$2,320Sale Price|20% Off
Italian Early 20th Century Elegant Writing Desk in Walnut Veneer
Located in Casale Monferrato, IT
We present this elegant desk dating back to the early 20th century. This extremely refined walnut veneer desk, inspired by the English Chippendale style, exudes elegance and lightnes...
Walnut
Italian Writing Table with Sliding Top and Pull Out Desk Top
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An beautiful and unusual writing table with veneered and inlaid walnut and olive-wood, featuring a sliding top, pull out desktop with leather and a drawer, all on tapered legs. Bron...
Bronze
EXQUISITE ANTIQUE ITALIAN CIRCA 1860 OLIVE WOOD DESK WRITING TABLE SUBLiME WOOD
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
Royal House Antiques Royal house antiques is delighted to offer for sale this absolutely exquisite original circa 1860-1880 Olive wood Italian desk / writing table with the most glo...
Wood
MID-19th CENTURY NAPOLEON III VENEERED WRITING DESK
Located in Firenze, FI
A beautiful and elegant centerpiece writing desk, featuring high-quality venereed walnut and brown walnut, and embellished with lost-wax bronze decorations.
Bronze
LATE 18th CENTURY NEOCLASSICAL WRITING DESK WITH INLAYS
Located in Firenze, FI
The writing desk features period-typical truncated pyramid legs and a sliding top.
Bronze
Antique Carved Walnut Writing Desk with Upper Cabinet, Milan, 1730
Located in Milano, IT
Writing desk with upper cabinet Milan, first half of the 18th century Carved walnut partially veneered in olive wood and walnut burl; traces of ebonizing. It measures 66.53 in x ...
Olive, Walnut
Late 17th Century Italian Baroque Library Table / Writing Table
Located in Charleston, SC
Late 17th Century Baroque Desk / Writing or Library Table with two drawers supported an elegant lyre-shaped base with intricately carved legs connected by wrought iron stretchers. th...
Wrought Iron
OPENING WRITING TABLE SECOND HALF OF THE 19th CENTURY
Located in Firenze, FI
Elegant writing table for the center entirely veneered in fruit wood. This refined piece of furniture stands out for its arched band and slightly curved legs, enriched by feet decora...
Fruitwood
Italian Pine Kitchen Table / Writing Desk / Farm Table
Located in Viterbo, VT
Pine table hand-crafted in Central Italy in the mid 1800s. The table has simple lines and gorgeous patina and could be used as a kitchen table, a console table, a sofa table or a wri...
Pine
Arbalete Front Chinoiserie Writing Desk, Italy, 18th Century
Located in Isle Sur La Sorgue, Vaucluse
Slant/drop front secrétaire commode, with arbalete front. Louis XIV style, decorated with hand-painted chinoiserie scenes. A very rare and exquisite piece.
Writing Cabinet Scrittoio Escritoire Desk Walnut Italy Florence Renaissance
Located in BUNGAY, SUFFOLK
An exceptionally rare, late-Renaissance, Florentine, walnut, writing cabinet, scrittoio, escritoire or desk in two parts This striking, writing cabinet has a classical form, ornam...
Walnut
$1,810Sale Price|20% Off
18th Century Flap Writing Desk, Walnut, Louis XIII Style, Italy
Located in Sant'Arsenio, Campania
18th century flap writing desk Object: Desk with flap Period: eighteenth century Origin: Italy Description: The piece of furniture is a rare example of a 17th/18th centu...
Walnut
17th Century Italian Renaissance Walnut Tuscan Scrittoio Writing Desk
Located in Brooklyn, NY
An extremely rare form of Renaissance furniture, this writing desk is likely from Florence and would have originated from the palazzo study room of a noble family.
Bronze
Antique Italian Ebonized Dining Table or Writing Desk with Iron Stretcher
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Elegant Italian dining table, console table or writing desk with stunning wrought-iron stretchers in a wonderful size.
Iron
$3,290Sale Price|30% Off
Antique Italian Renaissance Revival Walnut Figural Carved Writing Desk 52"
Located in Dayton, OH
Antique Neo-Renaissance Revival writing desk. Made of walnut featuring Neoclassical styling with high relief figural carvings of cherubs / puttis, Northwind faces, and acanthus / fl...
Walnut
$7,426Sale Price|20% Off
Early 20th Century Italian Louis XV Style Cabinet with Writing Desk
Located in Casale Monferrato, IT
Elegant Italian Louis XV Style cabinet with desk 1910s. This cabinet is characterized by a refined veneer in fine rosewood. The veneer is laid using the grain of the wood as a decora...
Walnut
18th Century Italian Louis XV Writing Table Inlaid Rosewood Center Desk
Located in Milano, MI
Elegant 18th century Italian rosewood center table from Tuscany, Italy, a rectangular shaped Louis XV veneered desk with one small drawer on the front, raised by elegant à cabriole l...
Boxwood, Ebony, Rosewood
$3,156Sale Price|20% Off
Antique Flap Writing Desk in Walnut, Carved Cross Legs, Early 18th Century Italy
Located in Cuneo, Italy (CN)
Ancient flap, desk in solid walnut, with hand-carved legs and cross base, built, inlaid and briar-root by hand in the early 18th century, in Italy (Piedmont). Elegant and classic, a...
Walnut
French Provincial Walnut Fall Front Writing Desk, 18th Century
Located in Cesena, FC
Original Louis XV carved fall front writing desk with dark patina finish. Louis XV sideboard with writing desk with exquisite floral carvings carved from solid walnut, finished in d...
Walnut
Table Centre Desk Writing Walnut Double Dolphin Handle Genoa Baroque
Located in BUNGAY, SUFFOLK
Unusally Large Italian Walnut Centre, Occassional or Writing Table, Genoa Unusual large size with classical elegance and form Conceived as a center table as the frieze decoration...
Walnut
Late 19th-Century French Walnut Bedside Cabinet with Hidden Writing Desk
Located in Atlanta, GA
A refined late 19th-century cabinet or bedside table crafted in rich walnut, featuring a delicate writing desk function. The elegant serpentine front is fitted with three drawers, ea...
Walnut
Choosing the perfect writing desk or writing table is a profoundly personal journey, one that people have been embarking upon for centuries.
Queen Atossa of Persia, from her writing table circa 500 B.C., is said to have been the originator of the art of handwritten letters. Hers was reportedly the first in a long and colorful history of penned correspondence that grew in popularity alongside literacy. The demand for suitable writing desks, which would serve the composer of the letters as well as ensure the comfort of the recipient naturally followed, and the design of these necessary furnishings has evolved throughout history.
Once people began to seek freedom from the outwardly ornate styles of the walnut and rosewood writing desks and drafting tables introduced in the name of Queen Victoria and King Louis XV, radical shifts occurred, such as those that materialized during the Art Nouveau period, when designers longed to produce furniture inspired by the natural world’s beauty. A prime example is the work of the famous late-19th-century Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí — his rolltop desk featured deep side drawers and was adorned with carved motifs that paid tribute to nature. Gaudí regularly combined structural precision with decorative elements, creating beautiful pieces of furniture in wood and metal.
Soon afterward, preferences for sleek, geometric, stylized forms in furniture that saw an emphasis on natural wood grains and traditional craftsmanship took hold. Today, Art Deco desks are still favored by designers who seek to infuse interiors with an air of luxury. One of the most prominent figures of the Art Deco movement was French decorator and furniture designer Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann. With his use of neoclassical motifs as well as expensive and exotic materials such as imported dark woods and inlays of precious metals for his writing desks, Ruhlmann came to symbolize good taste and modernity.
The rise in appreciation for Scandinavian modernism continues to influence the design of contemporary writing desks. It employs the “no fuss” or “less is more” approach to creating a tasteful, sophisticated space. Sweden’s master cabinetmaker Bruno Mathsson created gallery-worthy designs that are as functional as they are beautiful. Finnish architect Alvar Aalto never viewed himself as an artist, but, like Mathsson, his furniture designs reflected a fondness for organic materials and a humanistic approach. Danish designers such as Hans Wegner introduced elegant shapes and lines to mid-century desks and writing tables, often working in oak and solid teak.
From vintage desks to contemporary styles, 1stDibs offers a broad spectrum of choices for conducting all personal and business writing and reading activities.
Top interior designers show — and tell — us how to create delectable spaces for hosting dinner parties.
Fans of the French film star may be surprised to learn that he had a flair for furniture with sleek lines and disco-era flash.
Like other pieces in the firm’s Candy Box collection, the cheerful limited-edition design showcases French craft.
Whether you’re just moving in or ready to give your home a makeover, our guide will give you pointers on tables that are fitting for every room, nook and hallway.
From his massive collaborative workshop in a former paper factory, the designer concocts funky furniture from disused materials, as well as luxe hotel interiors like the new Mix Brussels.
The designer’s innovative use of an unexpected material gives this console a lift.
The stately piece brings both gravitas and whimsy to any work space.
Use them as tables or stools, indoors or out.