Modern Sectional Sofas
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 20th Century North American Modern Sectional Sofas
Wood
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Steel
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sectional Sofas
Leather, Plastic
2010s Lebanese Modern Sectional Sofas
Fabric
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Sectional Sofas
Fabric
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sectional Sofas
Brass, Iron
2010s Egyptian Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery, Oak
2010s Brazilian Modern Sectional Sofas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Steel
2010s Swiss Modern Sectional Sofas
Leather, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
2010s Belgian Modern Sectional Sofas
Aluminum
1990s Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Leather, Fabric
2010s French Modern Sectional Sofas
Fabric, Foam, Plywood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sectional Sofas
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sectional Sofas
Brass, Iron
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Steel
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Velvet, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Plywood, Feathers, Wood, Foam, Fabric, Leather
18th Century and Earlier Italian Antique Modern Sectional Sofas
Animal Skin, Wood
18th Century and Earlier Italian Antique Modern Sectional Sofas
Animal Skin, Wood
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Steel
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Steel
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
Mid-20th Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Chenille
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Mahogany
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Steel
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Steel
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Feathers, Plywood, Wood, Foam, Fabric, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
1970s German Vintage Modern Sectional Sofas
Leather, Upholstery, Plastic, Wood, Polystyrene
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Aluminum
2010s Swiss Modern Sectional Sofas
Leather, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
2010s Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Fabric, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Sectional Sofas
Fabric, Bouclé, Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sectional Sofas
Brass, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sectional Sofas
Mohair
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery