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Kidney shaped tabe. Italy, 1950s.

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Tables754 of 1382Marbletop table with rock art decoration. Spain, 1950s.What is this?
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    Posted 10 years ago

    austrohung…
    (584 items)

    Although an anonymous design, this kind of tables are an absolute design icon, as well as an icon of the 50s' style. I have always loved these tables... and not only the shape of the table-top, but that of the legs (plus the fact of there being three legs) and the way they're attched to the table, with a simple prism shape.

    When talking about Italian pottery from the 1950s, I mentioned how strong the influence of art was in those designs. Last week I had the chance to watch an art exhibition on the work of the Spanish painter José Guerrero, focused on his New York years (1950-1966; he used to exhibit at the Betty Parsons Gallery, the same one where did Rothko, Pollock, Newman... although he was inside the action Painting movement, he was considered to have a very special and different style, no doubt due to the influence of Spanish art) and amongst the first works he made there are these engravings (Pic.3) that show quite simmilar shapes. So there was also an influence of art in design... or was design on art? In any case, those shapes can be widely found in design during the 1950s.

    On pic.4 you can see a close view of our living room at The Other House where you may recognize other items that have already been shared here: the Lady sofa by Marco Zanusso, the Anzengruber African woman figurine and the yellow Murano ashtray.

    I also want you to pay attention to the floor. These tiles are hidraulic tiles that were made in Spain during the 50s/60s. The great thing about them is that unlike those traditional ones that were handmade using stencil-like devices (so all of them look the same), these were also handmade but freely decorated, so all of them are completely different. I have seen them in four of five different designs and all of them look amazing, giving the space that unique 50s look. I'm really glad Carlos kept them when he bought the place!

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    Comments

    1. SEAN68 SEAN68, 10 years ago
      stunning !!! lovely table!!!
    2. antiquerose antiquerose, 10 years ago
      Stunning Table, stunning home !! I always call this same either Atomic, or Kidney shaped. Maybe that is a Canadian term.....LOL.

      ~ My other house, is my other house. Only 1 home here....LOL
    3. austrohungaro austrohungaro, 10 years ago
      Thanks for your love MIKE, VIOLET, VINTAGELAMP, KEV, AGH, ROSE and SEAN!!! And thanks SEAN and ROSE for the kind comments!

      The Other House is the house in The Other City... ;)
    4. katherinescollections katherinescollections, 10 years ago
      Great aesthetic, love those shades of orange.
    5. solver solver, 10 years ago
      austrohungaro, fabulous and fun table and and loved seeing it in the room. Bravo to Carlos for keeping the tile floor.

      In addition to "Atomic Age" furniture (as antiquerose said), I have seen similar tables referred to as a "boomerang" table because of the shape. Perhaps one of the inspirations was from the base of a table designed by Isamu Noguchi for Herman Miller and introduced in 1948.
      Courtesy of Herman Miller:
      http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/tables/occasional-tables/noguchi-table.html

    6. surfdub66 surfdub66, 10 years ago
      Cool table & i love the chair !!
      I remembr in the 70s my parsnts had a similar table but in a gold sort of colour same legs, they called it a kidney table ;-)
    7. fledermaus fledermaus, 10 years ago
      What a great table! I love the color.
    8. austrohungaro austrohungaro, 10 years ago
      FLEDERMAUS, KAREN, SURFDUB, FORTAPACHE, DrFLUFFY and KATHERINE, thanks for your love and kind comments!!!! also thanks to SOLVER for your input and nice comment!!!

      Certainly Noguchi's table is one of the most iconic items of organic design! In fact, the shape of its table top looks just like that of Guerrero's engraving, that really makes me think he knew this table when he arrived to the US in 1950...

      Yes, Design inspires art!!!
    9. Lambda55, 10 years ago
      Never saw one in red ! So striking ! And the way u have it set ! Please share the whole room after u accomplish the final look ! Thanx !
    10. austrohungaro austrohungaro, 10 years ago
      Thanks for your love TOOLATE, LAMBDA and MANI!!!

      And thanks lambda for your nice comments! I'll try to take a good one when it's ready!!!
    11. austrohungaro austrohungaro, 10 years ago
      Thanks CINDB!!! As I said before, the tiles are the originals from the house, which was built in 1950.
    12. austrohungaro austrohungaro, 10 years ago
      Thanks for loving HUNTER, VIOLET, PATSEA, MANI, VLADIMIR and NORDICAMAN!!!!
    13. Lise Lise, 10 years ago
      Love it :)
    14. austrohungaro austrohungaro, 10 years ago
      Thanks for lovig it ILSE!!!
    15. AnneLanders AnneLanders, 9 years ago
      i think perhaps this table has been re worked as they tended to have laminates on them that resemble the floor morethan that red. I wuld call it a modern rework of a mod table!

      Stunning and would fit in perfectly with a retro house of today...

      I guess this look is what this generation "thinks" the 60's were about...

      Beautiful...
    16. austrohungaro austrohungaro, 9 years ago
      Anne, the laminate on top is original... you can see how old it is on a closer look. It's been "in the family" for so many years!!!
    17. Jettabetta1 Jettabetta1, 4 years ago
      This is my dream ...

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