Modern Credenzas
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Brazilian Modern Credenzas
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Smoked Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Credenzas
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Credenzas
Onyx, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Credenzas
Marble, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Credenzas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Credenzas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Credenzas
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Smoked Glass, Wood
Late 20th Century Modern Credenzas
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Wood
2010s Lithuanian Modern Credenzas
Wood, Hardwood, Lacquer
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Metal
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Leather, Walnut
2010s Canadian Modern Credenzas
Oak
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Leather, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Credenzas
Chestnut
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Stainless Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Credenzas
Metal, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Credenzas
Carrara Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Credenzas
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Credenzas
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Ash
2010s Italian Modern Credenzas
Wood, Walnut
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Credenzas
Carrara Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Credenzas
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Credenzas
Brass
2010s Canadian Modern Credenzas
Walnut
2010s Mexican Modern Credenzas
Glass, Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Credenzas
Glass, Wood
Mid-20th Century European Modern Credenzas
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Credenzas
Onyx, Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Walnut
2010s Egyptian Modern Credenzas
Oak
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Walnut
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Credenzas
Steel, Cut Steel, Stainless Steel, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Wenge, Walnut
2010s Mexican Modern Credenzas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Credenzas
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Oak
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Walnut, Glass
2010s Canadian Modern Credenzas
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Credenzas
Metal
2010s European Modern Credenzas
Stainless Steel, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Credenzas
Marble, Brass