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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s French Modern Furniture
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Nickel, Pewter
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Nickel, Pewter
2010s Ecuadorean Modern Furniture
Bronze, Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Nickel, Pewter
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Nickel, Pewter
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal, Brass, Gold
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s European Modern Furniture
Bronze, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Wood
Early 2000s Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s British Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Bronze
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Travertine, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Travertine, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Travertine, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Travertine, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Gold
1960s Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Marble, Metal, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
2010s American Modern Furniture
Bronze, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze
2010s British Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass, Bronze
Early 20th Century Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s French Modern Furniture
Metal, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s American Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal, Brass, Gold Plate
2010s American Modern Furniture
Travertine, Brass, Stainless Steel, Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze