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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s American Vintage Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Canadian Modern Stools
Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Cement, Brass
2010s Brazilian Modern Stools
Textile, Upholstery, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Ceramic, Earthenware, Stoneware
1960s German Vintage Modern Stools
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Textile, Ash
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Stools
Steel
2010s American Modern Stools
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Stools
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Stools
Leather, Resin, Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Leather, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Stools
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Stools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Stools
Walnut, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Velvet, Wood
2010s American Modern Stools
Leather, Oak
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Modern Stools
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Stools
Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Stools
Teak
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Fur, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Stools
Metal
2010s Brazilian Modern Stools
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Stools
Wood, Lacquer, Velvet, Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Cement, Brass
2010s Brazilian Modern Stools
Textile, Upholstery, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Stools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Brass
2010s Ukrainian Modern Stools
Textile, Foam, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Leather
2010s Turkish Modern Stools
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Stools
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Upholstery, Foam, Wood, Leather
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Stools
Bouclé, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Plywood, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Fabric, Wood
1950s Belgian Vintage Modern Stools
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Stools
Wood
1990s Swedish Modern Stools
Wood, Birch, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Cedar
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Hardwood, Walnut, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Stools
Epoxy Resin
Mid-20th Century French Modern Stools
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Chestnut, Oak
2010s Philippine Modern Stools
Steel
2010s American Modern Stools
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Modern Stools
Leather, Wenge
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Wood
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Wood
2010s American Modern Stools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Stools
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Chestnut, Oak, Walnut
2010s Mexican Modern Stools
Wood, Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Silk, Velvet, Wood, Trimming
2010s Dutch Modern Stools
Travertine
2010s Turkish Modern Stools
Fabric, Natural Fiber
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Fabric, Wood
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Cut Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Steel, Brass
2010s South African Modern Stools
Velvet, Feathers
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Scagliola, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Stools
Epoxy Resin