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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Cabinets
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Cane, Wood, Oak
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Mahogany
2010s Egyptian Modern Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Wood, Rosewood
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Cabinets
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Leather, Glass, Lacquer
Mid-20th Century American Modern Cabinets
Goatskin
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Marble, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Cabinets
Epoxy Resin, Walnut, Paint
2010s British Modern Cabinets
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Cabinets
Steel
2010s Canadian Modern Cabinets
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Cabinets
Faux Leather
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Gold Leaf
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Cabinets
Brass, Wire
2010s Modern Cabinets
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Silver Leaf
2010s Belgian Modern Cabinets
Aluminum
2010s Danish Modern Cabinets
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Cedar
2010s Spanish Modern Cabinets
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Glass, Mirror
2010s Canadian Modern Cabinets
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Cabinets
Leather, Ash, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Metal
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Metal
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Slovak Modern Cabinets
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Carrara Marble, Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Cabinets
Glass, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Cabinets
Wood, Cherry
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Wood, Rosewood
1970s Finnish Vintage Modern Cabinets
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s Chinese Modern Cabinets
Brass, Bronze
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Steel
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Cabinets
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cabinets
Brass
1940s Swedish Vintage Modern Cabinets
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Cabinets
Giltwood
2010s Danish Modern Cabinets
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Lithuanian Modern Cabinets
Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s Swedish Modern Cabinets
Birch
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Cabinets
Wood