Modern Daybeds
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Modern Daybeds
Fabric, Wood
20th Century Modern Daybeds
Leather
2010s American Modern Daybeds
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Daybeds
Birch, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Daybeds
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Daybeds
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Daybeds
Wood, Velvet, Bouclé, Leather, Cotton
Late 20th Century Belgian Modern Daybeds
Fabric, Foam, Latex, Rubber
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Daybeds
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Daybeds
Fabric, Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Daybeds
Leather, Walnut, Oak, Cherry
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Daybeds
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Daybeds
Plastic
2010s German Modern Daybeds
Aluminum, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Daybeds
Fabric, Plastic
2010s French Modern Daybeds
Wool, Oak
2010s South African Modern Daybeds
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Daybeds
Leather, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Daybeds
Velvet, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Daybeds
Fabric, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Daybeds
Fabric, Lacquer, Wood, Velvet
2010s South African Modern Daybeds
Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s British Modern Daybeds
Fabric, Alpaca, Bouclé, Sapele Wood
2010s South African Modern Daybeds
Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s South African Modern Daybeds
Steel, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Daybeds
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Daybeds
Leather, Wood, Velvet, Cotton, Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Daybeds
Velvet, Walnut
2010s American Modern Daybeds
Bouclé, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Daybeds
Aluminum, Brass
2010s French Modern Daybeds
Steel
2010s American Modern Daybeds
Upholstery, Walnut
2010s Asian Modern Daybeds
Synthetic, Wicker, Fabric
2010s Asian Modern Daybeds
Aluminum
2010s Portuguese Modern Daybeds
Leather, Upholstery, Oak
1990s British Modern Daybeds
Upholstery, Foam, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Daybeds
Leather, Upholstery, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Daybeds
Leather
2010s French Modern Daybeds
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Daybeds
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Daybeds
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Daybeds
Leather, Bouclé, Cotton, Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Daybeds
Leather
2010s Egyptian Modern Daybeds
Upholstery, Pine
1990s Italian Modern Daybeds
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Daybeds
Leather
Early 2000s Italian Modern Daybeds
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Daybeds
Fabric, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Daybeds
Fabric, Bouclé, Cotton, Upholstery, Foam, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Daybeds
Leather, Wood, Velvet, Cotton, Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Daybeds
Velvet, Walnut
2010s Swiss Modern Daybeds
Leather, Wood
2010s Swiss Modern Daybeds
Leather
Late 20th Century French Modern Daybeds
Bamboo
2010s German Modern Daybeds
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Daybeds
Polyester
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Daybeds
Velvet, Fabric, Jute, Cane, Wood, Trimming