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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Credenzas
Marble, Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Credenzas
Composition, Metal, Brass
2010s French Modern Credenzas
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Credenzas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Other
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Credenzas
Marble, Brass
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Resin
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Marble, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Steel
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Metal
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Glass, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Credenzas
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Credenzas
Wood, Parchment Paper
2010s Canadian Modern Credenzas
Brass
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Lacquer, Leather
2010s Mexican Modern Credenzas
Glass, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Plywood, Mirror, Laminate
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Laminate, Plywood
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Chrome
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Wood
1960s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Laminate, Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Credenzas
Walnut
2010s Canadian Modern Credenzas
Brass
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Credenzas
Teak
1960s Norwegian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Teak
1960s Spanish Vintage Modern Credenzas
Poplar
Mid-20th Century North American Modern Credenzas
Metal
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Carrara Marble, Steel
1960s French Vintage Modern Credenzas
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Stainless Steel
20th Century Modern Credenzas
Glass, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Credenzas
Marble, Steel, Chrome
Early 2000s Italian Modern Credenzas
Glass
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Credenzas
Teak
1960s Vintage Modern Credenzas
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Glass, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Travertine