Modern Cabinets
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Brass
1990s American Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Opal, Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Cabinets
Glass, Walnut, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Cabinets
Brass, Other, Nickel
2010s Modern Cabinets
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Cabinets
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Wood, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Marble
Early 1900s British Antique Modern Cabinets
Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Cabinets
Stone, Brass
2010s Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s Modern Cabinets
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Marble
Late 20th Century German Modern Cabinets
Plastic
2010s Spanish Modern Cabinets
Aluminum, Iron
1960s Slovak Vintage Modern Cabinets
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Metal, Copper
2010s French Modern Cabinets
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s English Modern Cabinets
Oak, Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Brass, Metal
2010s British Modern Cabinets
Resin, Oak
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Cabinets
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Metal
2010s Danish Modern Cabinets
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Glass, Mirror, Lacquer
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Cabinets
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Steel
20th Century Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood, Lacquer
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Steel
2010s French Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Cabinets
Metal
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Cabinets
Brass, Other
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Cabinets
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Cabinets
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Copper
1950s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Zinc