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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Mexican Modern Furniture
Fabric, Textile, Upholstery, Synthetic, Cherry, Oak, Walnut
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Mirror
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s South African Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
Late 20th Century Mexican Modern Furniture
Brass, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s Modern Furniture
Pine, Lacquer
2010s African Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Travertine, Marble, Gold Leaf
2010s African Modern Furniture
Resin, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Travertine, Marble, Onyx, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Cedar, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery
2010s German Modern Furniture
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Brass, Steel
Early 2000s French Modern Furniture
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Yarn
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Yarn
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Carrara Marble, Travertine, Onyx, Marble, Brass
1990s Modern Furniture
Glass, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Tibetan Modern Furniture
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Wool, Silk
Mid-20th Century European Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s British Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool, Silk
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s German Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Lacquer, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s American Modern Furniture
Bronze