Category: Design and Interiors

We suspect the price of design just might take a dip in this troubling economic climate, so you might just might find a bargain or two at the Christies 20th Century Decorative Art and Design auction on March 25th 2009.

The auction really is a who's who of modern design, including the likes of Georg Jensen, Ettore Sottsass, Charles & Ray Eames, Gio Ponti, Arne Jacobsen, Marcel Breuer, Charlotte, Perriand, George Nelson  Alvar Aalto, Verner Panton and many more besides. Indeed, if you have a spare few minutes, it's well worth browsing the online catalogue.

We did just that and spotted this stunning Merrow Associates dining table down in the depths. A superb example of the British design firm's work from 1970, it offers up six upholstered chairs, chrome frames and a stunning rosewood top. If you want a table to last, this is well worth the £2,000 – £3,000 asking price.

If you want to bid or just go along, the sale is at the Kensington sales room (85 Old Brompton Road), commencing at 10:30am.

Find out more at the Christies website

Normally buying a calendar in mid-March would not represent good value for money with two months already passed, but such considerations are obsolete with a perpetual calendar such as this one from Sukie.

As with all of Sukie’s designs, it has a definite retro feel, in this case it has a mid-century Scandinavian look to it. The calendar is die-cut with a desktop stand and features a moveable day, date, month and even a weather feature.

It costs just £6.84 and can be bought from the Sukie website.

Tables don't get much more minimalist than the Pietro Chiesa Fontana coffee table.

A modernist classic dating back to 1932, the Fontana has remained timeless purely down to that simplicity – cured and ground 'float' glass in various sizes, but all with that same straightforward shape.

It's exhibited in the MOMA in New York and you can have one in your home too from around £700.

Find out more at the Panik Design website

Can you believe this design is over 75 years old? Well, the Gio Ponti Tavolino occasional table is just that.

A very modern modernist design from 1932, the Tavolino is newly-reissued by Fontana Arte and offering a polished nickel-plated brass structure, with two 15mm 'floating' glass discs for your bits and pieces, the whole thing standing around 61cm tall.

It's an incredibly stylish design, but at a price – £1,390 to be precise.

Find out more at the Panik Design website