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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Leather, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Sofas
Textile
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sofas
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Metal
1950s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Sofas
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Sofas
Fabric, Hardwood
2010s American Modern Sofas
Velvet, Maple, Down, Feathers
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Rope
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Sofas
Leather
Early 2000s French Modern Sofas
Fabric, Ebony
1960s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
1990s Modern Sofas
Cotton, Foam, Feathers
2010s French Modern Sofas
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel, Other
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Plywood
1950s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric, Foam, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Leather, Feathers, Wood, Foam, Faux Leather, Fabric
2010s Egyptian Modern Sofas
Oak, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
1980s German Vintage Modern Sofas
Leather
1990s American Modern Sofas
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
Early 2000s French Modern Sofas
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric, Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Upholstery
2010s Spanish Modern Sofas
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
20th Century North American Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Wood
20th Century American Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Wood, Down
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Steel