Modern Credenzas
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Mid-20th Century North American Modern Credenzas
Travertine, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Credenzas
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Credenzas
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Credenzas
Metal
2010s Canadian Modern Credenzas
Wood
1990s Italian Modern Credenzas
Brass
2010s Turkish Modern Credenzas
Walnut, Wood
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Brass
1940s French Vintage Modern Credenzas
Oak
Mid-19th Century English Antique Modern Credenzas
Walnut
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Lacquer, Poplar, Maple
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Credenzas
Burl, Mirror, Maple, Walnut
1940s French Vintage Modern Credenzas
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Credenzas
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Glass, Cherry, Teak
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Stainless Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Stainless Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Brass
1990s American Modern Credenzas
Glass, Lacquer
Mid-20th Century American Modern Credenzas
Brass
20th Century French Modern Credenzas
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Travertine, Chrome
2010s Canadian Modern Credenzas
Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Travertine, Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Glass, Wood