Modern Stools
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Argentine Modern Stools
Wood
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Stools
Metal
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Stools
Leather, Oak
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Wood
2010s Modern Stools
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Stools
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Stools
Metal, Bronze
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Velvet
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Steel
1950s American Vintage Modern Stools
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Stools
Aluminum
1960s Indian Vintage Modern Stools
Teak
Late 20th Century French Modern Stools
Bronze
2010s Turkish Modern Stools
Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Stools
Wood, Lacquer
Early 2000s American Modern Stools
Leather
1950s Swedish Vintage Modern Stools
Pine
2010s Dutch Modern Stools
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Cork
Mid-20th Century Modern Stools
Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Upholstery, Wood
20th Century French Modern Stools
Elm
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Stools
Leather, Teak
2010s American Modern Stools
Aluminum
2010s Mexican Modern Stools
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Stainless Steel
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Stools
Velvet, Rosewood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Terrazzo
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Stools
Cord, Oak, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Velvet, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Velvet, Wood
2010s American Modern Stools
Fabric
2010s French Modern Stools
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Stools
Cord, Wood, Oak
2010s American Modern Stools
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Stools
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Brass
2010s French Modern Stools
Steel
2010s American Modern Stools
Sheepskin
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Stools
Velvet, Walnut
1980s American Vintage Modern Stools
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Wood
2010s American Modern Stools
Brass, Steel
2010s American Modern Stools
Cowhide, Ebony
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Pine
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Stools
Ceramic, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Pine
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Wood
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Stools
Fabric, Wood