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Modern Shelves

MODERN STYLE

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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 chaircrafted 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.

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Style: Modern
Color:  Brown
Moooi Oblique Big Cupboard/Wall Shelf in Iron Grey Lacquered Beech
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oblique is a cupboard slash a wall shelf. Make this the mood board of your lifestyle. Display all your favorite publications, company magazines, booklets, g...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Shelves

Materials

Beech

Moooi Oblique Small Cupboard / Wall Shelf in Beige Red Lacquered Beech
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oblique is a cupboard slash a wall shelf. Make this the mood board of your lifestyle. Display all your favorite publications, company magazines, booklets, guides or photos in the chi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Shelves

Materials

Beech

Simply Modern Bookcase
Located in Westwood, NJ
An elegant modern open bookcase with a lacquered interior, leather-wrapped drawers and our Cardamon finish frame and handles, with brushed brass f...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Shelves

Materials

Leather, Wood

Moooi Oblique Small Cupboard/Wall Shelf in Mahogany Brown Lacquered Beech
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oblique is a cupboard slash a wall shelf. Make this the mood board of your lifestyle. Display all your favorite publications, company magazines, booklets, guides or photos in the chi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Shelves

Materials

Beech

Column '2 lev' Contemporary Shelf in Porcelain and Corten Steel
Located in London, GB
Porcelain cylinders and corten steel plates form the basic elements of this series, with which it is possible to create shelving, side tables, low tables and stools. The porcelain pa...
Category

2010s Chinese Modern Shelves

Materials

Steel

Moooi Oblique Big Cupboard/Wall Shelf in Beige Red Lacquered Beech
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oblique is a cupboard slash a wall shelf. Make this the mood board of your lifestyle. Display all your favorite publications, company magazines, booklets, guides or photos in the chi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Shelves

Materials

Beech

Moooi Oblique Big Cupboard/Wall Shelf in Sepia Brown Lacquered Beech
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oblique is a cupboard slash a wall shelf. Make this the mood board of your lifestyle. Display all your favorite publications, company magazines, booklets, guides or photos in the chi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Shelves

Materials

Beech

Moooi Oblique Small Cupboard/Wall Shelf in Sepia Brown Lacquered Beech
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oblique is a cupboard slash a wall shelf. Make this the mood board of your lifestyle. Display all your favorite publications, company magazines, booklets, guides or photos in the chi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Shelves

Materials

Beech

Moooi Oblique Big Cupboard / Wall Shelf in Mahogany Brown Lacquered Beech
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oblique is a cupboard slash a wall shelf. Make this the mood board of your lifestyle. Display all your favorite publications, company magazines, booklets, guides or photos in the chi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Shelves

Materials

Beech

Moooi Oblique Small Cupboard/Wall Shelf in Cinnamon Stained Oak
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oblique is a cupboard slash a wall shelf. Make this the mood board of your lifestyle. Display all your favorite publications, company magazines, booklets, guides or photos in the chi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Shelves

Materials

Oak

Set of 2 Strut Shelves from Souda, Black and Maple, Made to Order
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price on this configuration includes 2 84" shelves and 6 brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, bracket finishes, and we can adj...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Metal, Steel

Set of 3 Strut Shelves from Souda, Black, Made to Order
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price on this configuration includes 3 84" shelves and 9 brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, bracket finishes, and we can adj...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Metal, Steel

Amuneal's Loft 2 Post with Formed Returns
Located in New York, NY
This single bay of our Loft Shelving is wall-mounted to support five shelves, using custom machined brass fittings on bent steel posts. Amuneal’s proprietary machined hardware clamps onto the posts so that the shelves can be easily adjusted at any time. The burnt oak shelves are milled in house from solid white oak to a thickness of 1.5” before being hand-finished using the traditional Shou Sugi Ban process of burning the wood. Once completed, the shelves are sealed with a protective coating that keeps that burnt finish from rubbing off. The combination of blackened steel posts, machined and patinated brass hardware and the charred oak shelves make this a stunning and sculptural shelving...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Steel, Brass

Moooi Oblique Big Cupboard/Wall Shelf in Pure White Lacquered Beech
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oblique is a cupboard slash a wall shelf. Make this the mood board of your lifestyle. Display all your favorite publications, company magazines, booklets, guides or photos in the chi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Shelves

Materials

Beech

Set of 5 Strut Shelves from Souda, White, Modern Wood Wall Shelf or Bookcase
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price includes 5 84" long white shelves with 15 white brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, brack...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Metal, Steel

Set of 6 Strut Shelves from Souda, Black, Modern, Made to Order
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price on this configuration includes 6 84" shelves and 18 brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, bracket finishes, and we can ad...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Metal, Steel

Set of 3 Strut Shelves from Souda, Maple, Extra Long, Made to Order
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price on this configuration includes 3 116" shelves and 12 brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, bracket finishes, and we can a...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Metal, Steel

Set of 5 Strut Shelves from Souda, Black, Extra long, Made to Order
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price on this configuration includes 5 116" shelves and 20 brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, bracket finishes, and we can a...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Metal, Steel

Two Shelves 'Verticale' Polished Oak Shelving Unit
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Two shelves 'Verticale' polished oak shelving unit. Highest quality solid oak construction.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Shelves

Materials

Oak

Contemporary Display Shelving "Primo" in White Oak and Brass by Casey Lurie
Located in Chicago, IL
“Shelving can be the most mundane thing you own, or it can be the beautiful bones of a room, as pleasing to see as anything it displays. Casey Lurie’s Primo system would be the latter.” William L. Hamilton, The Wall Street Journal The Primo shelving...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass

Amuneal’s Collector’s Wine Unit with Bar Cabinet
Located in New York, NY
This single bay collector’s shelving unit highlights our carved oak wine shelves as a perfect way to store and display your favorite bottles. Our precisio...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass

ClassiCon Paris 4 Shelves in Walnut by E. Barber & J. Osgerby
Located in New York, NY
Furnishing is a creative game of possibilities. The shelving unit Paris by the London design team of Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby offers plenty of scope to indulge the urge to play....
Category

21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Shelves

Materials

Steel

Contemporary Bookcase B, Etched Brass, Pivoting Doors and Stone Elm Shelves
Located in Brooklyn, NY
SEM Pivot Contemporary collection, bookcase B, simple and sculptural. The supporting structure is a rigid system of metal tubes to which are added shelves in beautiful stone elm wood combined with various lacquered containers...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Metal, Brass

Contemporary Bookcase C, Etched Brass, Pivoting Doors and Stone Elm Shelves
Located in Brooklyn, NY
SEM Pivot collection, bookcase C, simple and sculptural. The supporting structure is a rigid system of metal tubes to which are added shelves in beautiful stone elm wood combined with various lacquered...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass, Metal

Amuneal's 2 Bay Collector's Brass Shelving Unit+Oxidized Oak Adjustable Shelves
Located in New York, NY
This two-bay version of Amuneal’s collector’s shelving unit features solid machined brass fittings and posts in a warm brass finish. The unit mounts to the floor and to the wall to s...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass

Patinated Steel Étagère Shelving with Solid Walnut Drawn Faces and Concrete Base
Located in Biddeford, ME
The E-1 is a dynamic étagère constructed from Walnut wood with a flame treated and patinated steel exterior. Three compartments, two doors and one drawer, feature Walnut wood faces with abstract line drawing etched into the wood. All hardware is Blum push-to-open. The case rests on two cast-concrete...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Shelves

Materials

Concrete, Steel

DeCastelli Cube104 Container in Steel by R & D De Castelli
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Cube is a line of containers with absolute formal sobriety, where the completeness of the cube is combined with different finishes abounding in personality. Rigor and creative impetu...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Stainless Steel

Into the Woods Bookcase, Walnut and Brass, Insidherland by Joana Santos Barbosa
Located in Maia, Porto
A long walk through a Swedish forest beneath intertwined branches of huge trees, was the inspiration of the dazzling Into the Woods bookcase. T...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass

Amuneal's Collector's 2 Bay Shelving Unit
Located in New York, NY
This two bay version of Amuneal’s collector’s shelving unit features solid machined brass fittings and posts in a warm brass finish. The unit mounts...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass

Contemporary Gingko Bookshelf System in Metal and Hardwood
Located in Agrate Brianza (MB), Lombardy
This exhibitor design pays honor to Ginko Biloba, an elegant, ancient, regal, exceptional tree with magnificent fan-shaped leaves. The matte black painted iron structure is floor-to-ceiling tensioned with an Expansion system. The carved wood shelves...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Iron

Contemporary Bookcase A, Etched Brass, Pivoting Doors and Stone Elm Shelves
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Sem Pivot collection, Bookcase A, simple and sculptural. The supporting structure is a rigid system of metal tubes to which are added shelves in beautiful stone elm wood combined with various lacquered...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Metal, Brass

Amuneal's Collector's 1 Bay with Credenza
Located in New York, NY
This single bay version of Amuneal’s collector’s shelving unit features solid machined brass fittings and posts in a warm brass finish. The unit mou...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass

Room Collection Shelf, Pine Wood Storage Blocks by Erik Olovsson & Kyuhyung Cho
Located in Stockholm, SE
Room Collection is a shelving system, various geometric voids inspired by architecture and the objects they can hold. When all the elements of ROOM are combined it forms either a long shelf...
Category

2010s Swedish Modern Shelves

Materials

Pine

Corner cupboard, shelf, open shelf unit, coffe table height 68xØ46cm
Located in Meolo, Venezia
Tables on one or more levels, furnish ironically without remaining unnoticed. Ideal companions for public and private environments and contexts. The structure is a curved metal roun...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Metal

21st Century Psyco Bookcase in Brushed Bronze finishing by Gianfranco Ferré Home
Located in Cantù, Lombardia
An imposing, sculptural element with an oriental-inspired design, whose structure is the result of a symmetrical game between two identical pieces. Original and scenographic, it play...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass

Amuneal’s Loft 3 Post Back Bar Unit
Located in New York, NY
This beautiful bar cabinet with burnt oak adjustable shelves is part of our loft shelving collection. Our loft posts in blackened gunmetal and fully machined brass fittings in our buffed brass finish mount from the top of our cabinet and tie back to the wall to support 8 shelves. Amuneal’s proprietary machined hardware clamps onto the posts so that the shelves can be easily adjusted at any time. The burnt oak shelves are milled in house from solid white oak to a thickness of 1.5” before being hand-finished using the traditional Shou Sugi Ban process of burning the wood. Once completed, the shelves are sealed with a protective coating that keeps that burnt finish from rubbing off. The combination of blackened steel posts, machined and patinated brass hardware and the charred oak shelves make this a stunning and sculptural shelving option for any space. Integrated bronze bottle stops...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass, Bronze, Steel

Large Modern Shelving Unit
Located in Greenwich, CT
Our La Scalia shelving unit is a large custom built bookshelf with four pillars supporting floating shelves. Each pillar is wrapped in a textured vinyl that comes in five different color ways: Platinum, Silver, Rose Gold, Old Bronze and Iron. Each shelf shown is lacquered in white dove with a glossy finish. Customers choose color, finish and size. The unit is a functional modern design perfect for storing books and home decor accents...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Wood, Lacquer

21st Century Klee Bookcase in Wood and Polished Brass by Etro Home Interiors
By Etro
Located in Cantù, Lombardia
A versatile and superb mix of elements in perfect Etro Home Interiors style: the structure in patinated bronzed metal with details in bordeaux finishing, the shelves in smoked eucaly...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass

Yuma Kano Rust Harvest Shelf Acrylic Art room divider
Located in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Shelf designed by Yuma Kano. Surface half transparent material is acrylic. This acrylic is what rust was transformed. Artist calls it "Rust Harvest." He is making "Rust Harvest" acr...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Shelves

Materials

Steel

Modern Peter Protzman for Herman Miller Zebra Wood and Chrome Tubular Wall Unit
Located in Toledo, OH
Mid-Century Modern Peter Protzman for Herman Miller zebra wood and chrome wall /shelf unit. Part of the Tubular Collection circa 1970-1971. Tw...
Category

1970s North American Vintage Modern Shelves

Materials

Chrome

Emeco Run Shelf in Clear Anodized Aluminum by Sam Hecht + Kim Colin
Located in Hanover, PA
Run is a collection of tables, benches and shelves by Sam Hecht and Kim Colin, designers of the simple and no-nonsense. Run effortlessly finds balance in both indoor and outdoor land...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Shelves

Materials

Wood

Open Cabinet by Alberto Vitelio
Located in Milan, IT
Open cabinet by Alberto Vitelio, Chile, 2019. Nilufar edition. Wood, automotive paint. 100 x 65 x H 190 cm, 39.3 x 25.5 x H 74.8 in. Alberto Vitelio comes...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Chilean Modern Shelves

Materials

Wood, Paint

21st Century Eret Console in Tropicalized Metal by Samer Alameen
Located in Cantù, Lombardia
"Meccano: more than a toy, an iconic building set teaching basic mechanical principles. Over a hundred years since its inception, this game inspires a brand new artifact. Eret is a s...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Stainless Steel

21st Century Taxila Bookcase in Wood and Metal by Etro Home Interiors
Located in Cantù, Lombardia
The bamboo cane, an evocative element of naturalistic inspiration, is proposed with a polished brass finish, a reference to ethnicity that meets the refinement of precious materials,...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Metal

Nube Italia Link Double Shelves in Dark Brown Wood by Kemistry of Style
Located in New York, NY
"Modular system for shelves and cabinets. Metal frame available in bright or brushed chromium-plated, burnished or painted. Wooden parts in veneered wood or polished or mat lacquered...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Metal

Rare Custom Made Versace Hardwood & Brass Console Bookcase Display Sideboard
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this truly stunning custom made to order Versace mahogany and brass console bookcase A very high end commission, this was ordered around 12 years ago by the then richest lady in England, apparently it cost £47,000 new, this was installed in her home in Chelsea which was an extremely grand estate set up solely for visiting guests and family, the property was used sparsely during that period, as such it was recently sold The piece is solid mahogany with a brass gallery around the base shelf which has the Versace mask...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Shelves

Materials

Glass, Hardwood

21st Century Mackintosh Bookcase in Brass and Wood by Gianfranco Ferré Home
Located in Cantù, Lombardia
A versatile double-sided bookcase with a contemporary decorative allure, worthy of a starring role in any living space. An architectural construction in which the geometric cubes that compose the bookcase are attached only through the brass bars that cross them, giving birth to a spectacular and captivating set, distinguished by an evocative sense of lightness. Mackintosh Bookcase...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass

Contemporary bookcase, shelves, shelf in wood and brass
Located in Meolo, Venezia
Step is a modular bookcase with brass structure, consisting of welded metal plate and tubes. Three different heights of the columns allow to create a variety of compositions. The shelves are assembled through simple joints. Brass uprights, like tape attached to the wall, support thick, apparently suspended shelves...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass

21st Century Woodstock Bookcase in Wood by Etro Home Interiors
Located in Cantù, Lombardia
A bookcase with an original design and simple lines to complete Woodstock collection launched in 2018. The dark hues and the Carbalho essence recall the afro mood of the 2019 collect...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass

Emeco Run Shelf in Aluminum & Walnut by Sam Hecht + Kim Colin
Located in Hanover, PA
Run is a collection of tables, benches and shelves by Sam Hecht and Kim Colin, designers of the simple and no-nonsense. Run effortlessly finds balance in both indoor and outdoor land...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Shelves

Materials

Wood

Large Dassi Mahogany Wall Unit Bookcase, 4 doors, Part of Unique Living Room 1940
Located in Rome, IT
Important wall unit bookcase and bar, cabinet, 1940. Executed by Dassi and attributed to Ico Parisi Unique living room Stunning details "grissinato mahogany wood" Part of unique living room designed to commission Mahogany, maple wood, brass details this wall unit consist in two units Measures: H 168cm, 295 x 39 cm. top unit: shelves, two large doors...
Category

1940s Italian Vintage Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass

Emeco Run Shelf in Aluminum & Ash by Sam Hecht + Kim Colin
Located in Hanover, PA
Run is a collection of tables, benches and shelves by Sam Hecht and Kim Colin, designers of the simple and no-nonsense. Run effortlessly finds balance in both indoor and outdoor land...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Shelves

Materials

Wood

Unique, One-of-a-Kind Mahogany and Copper "Boyle Height Shelf"
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This one-off shelf comes from Taidgh O'Neill's "Boyle Height" series of sculptural, wall-mounted artistic wooden shelves. In this series, O'Neill explores new formalism inspired by t...
Category

2010s American Modern Shelves

Materials

Copper

Emeco Run Shelf in Black Powder-Coat & Ash by Sam Hecht + Kim Colin
Located in Hanover, PA
Run is a collection of tables, benches and shelves by Sam Hecht and Kim Colin, designers of the simple and no-nonsense. Run effortlessly finds balance in both indoor and outdoor land...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Shelves

Materials

Wood

Janet Schwietzer, Pace, Modern Obra Bookshelf, Red Lacquer, Steel, glass, 1990s
Located in Stamford, CT
Pace Collection "Obra" three section wall unit by Janet Schwietzer Iconic design by Janet Schwietzer for Pace Collection, circa 1970s. A group of three Illuminating étagère wall uni...
Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Shelves

Materials

Metal

Yuma Kano Rust Harvest Rack Acrylic Art
Located in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Shelf designed by Yuma Kano. Brown colored material is acrylic. This acrylic is what rust was transformed. Artist calls it "Rust Harvest." He is making "Rust Harvest" acrylic in his...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Shelves

Materials

Steel

Gucci Display Cabinet, 1960s
Located in London, GB
A beautiful display cabinet by Gucci in bird's-eye maple with Perspex shelves and brass profiling with Gucci logo encased
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Modern Shelves

Materials

Brass

Mimmo Rotella for Zerodisegno Marilyn Monroe Bookcase
Located in Pasadena, TX
Mimmo Rotella, (Italian, 1918-2006) "Marilyn, La Donna Piu Bella" open bookcase designed by Mimmo Rotella and made by Zerodesigno in 2004. Numbered from an edition of 99. Grap...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Shelves

Materials

Zinc

Modern shelves for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Modern shelves for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage shelves created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include case pieces and storage cabinets, wall decorations, tables and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Modern shelves made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and North America pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original shelves, popular names associated with this style include Marcel Wanders, Moooi, Souda, and Casey Lurie. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for shelves differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $11 and tops out at $88,764 while the average work can sell for $3,091.

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