Contemporary Coffee Tables 101: Should You Buy?

Generally, living rooms have a focal point around which everything is centered; often this is the coffee table.  While people want to reflect their individuality and style in their décor, they often need comfortable and functional furniture in their living rooms. Styles are wide and varied, so there are many options from which to choose; often, people opt for the hip and retro look of the Modern furniture.

In the history of design, the term retro often conjures up the funky styles of the sixties and seventies; however, it falls within the style of the noguchi table that can date from the twenties all the way to the seventies. The best-known retro furniture can be seen in the forties, fifties, and sixties and no matter the decade one will always recognize the retro style. Its form defines retro style:  clean lines, organic shapes, and modular capability.  Too, because of the materials that became readily available after WWII, it often incorporates non-traditional materials such as fiberglass and synthetic lacquers.

Retro coffee tables were often designed because families were adopting a more casual atmosphere into their homes. People wanted to have innovative forms and materials that were not as formal as their parents’; they wanted a home that was more open and inviting for adults and kids alike. Designers often used different materials like plastic, steel, and plywood in their designs.  The materials allowed for different and unique new forms, allowing for mass production and durability.

The ubiquitous Isamo Eileen gray table, designed in the forties, is comprised of a “free form” glass top supported by two identically sculpted pieces of wood pinned together at an angle to form the base is a well-known retro coffee table. Harvey Probers “Nuclear Table” is a perfect embodiment of casual styling that became so popular.  This table offers a variety of forms with its two half circle shapes that can be place together to form a circle, can be lined up to give an ‘S’ shape, or can be stacked on top of each other to give height. The well-known Tulip Table by Eero Saarinen is another innovative retro design.   Its lacquered steel base is a pedestal form and was designed to reduce the “clutter” of legs that typical tables have.

In today’s contemporary furniture one can see inspiration from the classic retro style’s of yesterday. For example, in the 1940’s Paul Frankl’s Big Foot coffee table called to mind Zaha Hadid’s futuristic designs. Retro coffee tables come in many shapes, materials and sizes and they are a welcome addition to a room that needs a simple, yet interesting and fun, solution to one’s living room décor.

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