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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s American Vintage Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wool, Felt
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
Late 20th Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery, Hardwood
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wool, Felt
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wool, Felt
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Indian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Cotton
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet, Wenge
2010s Spanish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Maple
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Walnut
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Steel
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather, Sheepskin
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Mohair, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Cut Steel
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal, Other
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wool, Felt
2010s Ukrainian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Foam, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Silk, Velvet, Wood, Trimming
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wood, Fabric
2010s Turkish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
2010s Spanish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fur
2010s Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather, Upholstery, Wood
Early 2000s Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Cowhide
2010s Portuguese Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Emirian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Walnut
20th Century American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
2010s Ukrainian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Textile, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet, Faux Fur
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Sheepskin, Hickory, Leather





