The Michigan-based furniture maker Steelcase has a long and distinguished history, but collectors focus on its vintage office furniture and desk chairs from the 1950s to the ’70s, when, along with such companies as Knoll and Herman Miller, the firm helped define the aesthetics of American mid-century modernism.
Steelcase was founded in Grand Rapids in 1912 as the Metal Office Furniture Company, promoting steel desks and other furnishings as safer, fireproof alternatives to wooden pieces at a time when smoking in the workplace was common. Boston’s first skyscraper — the 32-story Customs House — was furnished by the company in 1915. Frank Lloyd Wright, an American architect and furniture designer whose work had a profound influence on the shape of modern life, turned to the firm in 1937 to fabricate the enameled metal chairs and desks for his Johnson Wax Headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin.
In the 1950s, when Steelcase formally adopted the name it still uses today, the company developed a sleek and functional style employing rectilinear chrome frames for glass-topped tables and upholstered seating pieces. The look is similar to that of the minimal, Bauhaus-inspired designs of Florence Knoll, another icon of furniture design who helped shape the ethos of the postwar business world.
By the 1970s, Steelcase had enlivened its styling, offering such pieces as chairs and side tables designed by Gardner Leaver, with circular bases and curving supports. As you will see on these pages, Steelcase designs offer a perfect foundation for a modernist decor, with a touch of flair.
Find vintage Steelcase furniture on 1stDibs.
Chrome Coffee Table by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin
By Thayer Coggin, Milo Baughman
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Chrome and walnut veneer coffee table designed by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin Institutional Inc. Walnut veneer top measures 45" diameter...
Chrome
Mid Century Round Marble Top Coffee Table with Chrome Base
Located in Troy, MI
Found in England, this round marble topped coffee or cocktail table dates from the late 1970s / early 1980s. Polished chrome base features four square legs. Round marble top has fea...
Marble, Chrome
George Nelson Herman Miller Swag Leg Coffee Table
By George Nelson
Located in Cincinnati, OH
A white Laminate topped Swag leg coffee table by the iconic designer Geroge Nelson who's simple, yet unique aesthetic is still as fresh today as it was more that 50 years ago. Having...
Aluminum
Mid-Century Modern "x" Base Circular Chrome Coffee Table
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This vintage modern circular coffee table features a heavy "X" shaped base with 1" thick green glass. The unique design assures sturdiness without sacrificing style in...
Chrome
Coffee Table with Aluminum Base Designed by Ward Bennett for Lehigh
By Ward Bennett, Lehigh Furniture Company
Located in Chicago, IL
Coffee table with aluminum base designed by Ward Bennett for Lehigh. Bennett used variations on this aluminum base on other tables and seating if you are looking to coordinate furnis...
Aluminum
$821
H 23.63 in Dm 35.44 in
1970s Herman Miller Eames Action Office Series Coffee Table Occasional Table
Located in Sherborne, Dorset
This late 1970s Herman Miller ‘Action Office’ table can be used as a side table or coffee table. First introduced in the 1960s, these vinyl-edged tables came with either a laminate o...
Aluminum
Arne Jacobsen Coffee Table by Fritz Hansen
By Fritz Hansen, Arne Jacobsen
Located in Highland, IN
This elegant design by Arne Jacobsen was designed to compliment his swan and egg chairs and shares the same one-piece cast aluminum base with the fluted central column.
Aluminum
$1,416
H 16.93 in Dm 27.96 in
Midcentury Chromed Steel Italian Coffee Table with Smoked Glass Round Top, 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Beautiful coffee table in chromed steel with smoked round glass top. This fantastic item was produced in Italy during the 1960s. This atomic-style Italian coffee table features a ...
Steel, Chrome
Low Round Coffee Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Wood
Mid-Century Modern Low Coffee Table with Chrome Base, 1970s
Located in Byron Bay, NSW
A refined mid-century modern coffee table featuring a minimalist low-profile silhouette, warm timber top, and elegant chromed steel wire base. The balance between the slim tabletop a...
Chrome
Vintage Mid Century Modern Knoll Style Pedestal Base Marble Top Coffee Table
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Please message us with your zip code to request a more reasonable domestic U.S. shipping quote. Vintage Mid Century Modern Knoll Style Cast Aluminum Propeller Pedestal Base Coffee T...
Marble, Aluminum
Mid Century Italian Modern Chrome Steel Spider Base Round Glass Top Coffee Table
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Mid Century Italian Modern Chrome Steel Spider Base Round Glass Top Coffee Table. Item features heavy chrome plated steel "spider" base, round smoked glass top, clean modernist line...
Chrome
Vintage Mid Century Modern Paul Mayen Habitat Chrome Stack Glass Coffee Table
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Mid Century Modern Paul Mayen for Habitat Chrome Stack Glass Coffee Table. Item featured chrome steel finish with a heavy solid base...
Steel
Grete Jalk Poul Jeppesen Mid Century Danish Modern Teak Floating Coffee Table
By Grete Jalk
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Grete Jalk Poul Jeppesen Mid Century Danish Modern Teak Floating Coffee Table. Item features a square teak wood top with rounded corners and four floating form sculptural tap...
Teak
Mid Century Modern Pierre Cardin Style Brass & Chrome Glass Top Coffee Table
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Please message us with your zip code to request a more reasonable domestic U.S. shipping quote. Vintage Mid Century Modern Pierre Cardin Style Brass & Chrome Glass Top Coffee Table....
Brass, Chrome
Vintage Mid Century Modern Steel Metal & Faux Rosewood Laminate Coffee Table
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Please message us with your zip code to request a more reasonable domestic U.S. shipping quote. Vintage Mid Century Modern Steel Metal & Faux Rosewood Laminate (Not wood) Coffee Tab...
Steel
