Modern Home Accents
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Portuguese Modern Home Accents
Oak
2010s African Modern Home Accents
Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Home Accents
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Home Accents
Wood
1980s Vintage Modern Home Accents
Canvas
1980s Vintage Modern Home Accents
Leather
1980s Vintage Modern Home Accents
Canvas
1980s Vintage Modern Home Accents
Canvas
2010s Mexican Modern Home Accents
Steel
Late 20th Century Finnish Modern Home Accents
Wood, Birch
2010s Mexican Modern Home Accents
Steel
Early 2000s Mexican Modern Home Accents
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Home Accents
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Home Accents
Metal, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Home Accents
Metal, Steel
2010s Guatemalan Modern Home Accents
Wood, Mahogany
2010s Argentine Modern Home Accents
Onyx, Stone, Metal
2010s Australian Modern Home Accents
Bronze
Early 2000s French Modern Home Accents
Canvas
2010s South African Modern Home Accents
Wood
2010s South African Modern Home Accents
Wood
2010s African Modern Home Accents
Wood
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Home Accents
Wood
Mid-20th Century Modern Home Accents
Marble
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Home Accents
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century Modern Home Accents
Brass, Chrome
2010s African Modern Home Accents
Brass, Steel
2010s African Modern Home Accents
Brass, Steel
2010s African Modern Home Accents
Brass, Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Home Accents
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Home Accents
Brass
2010s American Modern Home Accents
Onyx, Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Home Accents
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Modern Home Accents
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Home Accents
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Home Accents
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Home Accents
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Home Accents
Metal
2010s American Modern Home Accents
Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Home Accents
Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Home Accents
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Home Accents
Chestnut
Late 20th Century Modern Home Accents
Brass, Chrome
20th Century French Modern Home Accents
Leather
20th Century American Modern Home Accents
Brass
20th Century French Modern Home Accents
Metal, Chrome
2010s Lebanese Modern Home Accents
Brass, Stainless Steel, Steel
2010s Singaporean Modern Home Accents
Limestone, Sandstone
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Home Accents
Stone, Metal
20th Century French Modern Home Accents
Chrome
20th Century French Modern Home Accents
Leather
1980s French Vintage Modern Home Accents
Leather
20th Century French Modern Home Accents
Leather, Mirror
20th Century Italian Modern Home Accents
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Home Accents
Brass
20th Century French Modern Home Accents
Leather
20th Century Unknown Modern Home Accents
Marble
20th Century French Modern Home Accents
Leather