Modern Benches
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1950s Finnish Vintage Modern Benches
Birch
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Benches
Velvet, Wood, Ebony
2010s Portuguese Modern Benches
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Benches
Iron
2010s French Modern Benches
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Benches
Cedar
2010s Brazilian Modern Benches
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Benches
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Lebanese Modern Benches
Silver Leaf
2010s American Modern Benches
Oak
2010s Belgian Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Benches
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Benches
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Benches
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Benches
Brass
2010s American Modern Benches
Fabric, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Benches
Wood, Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Benches
Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Benches
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Benches
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
2010s Egyptian Modern Benches
Wood
2010s Australian Modern Benches
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Benches
Wood, Textile
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Benches
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Moldovan Modern Benches
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Benches
Steel
2010s American Modern Benches
Wool, Felt
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Benches
Leather, Wood, Oak
2010s Modern Benches
Suede, Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Benches
Metal
2010s American Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Benches
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Benches
Oak
2010s Chinese Modern Benches
Fiberglass
2010s American Modern Benches
Wood, Oak, Walnut
2010s American Modern Benches
Wood, Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Benches
Zebra Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Benches
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Benches
Fabric, Velvet, Wood
2010s American Modern Benches
Steel
2010s American Modern Benches
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Benches
Leather, Walnut
2010s Austrian Modern Benches
Concrete, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Benches
Upholstery, Velvet, Hardwood, Maple
2010s Emirian Modern Benches
Limestone
2010s American Modern Benches
Steel, Chrome
20th Century French Modern Benches
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Indian Modern Benches
Fiberglass
2010s French Modern Benches
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Benches
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Benches
Oak
2010s South Korean Modern Benches
Plastic
2010s South Korean Modern Benches
Plastic