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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Kilim Runner in Taupe with Geometric Patterns

Modern Furniture

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Kilim Runner in Taupe with Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Kilim Rug in a Golden, Brown Geometric Pattern

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Rug in All over Brown-Black, White Abstract Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Textural Oversized Rug With Striae of Beige

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Kilim Rug in Brown with Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Distressed Style Modern Rug in Red & Gold Abstract Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Persian Style Rug with Black, Blue and Purple Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Scandinavian Style Kilim Rug in Gray, Red & Pink

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Hand-Knotted Abstract Rug in Blue, Beige-Brown Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug with Beige-Brown Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Beige-Brown Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Beige-Brown with Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Green with Geometric Patterns

2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Cowhide Rug in Beige-Brown and White Tones

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Blue with Cream Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Beige-Brown Geometric Patterns

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's New Kazak Transitional Red and Green Wool Rug with Horn Motifs

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Classic Ikats style rug with Blue, Gold and Rust Red Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Oushak-Style Rug in Indigo, Brown and Brown Floral Patterns

2010s Chinese Modern Furniture

Rug & kilim’s European Flatweave Rug in Beige with Green and Pink Floral Pattern

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Geometric Abstract Rug Red and Blue Modern Pattern

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Abstract Runner Rug With Beige, Pink and Green Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Handmade Contemporary Rug in Beige Brown Floral Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Beige-Brown, with Geometric Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern rug in Solid Polychromatic Tones

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Spanish European Style Rug in Brown with Floral Pattern “Cordoba”

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Textural Rug in Peach Tones and Polychrome Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Textural Rug in Grisailles Tone Stripes and Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Textural Rug in Purple Tones and Polychrome Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Textural Rug in Beige-Brown and Umber Stripes and Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Textural Rug in Dark Blue and Grisailles Stripes and Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Textural Rug in Light Blue Tones

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Textural Rug in Beige-Brown Stripes and Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Textural Rug in Beige and Blue Striae and Neutral Tones

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Textural Rug in Dark Blue Tones and Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Textural Rug in Peach Tones and Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Textural Rug in Greige Tones and Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Textural Rug in Purple Tones and Polychrome Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Textural Rug in Light Green Tones and Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture