Modern Stools
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Spanish Modern Stools
Fabric, Beech
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Oak
2010s Ukrainian Modern Stools
Metal
2010s Israeli Modern Stools
Iron
2010s German Modern Stools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Brass
2010s Ukrainian Modern Stools
Metal
2010s Danish Modern Stools
Linen
2010s German Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Stools
Bouclé, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Stools
Walnut, Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Stools
Steel, Nickel
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Wood
2010s Swedish Modern Stools
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Stools
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Fabric, Resin
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Nutwood, Lacquer, Plywood
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Metal, Brass
2010s Ukrainian Modern Stools
Textile, Foam, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Clay
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Stools
Brass, Steel
2010s American Modern Stools
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Fabric
2010s South Korean Modern Stools
Stone, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Stools
Ceramic, Stoneware
2010s Turkish Modern Stools
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Stools
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Stools
Metal, Bronze
2010s Canadian Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Austrian Modern Stools
Concrete, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Concrete
2010s Ukrainian Modern Stools
Textile, Foam, Plywood, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Marble, Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Leather
2010s South Korean Modern Stools
Stone, Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Stools
Metal
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Wood
2010s Austrian Modern Stools
Concrete, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Fabric
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Marble, Iron
Early 2000s American Modern Stools
Walnut
2010s Chinese Modern Stools
Brass, Aluminum
2010s Austrian Modern Stools
Concrete, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Stools
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Fabric
2010s Canadian Modern Stools
Other
2010s Danish Modern Stools
Brass
2010s North American Modern Stools
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Stools
Oak
2010s Turkish Modern Stools
Stainless Steel
2010s Tunisian Modern Stools
Wood