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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s American Modern Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sofas
Chenille, Wood
1960s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s German Modern Sofas
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Leather, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Textile, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Sofas
Leather, Wood
2010s American Modern Sofas
1970s Dutch Vintage Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Sofas
Aluminum
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Walnut, Velvet
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sofas
Wool, Cotton
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Steel, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sofas
Other
1980s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sofas
Bouclé, Oak
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Steel
2010s French Modern Sofas
Fabric, Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Sofas
Leather, Wood, Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Bouclé, Oak
1980s French Vintage Modern Sofas
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Textile, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Leather, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Leather, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sofas
Other
2010s American Modern Sofas
Mahogany
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Walnut
2010s American Modern Sofas
Wood, Mahogany
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Leather, Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Leather, Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Ash, Leather
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Leather, Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Leather, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Ash, Leather
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sofas
Other
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Bouclé, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Leather, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Leather, Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Bouclé, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Metal