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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Metal
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Credenzas
Wood, Rosewood
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Credenzas
Metal
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Credenzas
Marble, Brass
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Credenzas
Onyx, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Credenzas
Granite, Marble, Onyx, Brass
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Walnut
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Resin
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Brass
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Steel
1960s French Vintage Modern Credenzas
Oak, Maple, Mahogany
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Steel
20th Century Modern Credenzas
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Credenzas
Mirror, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Credenzas
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Credenzas
Chrome
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Leather, Walnut
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Steel
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Credenzas
Onyx, Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Wood, Oak
1970s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Credenzas
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Credenzas
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Metal
20th Century American Modern Credenzas
Marble, Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Reed
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Credenzas
Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Credenzas
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Oak, Walnut
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Wood, Glass
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Wood, Hardwood, Maple, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Credenzas
Metal
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Oak, Lacquer
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Cane, Oak
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Oak
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Satinwood, Walnut
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Birch, Mahogany, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Credenzas
Chrome
1990s American Modern Credenzas
Goatskin, Wood, Lacquer
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Birch, Mahogany, Oak
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Metal
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Oak
2010s American Modern Credenzas
Metal
20th Century Italian Modern Credenzas
Brass
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Credenzas
Teak
Early 2000s American Modern Credenzas
Marble, Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Rosewood, Lacquer
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Credenzas
Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Marble, Steel