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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
2010s Japanese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stone, Iron
1990s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Copper, Iron, Wire
2010s Japanese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stone, Iron
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Steel, Wrought Iron
2010s Japanese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stone, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Northern Irish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Statuary Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Upholstery, Wicker
2010s Japanese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stone, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
Early 20th Century German Modern Building and Garden Elements
Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
20th Century English Modern Building and Garden Elements
Wrought Iron
1990s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble
1980s American Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
2010s South African Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s South African Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s South African Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
1970s Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal, Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Crystal, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Crystal, Bronze
Late 20th Century English Modern Building and Garden Elements
Pine, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum, Stainless Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Stainless Steel
2010s South African Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel, Stainless Steel
20th Century American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Mahogany, Cane, Wicker
1980s French Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Slate
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Porcelain
1990s European Modern Building and Garden Elements
Bronze
1990s Austrian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
Mid-20th Century Modern Building and Garden Elements
Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s South African Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
18th Century Italian Antique Modern Building and Garden Elements
Carrara Marble
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Building and Garden Elements
Glass, Mirror
1970s American Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum