Goatskin and Suede Flip Top Game Table, Karl Springer, 1970's

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Description

Some tables hold a drink. Some hold a vase. This one holds grudges ~ and the receipts to back them … Read more Some tables hold a drink. Some hold a vase. This one holds grudges ~ and the receipts to back them up. Welcome the Karl Springer Backgammon Game Table, the only piece of furniture that will simultaneously make your guests gasp, sit down uninvited, and immediately start trash-talking each other over a board game like it's 1977 in a Hamptons estate and someone just doubled the stakes.
The entire table — top, sides, is clad in goatskin. Not a goatskin accent. Not goatskin-adjacent. Wall-to-wall, committed, no-going-back goatskin, in a moody mottled grey-green that Springer somehow made look like the most sophisticated color on the planet. The backgammon board inset features those dramatic pointed triangles in green goatskin and black framed with a creamy lacquered middle.

But here's where this table pulls ahead ~ the game table middle is an insert-- inset the table. You can flip it. The reverse is clad in a gorgeous charcoal gray suede so lush it should have its own zip code. Suddenly you're not playing backgammon anymore. You're playing cards. Or poker. Or "let's pretend this is just a regular table" while four people absolutely cannot stop running their hands across the soft tactile surface.

At 37.5" x 33.5" x 28.5"T, this table is substantial, the way Karl Springer always intended. It seats four comfortably for cards, two warriors and two very opinionated spectators for backgammon, or one person dramatically alone with their thoughts and a glass of something expensive.

Karl Springer was a visionary and a space creator first and foremost. After immigrating to New York City at the age of 26, he was a window dresser for Lord & Taylor on Fifth Ave where his sole purpose was to create eye-catching displays to draw people in. He developed a deep understanding of what it took to capture a passerby's attention within a split second to entice them into the store. This skill, along with his design savvy and fine attention to detail were what propelled him to furniture design icon status.

He masterfully designed pieces of furniture wrapped in parchment, seamless metal pieces, and polished chrome pieces dripping so heavy in glamour they couldn't be ignored. Celebrities, socialites and influencers alike flocked to buy his coveted, custom furniture creations. Springer was the ultimate vibe, before "vibe" became a thing.

The market for Karl Springer pieces is prevailing; and always has been. It's interesting how certain things seem to come in and out of style, but Springer understood that craftsmanship, clean lines and luxurious materials have a special staying power. His pieces are uniquely maximalist, but also minimalist. The furniture he strived to create were LBD's. Perfect little black dresses that could be gussied up to the max, or pared down to chic sophistication.

As the demand for vintage luxury designer pieces continues to rise, fueled by a growing appreciation for mid-century and late 20th-century design, I would think that Springer's work, along with other popular designers of this era, will appreciate in value over time. These pieces not only serve as symbols of luxury and refinement but also as tangible investments in functional works of art.


If your taste runs toward the collected and chic ~ if you're the kind of person who appreciates a Paul Evans sculpted cabinet, a Vladimir Kagan sofa with that unmitakable kidney curve, or a Gabriella Crespi brass cocktail table that looks like it belongs on a yacht in Portofino, then you already understand exactly what this table is and exactly where it belongs.

Mid century modern. Maximum drama. Zero apologies.
Dimensions: 37.5"W x 33.5"D x 28.5"H
Materials: Goatskin, grey suede reversible insert, original playing pieces included
Condition: Consistent with age and use ~ which is to say, it has lived, and it looks incredible doing it. See less