Modern Bookcases
MODERN STYLE
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
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Style: Modern
Period: 21st Century and Contemporary
Six Shelves 'Verticale' Polished Oak Shelving Unit
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Six shelves 'Verticale' polished oak shelving unit.
Highest quality solid oak construction.
Comes in 3 parts connected with dowels, for easy shipping, installation and moving.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Bookcases
Materials
Oak
21st Century Matteo Zorzenoni Bookcase Wood Bones Scapin Collezioni
Located in Tezze sul Brenta, IT
Bones bookcase, Colorama Collection
Design by Matteo Zorzenoni for Scapin Collezioni
Soft lines and visual lightness are the key traits that dist...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Wood, Ash
Capanna Solid Wood Library, Walnut in Hand-Made Natural Finish, Contemporary
By Dale Italia
Located in Cadeglioppi de Oppeano, VR
Capanna is a wall bookcase equipped with shelves and support floors and made of precious canaletto walnut finished with acrylic. The Italian artisan tradition is reinterpreted in a contemporary design to create a refined piece of wooden furniture...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Walnut
Capanna Solid Wood Library, Walnut in Hand-Made Natural Finish, Contemporary
By Dale Italia
Located in Cadeglioppi de Oppeano, VR
Capanna is a wall bookcase equipped with shelves and support floors and made of precious canaletto walnut finished with acrylic. The Italian artisan tradition is reinterpreted in a c...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Walnut
White Primitive Bookshelf by Studio Nucleo, Made in Italy
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
The Primitive bookshelf was one of the strongest and most iconic products designed by Studio Nucleo. Initially made as a limited-edition product, t...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Plastic
Capanna Solid Wood Library, Walnut in Hand-Made Natural Finish, Contemporary
By Dale Italia
Located in Cadeglioppi de Oppeano, VR
Capanna is a wall bookcase equipped with shelves and support floors and made of precious canaletto walnut finished with acrylic. The Italian artisan tradition is reinterpreted in a c...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Walnut
Amorph Flux modern shelf Black Lacquer Wall Mounted
By Amorph Inc.
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Flux shelf is a sculptural art furniture piece designed by Amorph. Flux could be fitted in modern office or home as a featured contemporary piece...
Category
2010s American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Steel
Contemporary Floor to Ceiling Bookshelf Bookcase Storage Unit Brass Metal
Located in Milan, IT
Bookcase 02
Floor to ceiling bookcase entirely made of brass. The structure has no visible joints or screws becoming an asymmetric shape that merges organ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Brass
Corner cupboard, shelf, open shelf unit, coffe table height 138xØ46cm
Located in Meolo, Venezia
Tables on one or more levels, furnish ironically without remaining unnoticed. Ideal companions for public and private environments and contexts.
The structure is a curved metal roun...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal
Italian Modern Square Bookcase in Glass and Aluminum
Located in Boston, MA
The Sixty bookcase, designed by Giuseppe Bavuso, is a bookcase with a sleek design characterized by the invisible round joints connecting its structure and shelves.
Structure made ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Aluminum
Thin Book Ends in Contemporary Bronze and Steel in various Patinas
Located in Brooklyn, NY
The Thin bookends explore a miniature variation of Kin & Company’s iconic Thin Chair. Beautifully paired with books, plants, or small accessories, the Thin ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Brass, Steel
DeCastelli Cahier Cabinet in Stainless Steel by Zanellato/Bortotto
Located in Brooklyn, NY
The fire enamelling on copper is a technique that has a strong link with metal and with the territory, in particular with the figure of Paolo De Poli and his works, which firstly int...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Stainless Steel
QUANTUM Large Bookshelf, by Piero Lissoni for Glas Italia
Located in Macherio, IT
Bookcases made of boxes of different sizes in transparent 10 mm extralight tempered glass, glued at 45° and deliberately overlapped in a misaligned and irregular way.
Available with...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Glass
Gritti Bookcase, by Andrea Branzi for Memphis Milano Collection
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Gritti bookcase in plastic laminate, wood, metal and glass. Designed in 1981, by Andrea Branzi.
Andrea Branzi, architect and designer, born in Florence,...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal
Blue Primitive Bookshelf by Studio Nucleo, Made in Italy
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
The Primitive bookshelf was one of the strongest and most iconic products designed by Studio Nucleo. Initially made as a limited-edition product, t...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Fabric, Wood
Monument, Black Ash Wood and Travertin by Mathieu Girard for La Chance
By M. Girard
Located in FR
Monument is a collection of shelving units that combines wood and marble. This piece was imagined by Mathieu Girard and Gauthier Pouillart of Atelier Cocorico.
The visual strength a...
Category
2010s French Modern Bookcases
Materials
Marble
Molteni&C MHC.2 Bookcase with 3 Shelves in American Walnut by Yasuhito Itoh
By Molteni & C
Located in New York, NY
MHC.1 Three Shelves Bookcase in American Walnut by Yasuhito Itoh.
Expert-crafted in Italy exclusively by Molteni&C.
An eye-catching piece, the MHC.1 3-shelf bookshelf...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Walnut
21st Century Modern Bookshelf with Agglomerated Wood Top Ethrio Made in Italy
Located in Sant'Elena, IT
This is a very flexible shelving system that can suit any type of space. With a simple shifting in the assembling of the shelves, a variety of possible configurations is available, d...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Steel
Baleri Italia Mac Gee Bookshelf in White Steel by Philippe Starck
Located in Milan, IT
Mac Gee is the essence of a bookshelf. Philippe Starck cleaned and cleaned the structure to only keep the square root, the skeleton of a bookshelf. Therefore avoiding styles, the tim...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Steel
Modern Bookcase Room Divider - Minimal Steel Metal Shelving
By &New
Located in Leicester, GB
Modern freestanding shelves unit for books and plants. The shelves are designed to look delicate and airy but strong. The straight back design sit...
Category
2010s British Modern Bookcases
Materials
Steel
Kartell Bookworm in White
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Bookworm, the flexible bookcase, is the result of the encounter between the creativity of an artist such as Ron Arad, combined with Kartell's technology, giving life to a revolutiona...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Plastic
Musa Ivory Bookcase
Located in Milan, IT
Intersecting elements arranged in impeccable harmony define the airy and dynamic silhouette of this bookcase, a superb design whose prized materials make it a plush accent in professional contexts or living rooms. The rectangular-cut, cylindrical metallic structure is upholstered in ivory leather and equipped with four crystal clear shelves...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Leather
Contemporary Bookcase Floor to Ceiling Storage Unit Brass Marble Bookshelf
Located in Milan, IT
Bookcase 01
Floor to ceiling bookcase featuring 3 back-painted glass doors colored in cold tones, marble or onyx top, lacquered wooden interior and brass shelving. Each of the three...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Marble, Brass
Lensvelt Job Cabinet
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Cabinet
Lensvelt Job cabinet red, an archetype of the Classic storage cabinet designed by Studio Job, with a special twist. The case has a gigantic gold-colored key that gives the...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Bookcases
Materials
Steel
Contemporary Shelve Unit by Johan Viladrich, Collectible Design, 2020, Rotterdam
Located in Antwerp, BE
Collectible design; Contemporary; Johan Viladrich; Functional Art; Polyethylene; Sabine Marcelis; Everyday Gallery; French design; Art; Bookcase; Office furniture; Store furniture...
Category
2010s French Modern Bookcases
Materials
Plastic
Contemporary Wooden Two Eyes Bookcase by Rejo Studio
Located in Riyadh, SA
This Artistic bookcase has unique two windows for your books, inspired by the Architecture of Ancient Oriental Houses.
Dimension. W 50 x D 40 x H 160 cm
Material. Oak wood
Year...
Category
2010s Saudi Arabian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Oak
Spino Stand Alone Bookshelf / Coat Hanger in Hand Treated Iron by Mario Milana
By Mario Milana
Located in Milano, Lombardia
The structure of the Spino is created from a laser-cut bent iron sheet. The iron itself is hand treated with a special oxidized finish, and is available in matte or glossy finish. Wh...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Iron
Bear, Black Polar Bear Bookshelf, Made in France
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Scroll down and click "view all from Seller" to see more than 500 other unique products. (2)
The polar bear that is in perfect harmony with its function as bookshelves, gets heavier...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Bookcases
Materials
Laminate, Wood
Bear, White Polar Bear Bookshelf, Made in France
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Scroll down and click "view all from Seller" to see more than 500 other unique products. (2)
The polar bear that is in perfect harmony with its function as bookshelves, gets heavier...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Bookcases
Materials
Wood, Laminate
FF Grid Shelving 1
By Simon Johns
Located in East-Bolton, Quebec
A slender tower-like sculptural bookcase, made from a rigid hand polished aluminum structure. Through the grid-like structure, a cast form of the collection's signature texture flows continuously through the layers. The polishing of the aluminum creates illusions of transparency on the outside, and interiors that glow, reflecting the light from the room.
*Note: The model pictured has been sold, but commissions are available.
About the Future Fossils Collection...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Aluminum
Kartell Bookworm in Black and Gold
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Bookworm, the flexible bookcase, is the result of the encounter between the creativity of an artist such as Ron Arad, combined with Kartell's technology, giving life to a revolutionary project produced on an industrial scale...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Plastic
Opinion Ciatti Ptolomeo Wall Large Bookcase
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Ptolomeo Wall is the wall version of the Original Ptolomeo and could be defined as the ""column of knowledge”. A stack of levitating books or a ground-air column (floor-ceiling) for ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Steel
Modern Bookcase with Shelves in Walnut Wood and Brushed Brass
Located in Vila Nova Famalicão, PT
The "Bookcase ExCentric 2.0" listed here is made in walnut wood and brushed brass. However, we can also produce this in customized options:
Structure: Stainless steel (polished or b...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal, Brass, Steel, Stainless Steel, Cut Steel
Solid Stained Oak Verticale Shelving Unit by Design Frères
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Solid stained red oak verticale shelving unit by Design Frères. Comes in 3 easy to transport and assemble elements.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Bookcases
Materials
Oak
Rustic Modular Chestnut Bookcase
Located in Milan, IT
Perfect for embellishing a bare wall in any rustic-chic decor, this modular bookcase is a showcase of cabinetry mastery. The minimal details allow the chestnut's rich grain to take c...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Wood
Kartell Adam Wood Bookcase
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Adam Wood is Kartell’s first real bookcase for living areas. The shapes of its curved wooden shelves and 3-D painted steel frame have been optimised by CAD s...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Aluminum
Glass and Walnut Wood Vertical Wall Cabinet
Located in Boston, MA
The Alambra wall unit designed by Giuseppe Bavuso is made with walnut veneered drawers characterized by traditional "dove tail joint" manufacturi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Leather, Glass, Walnut
NOBRE Bookcase Lacquered in Custom Colors
Located in Frazão, Porto
The versatile Nobre bookcase can be used on the wall or as a room separator. Made of solid wood, Nobre is available in any lacquer or veneered wood colo...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Bookcases
Materials
Brass, Stainless Steel
Apollo Console, Bookshelf, Black Aluminium Frame, Oxidised Brass by Lara Bohinc
By Lara Bohinc
Located in Holland, AMSTERDAM
The Apollo console is a playful expression of loops and semi-circular arcs in galvanised steel metalwork, which combine to form a light and versatile st...
Category
2010s Portuguese Modern Bookcases
Materials
Brass, Metal
Contemporary Leather Double Bookcase Scala, Stephane Parmentier for Giobagnara
Located in Warsaw, PL
Double bookcase by Stephane Parmentier for Giobagnara.
The object presented in the image has following finish: F82 Rust Nappa Leat...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Leather, Wood
NMSK, Alu Dry Joint Bookcase
Located in Milan, IT
NMSK is an object part of a series of furniture items made from a standard manufacturing process in metal carpentry, which is 2d laser cutting.
From a uniform metal sheets the obje...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Aluminum
21st Century Modern Bookshelf with Agglomerated Wood Top Ethrio Made in Italy
Located in Sant'Elena, IT
This is a very flexible shelving system that can suit any type of space. With a simple shifting in the assembling of the shelves, a variety of possible configurations is available, d...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Steel
Musa Brown Bookcase
Located in Milan, IT
An elegant piece that can serve as a room divider and bookcase, this superb design allows to store books and display collectibles on four crystal shelves (clear, bronzed, or smoked) ...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Leather
Aria Bookcase / Space Divider
By Chendù
Located in Milan, IT
Iron and i-Mesh® bookcase and space divider, Aria separates without closing, moves and organizes the rooms leaving them in communication with each other....
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Iron
Mettitutto One Way Cabinet by Stefano Boeri Architetti
Located in Milan, IT
This rotating open cabinet in satin-finished Canaletto walnut is a versatile piece capable of elevating any modern decor with its elegant allure. It offers a whimsical design where a...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Leather
Four Shelves 'Verticale' Polished Oak Shelving Unit
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Four shelves 'Verticale' polished oak shelving unit.
Highest quality solid oak construction.
Comes in 2 parts connected with dowels, for easy ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Bookcases
Materials
Oak
FF Void Shelving 1
By Simon Johns
Located in East-Bolton, Quebec
A slender tower-like sculptural bookcase, with a continuous cavernous void that rises through a rigid structure. The hand polished aluminum reflects light from the room onto the interior of the piece, highlighting the collections signature texture, while also creating illusions of transparency through reflection.
About the Future Fossils Collection...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Aluminum
Danese Milano Bincan Leggio Book Stand A4 in Black by Naoto Fukasawa
Located in Hicksville, NY
Bincan leggio is part of the Bincan collection, which was designed for the work place and can be adapted to any environment whether internal or external, public or private. The lecte...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal
Connect Bookcase or Shelf Customizable in Blackened Steel and Polished Bronze
Located in Vancouver, BC
The Connect bookcase is designed to express the process by which each piece is created, with visible construction and fastening details that are integral to the final piece. Traditional joinery techniques are used in conjunction with mass manufacturing technology to create this unique metal cabinetry...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Bronze, Steel
Black Primitive Bookshelf by Studio Nucleo, Made in Italy
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
The Primitive bookshelf was one of the strongest and most iconic products designed by Studio Nucleo. Initially made as a limited-edition product, t...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Plastic
Set of 5 Strut Shelves from Souda, Black, Extra Long, Made to Order
By Souda
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price on this configuration includes 5 116" shelves and 20 brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, bracket finishes, and we can a...
Category
2010s American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal, Steel
Opinion Ciatti La Gabbia Shelving Unit
Located in Brooklyn, NY
La Gabbia, Lapo Ciatti's storage cabinet is a sculptural element of scenic impact made of metal and aluminum, embellished with 24 glossy studs. La Gabbia is a practical organizer equ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Aluminum, Metal
Milonga Bookcase in Lacquered Iron with Flamed Oak Shelves by Paolo Cappello
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Milonga is a bookcase with long legs, set with a delicate cadence between spaces. Either as a partition between rooms or, more traditionally, against a wall, this is an indispensable piece for organizing your home library. As well as being technical, Milonga is bold and distinctive, and plays on the colours of the tubes and the layout of the shelves. Indeed, it is the sequence of the shelves that gives the bookcase its sense of movement, echoing the rhythm of the lines printed in the exercise books of our childhood.
Bookshelf with structure in iron rebar lacquered in the listed colours. Shelves in flamed oak...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Iron
Ego Hexagonal Modular Shelf
By Chendù
Located in Milan, IT
Pink Moon is a multifunctional, linear, refined and attractive furnishing accessory. It contains in a single two versions of itself for two complementary uses. In lacquered iron and ...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Iron
White Brera Bookcase, Designed by Lievore Altherr Molina
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Scroll down and click "view all from Seller" to see more than 400 other unique products. (1.8)
This bookcase main peculiarity are some vertical elements which break the linear con...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Lacquer
4 Shelves Bookcase American Walnut Molteni&C by Yasuhito Itoh - MHC.2
By Molteni & C
Located in New York, NY
MHC.2 Four Shelves Bookcase by Yasuhito Itoh. Expert-crafted in Italy exclusively by Molteni&C.
An eye-catching piece, this 4-shelf bookshelf by Yasu...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Walnut
Modular Chestnut Bookcase
Located in Milan, IT
This meticulously handcrafted modern bookcase showcases the warmth of solid chestnut wood grain, here offered in a nontoxic, walnut stain variant enhanced with beeswax. Concealed lev...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Wood
"Zigzag" Mirror Finished Steel Low Bookcase by Konstantin Grcic, Driade
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Zigzag" is a low bookcase version, designed by Konstantin Grcic and manufactured by Driade, featuring structure and shelves in polished steel with mirror finish. Bookends in sheet m...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Steel
Modern bookcases for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Modern bookcases for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage bookcases created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include case pieces and storage cabinets, more furniture and collectibles, wall decorations and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, wood and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Modern bookcases made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and Denmark pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original bookcases, popular names associated with this style include DeCastelli, Kartell, Souda, and Danese Milano. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for bookcases differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $120 and tops out at $96,530 while the average work can sell for $3,910.
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