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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Mid-20th Century French Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Mirror, Maple
1960s Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood
1950s American Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Metal
1930s Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Mirror, Wood
1940s Finnish Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Birch
1940s Spanish Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Pine
Mid-20th Century Czech Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Reclaimed Wood
Mid-20th Century European Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Teak
Early 2000s American Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Laminate
Early 20th Century British Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Walnut
1940s Finnish Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Birch, Paint
20th Century French Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood
1950s French Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Oak
Mid-20th Century British Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Walnut
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Steel
1930s Finnish Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Mirror, Birch
1970s Canadian Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass
1960s Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Rattan
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Stainless Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Mirror, Mahogany
1960s Czech Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Burl
1930s English Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Walnut
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Oak
1950s French Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Bronze
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Steel, Chrome