Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass, Bronze, Copper
2010s French Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Bronze
2010s Canadian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Elm, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood, Plywood
2010s Mexican Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Birdseye Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass, Bronze, Zinc
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Lacquer, Wood
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Steel
Early 2000s British Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Sycamore
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Maple, Purpleheart, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Plywood
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Lacquer, Glass, Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Metal
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Glass, Walnut
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood, Glass
2010s European Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Marble
2010s English Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Metal
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Metal, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Elm, Wood