Modern Footstools
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Footstools
Oak, Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Footstools
Plastic
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Footstools
Plastic
2010s American Modern Footstools
Leather, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Footstools
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Footstools
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Footstools
Gold, Brass
2010s Argentine Modern Footstools
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Footstools
Sheepskin, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Footstools
Bouclé, Upholstery
1980s American Vintage Modern Footstools
Fabric, Foam
1920s Dutch Vintage Modern Footstools
Belgian Black Marble
1980s American Vintage Modern Footstools
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Footstools
Wood
Mid-20th Century French Modern Footstools
Oak
2010s American Modern Footstools
Upholstery
1940s French Vintage Modern Footstools
Leather, Upholstery, Oak
2010s Philippine Modern Footstools
Rattan, Foam, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Footstools
Brass
2010s Dutch Modern Footstools
Aluminum
2010s Philippine Modern Footstools
Steel
20th Century Modern Footstools
Fabric
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Footstools
Metal
2010s Finnish Modern Footstools
Fiberglass
2010s French Modern Footstools
Oak
2010s Philippine Modern Footstools
Rattan, Foam, Maple
2010s French Modern Footstools
Oak
2010s Philippine Modern Footstools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Footstools
Plastic
Late 20th Century English Modern Footstools
Upholstery, Hardwood
2010s Argentine Modern Footstools
Fabric, Wood
2010s French Modern Footstools
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Fabric
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s French Modern Footstools
Oak
2010s Italian Modern Footstools
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Footstools
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Brass, Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Footstools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Fabric, Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Fabric, Velvet, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Velvet, Fabric, Wood
2010s Argentine Modern Footstools
Fabric, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel