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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Concrete
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal, Bronze
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Rope
2010s European Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
2010s European Modern Building and Garden Elements
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
2010s Brazilian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Upholstery, Teak, Fabric
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Synthetic, Wicker, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cut Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Leather, Fabric
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Rope, Teak
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Carrara Marble, Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
20th Century Chinese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
1980s American Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Crystal, Bronze
2010s Australian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Iron, Brass, Nickel
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
2010s British Modern Building and Garden Elements
Sandstone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Building and Garden Elements
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Limestone
2010s Modern Building and Garden Elements
Mahogany, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Building and Garden Elements
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Cedar
20th Century American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Fabric, Rope, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
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
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Building and Garden Elements
Stone, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Building and Garden Elements
Lacquer
20th Century American Modern Building and Garden Elements
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Building and Garden Elements
Marble, Stainless Steel
2010s Asian Modern Building and Garden Elements
Aluminum