Modern Furniture

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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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

Style: Modern

Creator: Brendan Bass

New Modern Blonde "Shumway" Custom Oak Dining Table

Modern Furniture

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture

New Modern Blonde "Shumway" Custom Oak Dining Table

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture

Monumental Custom Onyx on Oak Dining Table on Tapered Base

21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture

Charcoal Concrete Top with Steel Counter Top Height Base

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture

RENG, Karamu, Decorative Glass, Mouth Blown Opaque Glass with Metal Framing

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture

Oak Plank Top Games Table in Onyx Finish with Opposing Corners

21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture

Side Table in Cross Fitted, Lagos Azul Limestone

21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture

"Modern Canopy" Queen Sized Bed

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture

Modern Geometric Coffee Table

21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture

Custom Modern Bookshelf in Soft Tawny Finish with Brass Accents

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture

Cream Marfil Octoganal Base with Zinc Pewter Top

21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture

Modernist Oak Dining Table

21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture

Side Table in Cross Fitted Grey Marble

21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture

Modern Canopy King Size Bed Frame

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture

Two Door Server with Honed Nero Marquino Top

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture

Modernist Steel Ebony Side Table with Silver Travertine Top

21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture

Square Coffee Table with a Patina Copper Zinc Top with an Oak Base in Soft Tawny

21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture

Modernist Dining Table

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture

Caroline Marble Dining Table

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture

Frameworks Marfa Sectional with Dark Brown Legs

21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Furniture

Pair of Ebonized Side Tables

21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture

Monumental Dining Table in Bleached Natural Finish Top and Blackened Steel Base

21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture

Square Coffee Table with an Absolute Black Leathered Top and Brass Base

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Furniture

Modern Leather Dining Chair

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture

Two-Drawer Bedside Tables

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture

Modernist Dining Table Red Oak

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture

Custom Made Bedside Chest with Three Drawers in Oak Wood w/ Hammered Steel Base

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture

RENG, Sheru, Gloss White Glazed Ceramic with Stylized Shell Design Lamp

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture

Black Oak Dining Table with Gold Bar Base

Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture

Large Pair of Venetian Pendants, Mouth Blown Amber Glass in Wrought Iron Frame

Early 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture

Small Antique Venetian Murano Pendant, Glass Mouth Blown into Wrought Iron Frame

Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture

Beautiful Venetian Murano Pendant Light, Clear Glass Mouth Blown into Iron Frame

Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture

Great Shape Venetian Mouth Blown Glass in Hand Knotted Metal Frame Pendant Light

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture

Royal, Dining Table Gold Onyx Ceramic Top on Brass Base, Made in Italy

Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture

Brilliant Venetian Murano, Honey Color Mouth Blown Glass in Metal Frame Pendant

Early 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture

Smallest Venetian Hall Pendant Light, Mouth Blown Glass into Wrought Iron Frame

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture

Oval Oak Top With Metal Base Dining Table Base

Early 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture

Rare & Small Venetian Murano Pendant Mouth Blown Opalescent Glass in Iron Frame

1820s American Antique Modern Furniture

American Federal Mahogany Side Table with Fitted Interior Desk on Casters, 1820

Early 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture

Small Antique Venetian Mouth Blown Smoked Glass Art in Iron Frame Pendant Light

Late 20th Century Modern Furniture