Modern Building and Garden Elements
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1950s French Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Concrete
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cedar
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Rattan, Teak, Synthetic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Iron
1950s French Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Concrete, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Limestone
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cedar
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
1990s European Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fiberglass
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Rope
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cedar
Late 20th Century Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fiberglass
1990s European Modern Building and Garden Elements
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Patent Leather
2010s Brazilian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
2010s Vietnamese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Plastic
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Building and Garden Elements
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Moroccan Modern Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Wire
1970s French Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Slate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Teak
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Polyester
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Upholstery, Wicker
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Resin, Fiberglass, Lacquer
Late 20th Century Modern Building and Garden Elements
Lucite
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Resin, Fiberglass, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Plastic
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cedar
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel