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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Resin, Fiberglass, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Building and Garden Elements
Glass, Mirror
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Rope, Teak
2010s South African Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Rope, Teak
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cedar
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal, Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Mirror
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Bronze
1980s Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Resin, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Carrara 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
Stainless Steel
Early 20th Century German Modern Building and Garden Elements
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Leather, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Leather, Fabric
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
1960s Belgian Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cement
2010s Chinese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
20th Century Unknown Modern Building and Garden Elements
Bronze
2010s European Modern Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
1970s Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Glass, Wood
1950s Swiss Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Resin, Fiberglass, Lacquer
2010s Vietnamese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s Danish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Stainless Steel
2010s European Modern Building and Garden Elements
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cedar
2010s North American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Concrete, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Iron
2010s Chinese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Moroccan Modern Building and Garden Elements
Brass
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Concrete
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum