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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Velvet
Early 2000s American Modern Sofas
Aluminum, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Leather, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Leather, Fabric
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Sofas
Leather, Wood
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Metal, Cut Steel, Steel, Aluminum
2010s Portuguese Modern Sofas
Bronze
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Upholstery
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Metal
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric, Polyester, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Leather, Wood, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Metal
1980s German Vintage Modern Sofas
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
2010s Danish Modern Sofas
Sheepskin
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Sofas
Bouclé, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s Swiss Modern Sofas
Leather, Beech
2010s American Modern Sofas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Leather, Fabric
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Oak, Leather
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Wood
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
1980s French Vintage Modern Sofas
Bouclé, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric