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Florence Knoll Center Tables

American, 1917-2019

Architect, furniture designer, interior designer, entrepreneur — Florence Knoll had a subtle but profound influence on the course of mid-century American modernism. Dedicated to functionality and organization, and never flamboyant, Knoll shaped the ethos of the postwar business world with her skillfully realized office plans and polished, efficient designs for sofas, credenzas, desks and other furnishings.

Knoll had perhaps the most thorough design education of any of her peers. Florence Schust was orphaned at age 12, and her guardian sent her to Kingswood, a girl’s boarding school that is part of the Cranbrook Educational Community in suburban Detroit. Her interest in design brought her to the attention of Eliel Saarinen, the Finnish architect and head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Saarinen and his wife took the talented child under their wing, and she became close to their son, the future architect Eero Saarinen. While a student at the academy, Florence befriended artist-designer Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames. Later, she studied under three of the Bauhaus masters who emigrated to the United States. She worked as an apprentice in the Boston architectural offices of Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe taught her at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

In 1941, she met Hans Knoll, whose eponymous furniture company was just getting off the ground. They married in 1946, and her design sense and his business skills soon made Knoll Inc. a leading firm in its field. Florence signed up the younger Saarinen as a designer, and would develop pieces by Bertoia, Mies and the artist Isamu Noguchi.

Florence Knoll's main work came as head of the Knoll Planning Group, designing custom office interiors for clients such as IBM and CBS. The furniture she created for these spaces reflects her Bauhaus training: the pieces are pure functional design, exactingly built; their only ornament from the materials, such as wood and marble. Her innovations — the oval conference table, for example, conceived as a way to ensure clear sightlines among all seated at a meeting — were always in the service of practicality.

Since her retirement in 1965, Knoll received the National Medal of Arts, among other awards; in 2004 the Philadelphia Museum of Art mounted the exhibition “Florence Knoll: Defining Modern” — well deserved accolades for a strong, successful design and business pioneer. As demonstrated on these pages, the simplicity of Knoll’s furniture is her work’s great virtue: they fit into any interior design scheme.

Find vintage Florence Knoll sofas, benches, armchairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.

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Creator: Florence Knoll
Non Matching Pair of Rosewood & Crome Square Knoll Side End Tables Stands Mint
By Knoll, Florence Knoll
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Measure: Big table: 30 x 30 x 17. Small table: 24 x 24 x 17.
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Florence Knoll Center Tables

Materials

Chrome

Florence Knoll Square Marble Top Solid Chrome Base Side End Coffee Center Table
By Florence Knoll
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Florence Knoll square marble top solid chrome base side end coffee center table.
Category

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Florence Knoll Center Tables

Materials

Marble, Chrome

1950s Florence Knoll Coffee Table in Walnut and Chrome Steel
By Knoll, Florence Knoll
Located in Madrid, ES
Center or coffee table designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll international in Walnut wood and Chrome Steel. Excellent vintage condition with slight signs of use, United States, 1950’s...
Category

1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Florence Knoll Center Tables

Materials

Steel

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Florence Knoll center tables for sale on 1stDibs.

Florence Knoll center tables are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Florence Knoll center tables, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original center tables by Florence Knoll were created in the mid-century modern style in united states during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider center tables by John Widdicomb, Henredon, and Leon Rosen. Prices for Florence Knoll center tables can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $2,600 and can go as high as $4,800, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $4,271.
Questions About Florence Knoll Center Tables
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Florence Knoll was an architect and furniture designer who greatly influenced mid-century design. She established the furniture company Knoll, Inc., which continues to manufacture pieces inspired by her designs. Knoll died on January 25, 2019, at the age of 101. Find a collection of Florence Knoll furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    To pronounce Florence Knoll, say "FLO-rens Noll." The "K" in the designer's last name is silent. Florence Knoll's maiden name was Florence Marguerite Schust, pronounced "shusht." She changed her name after marrying Hans Knoll in 1946. Find a range of Florence Knoll furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Florence Knoll lived in the U.S. throughout her life. She was born in Saginaw, Michigan, on May 24, 1917, and she died in Coral Gables, Florida, on January 25, 2019. From 1940 to 1941, she attended the Chicago Armour Institute in Chicago, Illinois. After that, she lived and worked in New York City for many years. On 1stDibs, find a range of Florence Knoll furniture.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Florence Knoll made a number of well-known furniture designs and founded the company Knoll, Inc. Some of her most acclaimed pieces include the Florence Knoll lounge chair, the Florence Knoll sofa, the Florence Knoll bench and the Florence Knoll settee. Shop a variety of Florence Knoll furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 13, 2024
    What Florence Knoll called the Womb chair after it was created is unknown. However, its creator Eero Saarinen stated that Knoll inspired him to make the piece by asking him to design the most comfortable chair ever, saying specifically that she wanted something that felt like "a basket full of pillows." Presented with the challenge, Saarinen went primal. What, the designer figured, better signifies the very essence of comfort than the womb? "It was designed on the theory that a great number of people have never really felt comfortable and secure since they left the womb,” the designer said of his chair. Find a selection of vintage Womb chairs on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    No, Florence Knoll didn't usually put a number on her pieces. To identify Florence Knoll furniture, look for a tag or mark that bears the name "Knoll" or "Knoll, Inc." On chairs, the labels are usually on the bottom cushion. On 1stDibs, find a collection of expertly vetted Florence Knoll furniture.

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