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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Danish Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Cotton
Early 2000s American Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Wood, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood, Trimming
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Walnut
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Marble
2010s Austrian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood, Ebony
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s French Modern Furniture
Copper
Mid-20th Century Indian Modern Furniture
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Maple, Burl
2010s Danish Modern Furniture
Sheepskin, Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Gold, Brass
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Scagliola, Wood
1990s Belgian Modern Furniture
Paint
2010s American Modern Furniture
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Walnut
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
1970s German Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Mirror, Walnut
2010s American Modern Furniture
Fabric
2010s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Walnut
2010s Czech Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Sterling Silver
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Furniture
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Teak
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Chestnut
2010s German Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Travertine, Metal
1990s French Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Walnut, Velvet
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Wool, Walnut, Velvet
Late 20th Century North American Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s South African Modern Furniture
Copper, Steel
1970s German Vintage Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Furniture
Paper
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood