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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Sofas
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Brass, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Sofas
1940s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s American Modern Sofas
Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Argentine Modern Sofas
Wool, Alpaca
2010s American Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
18th Century and Earlier Austrian Antique Modern Sofas
Fabric, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sofas
Velvet
Early 2000s American Modern Sofas
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Nylon, Wool
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Nylon, Wool
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Wool, Nylon, Polyester
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Wool, Nylon
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Sofas
Leather
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Wool, Nylon
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Wool, Nylon
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Wool
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Wool
1980s Dutch Vintage Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sofas
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Brass
1960s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Sofas
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Upholstery
1970s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Sofas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sofas
Aluminum
1980s French Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Sofas
Leather