Modern Patio and Garden 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Plastic
Late 20th Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Mid-20th Century American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
1950s French Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete, Iron
20th Century American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Iron
1970s Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Upholstery, Wicker
Late 20th Century American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Fabric, Synthetic, Wicker, Fiberglass
1990s American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Ceramic
20th Century American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Mahogany, Cane, Wicker
1970s American Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete, Steel
1950s French Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
1990s American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
1980s French Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Slate
1990s American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
1960s Belgian Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
1990s American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Ceramic
1950s French Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
1950s French Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
1960s French Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Mid-20th Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Wrought Iron
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete, Steel
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
1990s American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Wrought Iron
1930s Chinese Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Pottery
Late 20th Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Terracotta
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Metal
20th Century American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
20th Century American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
1990s Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Ceramic
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
1970s Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Ceramic
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
1970s French Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Metal
1970s French Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Slate
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
Late 20th Century North American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Wrought Iron
1970s French Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Slate
1970s French Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
1950s French Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Steel
20th Century American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Upholstery, Rattan, Reed, Willow
1980s American Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
20th Century American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Upholstery, Rattan, Reed, Willow
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Metal
1940s Belgian Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete