Showroom Samples
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Club Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Carrara Marble, Iron, Gold Leaf, Silver Leaf
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Carrara Marble, Iron, Gold Leaf, Silver Leaf
2010s American Country Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Western European Rugs
Cotton
2010s French Industrial Stools
Steel
2010s French Industrial Armchairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Carrara Marble, Iron, Gold Leaf, Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Mohair
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Stainless Steel, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Bookcases
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sideboards
Metal, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood, Walnut, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Western European Rugs
Wool
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Console Tables
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Center Tables
Teak, Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Lacquer, Walnut, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Dry Bars
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Credenzas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Dry Bars
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Western European Rugs
Silk, Wool
2010s American Modern Sofas
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Chairs
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass, Gold Leaf
2010s American Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Carrara Marble, Brass, Gold Leaf
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Beds and Bed Frames
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1950s American Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
2010s Daybeds
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sideboards
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Floor Lamps
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Table Lamps
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Toys and Dolls
Fir, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Toys and Dolls
Wood, Fir
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Serving Pieces
Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Decorative Art
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Toys and Dolls
Fir
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A Close Look at 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.
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