Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 French Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass
2010s Australian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Metal
2010s Polish Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Oak, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Hardwood
2010s Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Aluminum, Iron
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Stainless Steel
2010s British Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass
2010s Polish Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Poplar, Oak
2010s German Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Metal, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Malachite, Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Aluminum, Iron
2010s Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood, Walnut
2010s British Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Oak
2010s American Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Gold Leaf
2010s Brazilian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Steel, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Maple, Rosewood
2010s Belgian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass, Iron
Mid-20th Century American Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Mirror, Wood
2010s Polish Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Oak
2010s German Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass, Metal
2010s French Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Gold
2010s French Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Ultrasuede, Wood
2010s British Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Granite, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Mirror, Wood
2010s American Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass, Steel
2010s German Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Malachite, Brass
2010s British Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood
2010s Latvian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass
2010s Indian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Metal
2010s American Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood
2010s Australian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Ebony
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Walnut
Early 20th Century German Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Ebony
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Leather, Walnut
2010s American Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Mirror, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Birdseye Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood
2010s French Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood
2010s American Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Gold Leaf
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Mirror, Mahogany
2010s German Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Ebony
2010s Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Shell, Terrazzo
Early 2000s British Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Oak