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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Stools
Steel
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Stools
Concrete
1990s Belgian Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Stools
Metal
2010s American Modern Stools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Stools
Leather, Resin, Foam, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Stools
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Stools
Fabric, Foam, Wood
2010s Philippine Modern Stools
Steel
1930s British Vintage Modern Stools
Plywood
2010s Mexican Modern Stools
Hardwood, Walnut
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Stools
Leather, Upholstery, Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Stools
Wood
Mid-20th Century Modern Stools
Leather, Wenge
2010s Danish Modern Stools
Marble
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Stools
Steel
1950s American Vintage Modern Stools
Steel, Chrome
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Travertine
2010s American Modern Stools
Oak, Bouclé
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Steel
1990s Vietnamese Modern Stools
Leather, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Stools
Velvet
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Bouclé, Ash
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Ceramic, Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Brass
1950s French Vintage Modern Stools
Mahogany
2010s American Modern Stools
Maple
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Fur, Oak, Fabric, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Bronze
2010s Guatemalan Modern Stools
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Stools
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Stools
Metal
2010s Canadian Modern Stools
Brass
2010s American Modern Stools
Wood, Cedar
2010s American Modern Stools
Steel, Chrome
2010s Brazilian Modern Stools
Hardwood, Upholstery, Faux Leather
2010s Chinese Modern Stools
Steel
2010s North American Modern Stools
Metal, Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Ceramic, Earthenware, Stoneware
2010s Portuguese Modern Stools
Metal
1990s Belgian Modern Stools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Stools
Resin
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Stools
Fabric, Wood
2010s Australian Modern Stools
Brass, Steel
2010s German Modern Stools
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Belgian Modern Stools
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Cut Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Marble, Iron
1950s Finnish Vintage Modern Stools
Birch
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Chestnut, Oak
2010s European Modern Stools
Faux Leather, Rattan, Wood
2010s American Modern Stools
Iron














