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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Faux Leather
1950s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Steel
1950s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Steel
1950s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Metal
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Brass
1950s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Rattan
1950s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Iron
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric, Velvet, Oak
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Wood, Fabric, Rosewood
1950s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Iron
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Walnut, Cotton, Velvet
1950s Brazilian Vintage Modern Sofas
Jacaranda, Rosewood, Wool
1950s French Vintage Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Oak
1950s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Rattan
1950s French Vintage Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Oak
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Teak
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Upholstery
1970s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Chrome
1920s French Vintage Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
1940s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Textile, Maple
1990s Italian Modern Sofas
Chrome
1950s Swedish Vintage Modern Sofas
Wool, Oak
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sofas
Chrome
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Sofas
Leather
1960s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Foam, Rosewood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Steel
2010s Chinese Modern Sofas
Fabric
1950s American Vintage Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Maple
1950s Czech Vintage Modern Sofas
Wood
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric, Walnut
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Velvet, Wood
1950s Dutch Vintage Modern Sofas
Sheepskin
1950s German Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric, Upholstery, Oak
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Sofas
Wool, Oak
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Sofas
Teak
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Velvet
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric, Wood
1950s French Vintage Modern Sofas
Fabric, Oak