Modern 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Chrome
2010s Brazilian Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Teak, Fabric
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sofas
Fabric, Oak
2010s American Modern Sofas
Oak, Wood
2010s Moroccan Modern Sofas
Velvet
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Textile, Velvet
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Wool, Cotton, Fabric
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Velvet
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Brass
2010s Ukrainian Modern Sofas
Textile, Foam, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Sofas
Fabric, Hardwood
2010s Ukrainian Modern Sofas
Textile, Foam, Plywood
Late 20th Century American Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Wood
20th Century American Modern Sofas
Leather, Upholstery, Bamboo
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Teak, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Sofas
Fabric, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Velvet, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Sofas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Metal
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Sofas
Leather
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Wood, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Wool, Cotton
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Velvet, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sofas
Leather
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Wood, Fabric
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Sofas
Metal
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sofas
Fabric, Foam, Wood, Mahogany
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Sofas
Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Wood, Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sofas
Velvet, Mahogany
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s Ukrainian Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wool, Sheepskin, Bouclé, Jacquard, Velvet, Faux Fur
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sofas
Leather, Beech
2010s American Modern Sofas
Fabric