Modern Ottomans and Poufs
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Brass, Gold Plate
2010s Portuguese Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Steel
1990s Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wool, Felt
2010s Portuguese Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Sheepskin, Oak
2010s Spanish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal, Brass
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
2010s Belgian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Sheepskin
1970s Indonesian Vintage Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Rattan
2010s South African Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Feathers, Velvet
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Sheepskin
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather
2010s British Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Alpaca, Bouclé, Sapele Wood
2010s Dutch Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet, Wood
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather, Sheepskin
2010s Belgian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wood
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Bouclé, Upholstery
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fur
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
2010s Spanish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet
2010s Spanish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile, Beech
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wool, Felt
2010s South African Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet, Feathers
2010s Philippine Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet, Walnut, Alpaca, Mohair, Bouclé, Linen, Wood, Oak
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Sheepskin, Hickory, Leather
2010s French Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Foam, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Bouclé
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Wood
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Zebra Hide
2010s Indian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Zebra Hide
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
Early 2000s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wood, Linen