x H 76 cm Materials: French oak and natural o...
Oak
$7,544 / item
Infinity Center Table by Memoir Essence
Located in Geneve, CH
Infinity Center Table by Memoir Essence Dimensions: D 53 x W 100 x H 35 cm. Materials: Polished brass, walnut root and white marble. Also available in brushed brass. Please contact ...
Marble, Brass
$10,627 / item
Petra Centrer Table by Madheke
Located in Geneve, CH
Petra Centrer Table by Madheke Dimensions: D 157.4 x W 90 x H 40 cm. Materials: leather, brass. Finish options: Leather Naturalle Whisky, Veneer New Line 2020.02 & Medium Brushed An...
Leather
Coffee table with granite base, Italy, 1980s
Located in Correggio, IT
Elegant 1980s postmodern coffee table with glass top, black painted metal foot, and gray granite base. Excellent Condition. Made in italy.
Granite, Iron
XL Lucite Glass Chrome Round Dining Table Retro Space Age Postmodern Dumond 1970
Located in London, GB
A very large custom-made circular dining table (or commercial display centre table), in the manner of Jacques Dumond. The base is formed by Y-shaped thick lucite panels and chrome fittings, which support the big and heavy round glass top. Originally custom-made in 1990 for a prestigious fashion boutique in Brussels. Acquired from their first owners in Brussels and imported in to UK, the table spent most of its time covered...
Steel, Chrome
Mid Century Italian Post Modern Travertine Marble Dining Table or Center Table
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A beautiful dining table or center table from Italy circa 1980's. The table features a travertine slab X-base with a thick clear glass top.
Travertine
$3,150Sale Price|30% Off
Industrial Walnut and Blackened Steel Table
Located in Treadwell, NY
Collection I: Bridge table A refined, chamfered walnut top rests upon a robust steel architectural foundation, creating a bridge like expression of structure and span. Dimensio...
Steel
Talán Green Onyx and Parota Wood, Solid Tide Center Table by Tenam Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Talán Green Onyx and Parota Wood, Solid Tide Center Table by Tenam Studio Dimensions: W 50 x D 50 x H 12 cm. Materials: Talán green onyx and parota wood. Weight: 10 kg About: Foun...
Onyx
Post Modern Italian Marble Center Table
By Angelo Mangiarotti, Up & Up, Mario Bellini
Located in Houston, TX
Post Modern Italian Marble Center Table. This large Italian Mario Bellini style (51 inch) marble table can be used as a center table or din...
Marble
Studio Smania Briar Wood Smoked Glass Round Brass Dining Table 1970s Hollywood
By Smania
Located in London, GB
A circular dining table by Fabrizio Smania. The base is formed by Y-X-shaped tubular ridged base in a striking golden yellow/lime hue interconnected wi...
Chrome
Orchedia Coffee Table Mazzei Massimo Molozzi 80s Italian
Located in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Orchedia coffee table Designed by Massimo Morozzi for Mazzei. Glitter green and silver. Repainted and mint condition. Measures: Table height 36cm/14.2".
Wood
Verhey Center Table in Brass and Romano Travertine by Mavo Atelier
By Mavo Atelier
Located in Trofa, PT
VERHEY COFFEE TABLE The handcrafted, asymmetrical Verhey Coffee Table expresses the purity of materiality and sculptural play on form. Bridging art and design, the confluence of meta...
Travertine, Brass
Sculptural Post-Modern Kotor Coffee Table in Travertine by Mavo Atelier Handmade
By Mavo Atelier
Located in Trofa, PT
The Kotor Coffee Table expresses architectural depth, layered materiality, and structural clarity in a compact, refined form. Inspired by the historic coastal town of Kotor in Monten...
Travertine, Brass
$4,400 / item
Centre Table No. 12 - Vrksa Series
By Raka Studio
Located in Cape Girardeau, MO
The Vrksa Series is based on bending solid wood to create the pieces, this has allowed us to design handmade furniture in a unique aesthetic in which the natural flow of the wood tak...
Glass, Bentwood
$3,400Sale Price|20% Off
Custom Italian Travertine Coffee Table, Marble Center Table Table, Side Table
Located in İnegöl, TR
POST MODERN TRAVERTINE MARBLE COFFEE TABLE Type of Marble: Travertine Dimensions: 52" x 35 x 16" Leg Model: Travertine Customizable: Available! Production Time: 3-4 Weeks Shipping C...
Travertine, Marble
Attila Coffee or Low Centre Table by Jean-Michel Wilmotte
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Attila table by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Interesting proportions. Tall coffee table or low centre table. Referenced and documented.
Steel
$799Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage 1980's MacManus Stone Coffee Table Attributed to Magnussen Ponte
Located in East Freetown, MA
Vintage post modern Mactan stone coffee table. White stone with a gold sphere inside a white arc. A large glass table top completes the table. Attributed to Magnussen Ponte
Stone
Kyknos Refined Contemporary Marble Square Table M/S 150 by Angelo Alinea
Located in Geneve, CH
Kyknos Refined Contemporary Marble Square Table M/S 150 Dimensions: D 150 x H 75 cm Materials: Kyknos Also available in: GRAFITE, TRAVERTINO ROSSO, GREY SAINT LAURENT, PICASSO GREEN...
Marble
$10,695 / item
Luca Coffee Table Small by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Luca coffee table small by Umberto Bellardi Ricci Dimensions: W 71.1 x D 109.24 x H 22.9 cm Materials: Travertine, bronze legs. Umberto Bellardi...
Travertine, Bronze
$17,961 / set
Set Of 3 Euphoria Center Tables by Memoir Essence
Located in Geneve, CH
Set Of 3 Euphoria Center Table by Memoir Essence Dimensions: Large: D 120 x W 120 x H 27 cm. Medium: D 90 x W 90 x H 37 cm. Small: D 50 x W 50 x H 50 cm. Materials: Polished brass, l...
Brass
$700Sale Price|50% Off
Post-Modern Formica Laminate Pink Circle Table Set, 4 Pcs
Located in Plainview, NY
Introducing a truly versatile addition to your living space, a post-modern four-piece Formica laminate drum table set, elegantly finished in a soot...
Laminate
Post Modern Italian Marble Table Pietra Dura with Floral Inlays Interior Design
Located in Buxton, GB
This Post Modern Italian Pietra Dura Marble Table with a Floral Inlays is a stunning piece of antique furniture from 1990s. The table can be fully dissembled and features intricate ...
Marble
"Kyoto" End Table by Shiro Kuramata, Concrete & Glass, Memphis 1983
Located in Tinton Falls, NJ
Reminds you of that old-fashioned candy called "Roman Nougat", doesn't it? The white concrete base is the nougat; the colored random glass fragments are the jellies of different fla...
Concrete
$2,818Sale Price / set|20% Off
New Official Production ISA BERGAMO Pair of Coffee Tables
By ISA Bergamo
Located in Milano, IT
New reissue of the 2024 ISA BERGAMO coffee tables marks a new phase of production for the ISA brand, sold with certifications. These coffee tables, the result of the new collection, ...
Metal
"Alanda" Coffee Table by Paolo Piva, First Edition, Italy, 1980s
Located in Madrid, ES
Designed by Paolo Piva in the early 1980s, the Alanda coffee table is one of the most celebrated icons of Italian postmodern design. Distinguished by its sculptural geometric base an...
Metal
Sculptural Verhey Center Table in Antique Brass and Marble by Mavo Atelier
By Mavo Atelier
Located in Trofa, PT
VERHEY COFFEE TABLE The handcrafted, asymmetrical Verhey Coffee Table expresses the purity of materiality and sculptural play on form. Bridging art and design, the confluence of meta...
Marble, Brass
Postmodern Cat-Eye Coffee Table in White Carrara Marble in style of Roche Bobois
By Roche Bobois
Located in Beograd, RS
In this listing you will find an elegant and luxurious coffee table made of white carrara marble. It features cat-eye shape and it is designed in the style of Roche Bobois. Made in I...
Carrara Marble
$22,218 / item
Meta Red Onyx Marble Table by Phillip Jividen
Located in Geneve, CH
Meta Red Onyx Marble Table by Phillip Jividen Dimensions: Ø 132 x H 71cm Materials: Marble Finish: Red Onyx, polished / honed Also available in other finishes. Inspired by Euclidea...
Marble
Travertino Rosso Refined Contemporary Marble Round Table M/R 160
Located in Geneve, CH
Travertino Rosso Refined Contemporary Marble Round Table M/R 160 Dimensions: 160 x H 75 cm Materials: Marble Angelo is the essence of a round table in natural stone, a sculptural sh...
Marble
$13,528 / item
Salvante C2 Coffee Table by Piotr Dąbrowa
Located in Geneve, CH
Salvante C2 coffee table by Piotr Dabrowa Unique Piece Dimensions: D 70 x H 34 cm Materials: Calacatta marble, Rosa Peralba marble. Also available: Calacatta Viola marble, Walnut...
Marble
$22,095 / item
Meta Guatemala Green Marble Table by Phillip Jividen
Located in Geneve, CH
Meta Guatemala Green Marble Table by Phillip Jividen Dimensions: Ø 132 x H 71cm Materials: Marble Finish: Guatemala Green, polished / honed Also available in other finishes. Inspir...
Marble
Postmodern coffee table, Italian manufacture, lattice base and crystal top
Located in Firenze, IT
A very unusual postmodern-style coffee table, Italian manufacture from the 1980s, it features a lattice steel base lacquered in shades of red and a tempered glass top.
Crystal, Steel
Simulated Marble Oval Table Painted by Graham Carr A rare and unusual piece
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
Simulated Marble Oval Table Painted by Graham Carr A rare and unusual piece, the table has a fold over top with swing legs, so that it can be used at half size as a console table o...
Pine
Sculptural Post-Modern Kotor Center Table Walnut Wood by Mavo Atelier Handmade
By Mavo Atelier
Located in Trofa, PT
The Kotor Coffee Table expresses architectural depth, layered materiality, and structural clarity in a compact, refined form. Inspired by the historic coastal town of Kotor in Monten...
Brass
$13,176 / item
Large Andrea Nesting Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Large Andrea nesting table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci Dimensions: D 94 x W 71 x H 28 cm. Materials: Travertine, bronze legs. Umberto Bellardi Ricci is an Italian sculptor and arc...
Travertine, Bronze