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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s Canadian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Metal, Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Wood, Lacquer, Parchment Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Lacquer
2010s Turkish Modern Credenzas
Burl, Wood, Lacquer
2010s Turkish Modern Credenzas
Wood, Burl, Lacquer
1970s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Laminate, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Credenzas
Oak, Walnut
1960s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Maple
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Credenzas
Burl, Mirror, Maple, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Credenzas
Brass
1970s Vintage Modern Credenzas
Grasscloth, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Credenzas
Metal, Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century French Modern Credenzas
Steel
1960s Vintage Modern Credenzas
Goatskin
1970s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Metal
1980s European Vintage Modern Credenzas
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Brass
1980s North American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Chrome
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Credenzas
Limestone
1980s French Vintage Modern Credenzas
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Wood, Walnut
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Credenzas
Mahogany
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Leather, Walnut
1980s European Vintage Modern Credenzas
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Credenzas
Opaline Glass