Is this a gorgeous little side table by accomplished American designer Sam Maloof (1916-2009)?  Well, no, not quite right for his style.  Obviously contemporary though, wouldn’t you say?  Look at the way the legs are drawn together so effortlessly and elegantly.  It’s probably another California artist for Knoll.

The table was actually designed in 1899 by German designer Richard Riemerschmid (1868-1957) for the Music Room of the Deutsche Kunstausstellung in Dresden.  Who knew?  I can see Jugendstil influences (Art Nouveau for the Francophiles amongst us), but it still looks amazingly modern to my eyes.

Imagine what the Victorian German patrons thought over a century ago when it was produced.  I can assure you they had never seen anything like it!  It’s such an elegant piece to have in a modern home today.  Picture it with your B&B Italia sofa and you can see that they wouldn’t clash in the slightest, even if they’re from clearly very distant design periods.

And that’s what’s perfect about great design – it’s always fresh and modern and never looks out of place.

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PS: Thank you for stopping by and reading my feature today.  I love what I do as an interior designer and art advisor, and it’s my hope that through these blog posts I’m enriching and heightening your aesthetic sensibility towards art, design and fabulous interiors in some way ~ Richard Rabel (a.k.a. the modern sybarite)