Modern Furniture
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Beech, Oak, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Stainless Steel, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Limestone
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Chenille, Wool, Oak, Faux Fur
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Fiberglass, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Leather, Fabric, Bouclé, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Carrara Marble, Statuary Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Silk, Velvet, Wood, Trimming
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Lacquer, Natural Fiber, Mirror
1920s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Marble, Carrara Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Travertine, Marble, Carrara Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Statuary Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Mohair, Bouclé, Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Carrara Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Carrara Marble, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Stone, Travertine, Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Walnut, Birdseye Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Carrara Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Birdseye Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Natural Fiber
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Birdseye Maple
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Furniture
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Birdseye Maple, Oak
1920s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
1920s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Ash, Maple, Walnut