While the dining table itself may have been around since the dawn of civilization, the modern dining table came about at a very specific point in time. Until the 1950’s, dining tables were purely functional and utilitarian. However, the 1950’s gave birth to what is now known as the mid-century modern furniture design movement. And with that, the dining table took on many fun new forms.
Because furniture designers of this era were encouraged to play with shapes and forms, there is no one quintessential modern dining table style. With the invention of new technologies in the 50’s and 60’s, such as molding plywood, or advancements in synthetic polymers, the dining table evolved into a special piece of home furniture. Here are some of the best styles of dining tables to emerge from the mid-century modern design era.
The Best Styles of Modern Dining Tables
Tulip dining table
With its simple and sleek design, the Tulip dining table has remained incredibly popular since its creation in the 1950’s. Designed by Finnish-American architect and designer Eero Saarinen, the Tulip table was revolutionary by featuring one slender, stem-like central support, which fans out smoothly into a circular base.
In an interview for Time magazine in 1956[W1] , Eero Saarinen said that “the underside of typical tables and chairs makes a confusing, unrestful world”, so he set out to make a streamlined table design to overcome this problem. As a true credit to the enduring design, the Saarinen Tulip table[W2] has remained a popular favorite worldwide to this day. Now available in a range of styles, colors, materials, and sizes, this dining table design is trendy contemporary choice for any kitchen or dining room.
Round dining table
Round dining tables have had revival in recent years, and the selection of modern round dining tables on offer now is vast. Round dining tables have always been a popular space-saving choice, as they can sit several people in a smaller space than their square counterparts. They make for an ideal option for smaller dining areas.
Over the years, however, the round dining table has benefited from gaining added features, such as hinged leaves (or edges), central “Lazy Susans”, and a range of interesting leg designs[W4] . It goes without saying that round dining tables can come in any material possible, including wood, plastic, clear and colored glass, metal, or fabric covered.
Cyclone dining table
The Cyclone dining table was a playful style developed by Isamu Noguchi [W5] in 1957. The table’s distinctive base features chrome or chrome-plated steel wires set into a cast-iron, black porcelain-finished foot. The round tabletop is found in a range of colors and materials from plastic, glass and wood.
The aesthetic of the Cyclone dining table is just as unusual, beautiful, and fun today as it was in the 1950’s. It will take many decades before this style goes out of fashion, if at all.
Freeform dining tables
The idea of freeform designing pushed modern furniture into new realms. Freeform, the idea that there is no set definition to a piece of furniture, firmly put the purely utilitarian dining table in the past. Designers got creative with tabletops and leg shapes. Triangles, geometric shapes, globes[W6] , combinations of unusual materials, anything goes with freeform dining tables. These dining tables will stand out in any room they sit in.
- [W1]http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19560702,00.html
- [W2]https://emfurn.com/collections/eero-saarinen
- [W3]http://www.archiproducts.com/en/products/tables/with-lazy-susan
- [W4]https://emfurn.com/products/noguchi-style-walnut-dining-table
- [W5]https://emfurn.com/collections/dining-table/isamu-noguchi
- [W6]https://www.architonic.com/en/product/boca-do-lobo-newton-dining-table/1234672
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