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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s British Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Carrara Marble
1930s French Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Bronze
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Upholstery, Fabric, Rope, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Straw
Early 20th Century French Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stone
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s Japanese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
2010s Australian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Brass
20th Century American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Mahogany, Cane, Wicker
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Mahogany
Late 20th Century Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fiberglass
2010s South African Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
20th Century French Modern Building and Garden Elements
Concrete
1990s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal, Brass
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s Australian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Brass
Early 2000s Modern Building and Garden Elements
Wood
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stone
1990s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Synthetic, Wicker, Foam
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Rope, Teak
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Wenge, Wood, Faux Leather
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Building and Garden Elements
Bronze
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Northern Irish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Statuary Marble
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cast Stone, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Polystyrene
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Polyester
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Synthetic, Wicker, Fabric
2010s Brazilian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble
2010s Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Brass
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Rope
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
1990s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cement
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Stainless Steel
1930s American Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Bronze
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s German Modern Building and Garden Elements
PVC
2010s German Modern Building and Garden Elements
PVC
2010s Chinese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Other
Mid-20th Century American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Pottery