Modern Cabinets
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
20th Century North American Modern Cabinets
Glass
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Hardwood, Ash, Walnut
1970s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Oak
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Walnut
2010s Australian Modern Cabinets
Animal Skin, Leather
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Oak
1950s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Rattan, Mahogany
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Ash
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Walnut
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Ash
2010s Belgian Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Oak, Plywood
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Walnut
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Ash
2010s Belgian Modern Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Ash
2010s Turkish Modern Cabinets
Wood, Lacquer
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Ash
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Glass, Mirror, Wood, Ziricote
1950s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Metal
1940s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Cabinets
Brass, Bronze, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Bronze
2010s French Modern Cabinets
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Marble
2010s Belgian Modern Cabinets
Copper
2010s Belgian Modern Cabinets
Agate, Brass
2010s Belgian Modern Cabinets
Agate, Brass
2010s French Modern Cabinets
Iron
1940s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Wood, Oak
2010s French Modern Cabinets
Iron
2010s French Modern Cabinets
Iron
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Cabinets
Metal
2010s French Modern Cabinets
Iron
2010s French Modern Cabinets
Iron
2010s French Modern Cabinets
Iron
2010s Turkish Modern Cabinets
Marble, Brass
2010s Egyptian Modern Cabinets
Oak
1930s Swiss Vintage Modern Cabinets
Pine
1970s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Steel, Brass
2010s French Modern Cabinets
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Cabinets
Art Glass, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Cabinets
Laminate, Cherry
Late 20th Century Modern Cabinets
Acrylic
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Cabinets
Rosewood
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Cabinets
Glass, Wood
1990s Japanese Modern Cabinets
Glass, Cherry
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Cabinets
Glass, Wood
2010s Turkish Modern Cabinets
Oak
1990s American Modern Cabinets
Glass, Laminate
20th Century American Modern Cabinets
Mirror, Wood