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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Metal, Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Nickel
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Lacquer
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Wood, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Hardwood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Chrome
1920s Swedish Vintage Modern Furniture
Birch
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Beech
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
20th Century Modern Furniture
Wrought Iron
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Crystal, Chrome
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Leather, Cherry
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel
1970s Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Mirror
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
Modern furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Modern Interiors
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