Modern Furniture
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
20th Century Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s German Modern Furniture
Steel
Mid-20th Century Congolese Modern Furniture
Malachite
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
1970s Belgian Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s American Modern Furniture
Fabric, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Chenille
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wood, Lacquer
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Malachite, Onyx
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Cement
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s French Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Chenille
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Furniture
Chrome
20th Century Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Felt