Dos Gallos Barley Twist

Based in Los Angeles, Dos Gallos Studio is a labor of love, brought about by Gail and Charles Boswell. Using materials like walnut, mahogany, bronze, railroad spikes, rattan and driftwood, the studio finely crafts a wide array of timeless tables, armoires, chairs and bedroom sets. Additionally, their Dos Gallos gallery holds a collection of one-of-a-kind, antique, vintage and folk art and design pieces from around the world, with a special emphasis on Guatalman works.

Back in the early 1990s, while on an afternoon stroll with Charles, Gail saw an antique table from Guatemala in a shop window. Altman, who ran her own antiques store at the time, had an immediate appreciation for the piece’s craftsmanship and became obsessed with Guatemalan art and furniture.

The duo flew to the Central American country, rented a pickup truck and began to search for authentic objects. Charles relates, "We would go to small villages in the countryside and ask them if they have anything they want to sell." Over the course of their journey, they amassed a trove of rare pottery, rustic wooden furniture, metal chocolate pots and other uncommon goods.

The Boswells shipped the treasures home, and opened Dos Gallos in 1993. The gallery flourished, as notable interior designers and architects like Martyn Lawrence-Bullard and Marc Appleton often purchased rare artwork and furniture to adorn the spaces they designed. As Dos Gallos’ popularity grew, the partners introduced Japanese antiques into the collection.

Clients began to request custom-built furniture to accompany the well-aged works they picked up at the gallery. So, the Boswells started producing chairs, benches and many other types of furniture and collectibles in modern or rustic silhouettes, often inspired by their favorite Latin American and European pieces. Their warehouse is also their office, and a showroom displays the eclectic array of unusual objects they've collected alongside their own creations.

On 1stDibs, find seating, storage pieces and tables by Dos Gallos Studio.

After the conquest of Mexico in 1521 and the Philippines in 1565, Spain dictated a global culture. The colonization of territories in the Americas, Western Europe, Africa, Oceania and the Pacific imposed the values of Spain, including Catholicism, while the extraction of resources reinforced the empire’s wealth and power. Unlike many styles that came out of European colonialism, such as British Colonial, Spanish Colonial furniture and architecture frequently mixed local heritage with the artistic traditions of Spain.

Spanish Colonial furniture was informed by the shifting styles of Europe as well as Indigenous culture. There were Inca tapestries depicting Spanish coats of arms and Baroque chairs adorned with tropical flora. The butaca, a low easy chair popular in the Caribbean, was inspired by Rococo’s curving forms and the shape of precolonial seating. In New Mexico, Pueblo artisans carved chests with patterns reminiscent of Anasazi art.

Even within the homes of the wealthy, furniture was usually restricted to necessities like benches, desks, cupboards and chests. These were often ornately designed and especially important for storing prized goods like textiles. Spanish Colonial houses were built with adobe and clay and tended to be minimally decorated, so the style’s heavily carved wooden furniture pieces stood out against a home’s white stucco walls.

The Spanish Colonial period mostly came to an end after the territories achieved independence from Spain. However, its aesthetics continued to influence Southwestern style and Spanish Colonial Revival style after Spanish Colonial style was used extensively at San Diego’s 1915 Panama-California Exposition.

Find a collection of antique Spanish Colonial chairs, tables, bedroom furniture and other furniture on 1stDibs.

The right vintage, new or antique tables can help make any space in your home stand out.

Over the years, the variety of tables available to us, as well as our specific needs for said tables, has broadened. Today, with all manner of these must-have furnishings differing in shape, material and style, any dining room table can shine just as brightly as the guests who gather around it.

Remember, when shopping for a dining table, it must fit your dining area, and you need to account for space around the table too — think outside the box, as an oval dining table may work for tighter spaces. Alternatively, if you’ve got the room, a Regency-style dining table can elevate any formal occasion at mealtime.

Innovative furniture makers and designers have also redefined what a table can be. Whether it’s an unconventional Ping-Pong table, a brass side table to display your treasured collectibles or a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk to add an air of nostalgia to your loft, your table can say a lot about you.

The visionary work of French designer Xavier Lavergne, for example, includes tables that draw on the forms of celestial bodies as often as they do aquatic creatures or fossils. Elsewhere, Italian architect Gae Aulenti, who looked to Roman architecture in crafting her stately Jumbo coffee table, created clever glass-topped mobile coffee tables that move on bicycle tires or sculpted wood wheels for Fontana Arte. 

Coffee and cocktail tables can serve as a room’s centerpiece with attention-grabbing details and colors. Glass varieties will keep your hardwood flooring and dazzling area rugs on display, while a marble or stone coffee table in a modern interior can showcase your prized art books and decorative objects. A unique vintage desk or writing table can bring sophistication and even a bit of spice to your work life. 

No matter your desired form or function, a quality table for your living space is a sound investment. On 1stDibs, browse a collection of vintage, new and antique bedside tables, mid-century end tables and more .