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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century Unknown Modern Cabinets
Shagreen
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Cabinets
Leather
Late 20th Century Modern Cabinets
Glass, Mirror, Cherry
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Cabinets
Leather, Ash, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Brass, Gold Leaf
2010s French Modern Cabinets
Oak, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Cabinets
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood, Leather, Raffia
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s Czech Modern Cabinets
Wood, Birch
2010s German Modern Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Marble, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cabinets
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Cabinets
Giltwood
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Wood, Hardwood, Maple, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Crystal, Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Cabinets
Plastic
1990s Italian Modern Cabinets
Crystal
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Walnut
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Oak, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Cabinets
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Marble, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Lithuanian Modern Cabinets
Marble, Gold Leaf, Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Cabinets
Metal, Brass
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Gold Leaf
2010s Australian Modern Cabinets
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Resin, Wood
1990s American Modern Cabinets
Leather, Ash
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Cabinets
Resin
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Laminate
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Cabinets
Stainless Steel
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Cabinets
Rosewood
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Cabinets
Steel
2010s Polish Modern Cabinets
Marble, Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Carrara Marble
2010s English Modern Cabinets
Walnut
2010s Belgian Modern Cabinets
Stone, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Laminate
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Cabinets
Bronze
2010s Dutch Modern Cabinets
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Metal
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Wood, Rosewood
2010s South African Modern Cabinets
Brass, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Bronze
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Glass, Walnut