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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Polyester, Teak
20th Century American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cut Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Polyester, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Resin
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Foam
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
1980s American Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Concrete
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cut Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
1960s Argentine Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Granite, Bronze
Late 20th Century French Modern Building and Garden Elements
Onyx, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Wrought Iron
20th Century American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Enamel, Nickel
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Resin
20th Century European Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
20th Century American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Iron, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Concrete, Aluminum
1970s French Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Iron, Nickel
2010s Danish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Wood, Paint
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Iron
19th Century Swedish Antique Modern Building and Garden Elements
Terracotta
2010s Brazilian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Bronze
20th Century European Modern Building and Garden Elements
Iron
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Iron
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Concrete, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stoneware
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Iron