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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Modern Stools
Maple
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Cedar
2010s English Modern Stools
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Stools
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Fabric, Upholstery
2010s American Modern Stools
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Argentine Modern Stools
Leather, Wood
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Stools
Leather, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Brass
2010s American Modern Stools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Marble
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Stools
Fabric, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Rope, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Metal, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Cement, Brass
2010s European Modern Stools
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Upholstery, Wood
2010s American Modern Stools
Wool, Felt
2010s Modern Stools
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Other
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Stools
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Aluminum
2010s Brazilian Modern Stools
Upholstery, Teak, Fabric, Cane
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Metal, Steel
2010s Czech Modern Stools
Stoneware
1990s Vietnamese Modern Stools
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Steel
2010s American Modern Stools
Aluminum
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Plastic
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Stools
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Stools
Stainless Steel
20th Century Modern Stools
Bentwood
2010s Portuguese Modern Stools
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Brass
1990s Swedish Modern Stools
Wood, Birch, Plywood
2010s Dutch Modern Stools
Aluminum
2010s Mexican Modern Stools
Wood, Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Stools
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Stools
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Stools
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Stools
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Stools
Wood, Oak
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Stools
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Stools
Wood, Ash
1970s American Vintage Modern Stools
Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Stools
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Stools
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Steel
2010s French Modern Stools
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Plywood, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Wood, Cedar
2010s American Modern Stools
Cherry, Maple, Oak, Leather, Hardwood, Ash, Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Stools
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Stools
Brass, Iron
2010s Spanish Modern Stools
Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Stools
Textile, Upholstery, Hardwood
2010s American Modern Stools
Leather, Upholstery, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Stools
Stainless Steel
2010s Modern Stools
Nickel