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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Steel, Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Cabinets
Wood, Plywood
2010s Canadian Modern Cabinets
Glass, Ash
Late 20th Century American Modern Cabinets
Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Cabinets
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Cabinets
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Cabinets
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s Ukrainian Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Wood, Hardwood, Maple, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cabinets
Silver, Brass, Bronze, Copper
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Oak
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Gold Leaf
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Walnut
2010s European Modern Cabinets
Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Cabinets
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Slovak Modern Cabinets
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Gold Leaf
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Walnut, Burl
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Marble, Onyx, Travertine, Statuary Marble, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Cabinets
Glass, Maple
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Birdseye Maple
1970s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Wood
1940s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Oak
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Marble, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Cabinets
Bronze
2010s Canadian Modern Cabinets
Oak
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Lebanese Modern Cabinets
Mother-of-Pearl, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Steel
Early 2000s Swedish Modern Cabinets
Glass, Oak
2010s Turkish Modern Cabinets
Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
1990s Danish Modern Cabinets
Beech
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Oak
Early 2000s American Modern Cabinets
Mahogany, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Cabinets
Wood, Laminate
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Metal
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Wood, Hardwood, Maple, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Chrome, Aluminum, Steel
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Cabinets
Metal
2010s Canadian Modern Cabinets
Hardwood
1960s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Stainless Steel