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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Furniture
Teak, Pine
2010s Swedish Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Wood, Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Chrome
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Furniture
Fabric, Pine
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Wood, Cedar
2010s Scandinavian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Bouclé
2010s Argentine Modern Furniture
Onyx, Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Furniture
Metal, Bronze
2010s European Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Leather, Bouclé, Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Walnut
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s South African Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s French Modern Furniture
Marble
Late 20th Century European Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Cotton, Polyester
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Statuary Marble, Onyx, Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Marble, Carrara Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fiberglass, Art Glass, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Scagliola
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Onyx, Carrara Marble, Stainless Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Marble, Carrara Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel, Gold Leaf
2010s Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Onyx, Carrara Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Metal
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Beech, Oak, Leather, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Chrome
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Onyx
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Gold, Bronze
2010s South African Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood, Lacquer, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Leather, Fabric, Bouclé, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Leather, Bouclé, Velvet, Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Leather, Bouclé
2010s British Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel, Brass