Modern Shelves
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Shelves
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Shelves
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Shelves
Chrome, Steel
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Shelves
Brass
2010s American Modern Shelves
Cast Stone, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Shelves
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Shelves
Chrome, Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Shelves
Plastic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Shelves
Brass, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Shelves
Metal
1970s German Vintage Modern Shelves
Laminate
2010s Italian Modern Shelves
Copper
2010s American Modern Shelves
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Mauritian Modern Shelves
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Mauritian Modern Shelves
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Mauritian Modern Shelves
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Shelves
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Shelves
Brass
19th Century Antique Modern Shelves
Mahogany
2010s European Modern Shelves
Metal, Chrome
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Shelves
Brass
1940s Danish Vintage Modern Shelves
Bouclé
1940s Swedish Vintage Modern Shelves
Bouclé, Wood
1940s Swedish Vintage Modern Shelves
Sheepskin, Elm
1940s Danish Vintage Modern Shelves
Wool
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Shelves
Concrete
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Shelves
Metal
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Shelves
Metal
2010s American Modern Shelves
Metal, Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Shelves
Upholstery
20th Century American Modern Shelves
Brass
2010s American Modern Shelves
Steel
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Shelves
Brass, Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Shelves
Brass
Mid-20th Century Modern Shelves
Metal
2010s American Modern Shelves
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Shelves
Steel
20th Century Italian Modern Shelves
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Shelves
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Shelves
Brass
1970s Vintage Modern Shelves
Brass