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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Steel
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Plastic
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Chrome
Late 20th Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
2010s Turkish Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Onyx, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Maple, Purpleheart, Ash
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
2010s Turkish Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Steel
2010s German Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Metal, Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Plywood
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Lucite, Wood, Python
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Cut Glass, Oak
2010s European Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Plywood
2010s German Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Late 20th Century French Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Nickel, Steel
20th Century Swedish Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Art Glass, Cut Glass, Oak
20th Century Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Marble, Brass, Bronze, Copper
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
2010s English Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Gold, Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Marble
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Copper
2010s English Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood, Fabric, Mirror
2010s Polish Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass, Metal
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Silver Leaf
1990s Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Steel
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
Early 2000s French Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
2010s American Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Silver Leaf