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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Abaca Custom Rug Sample, Black with Beige-Brown & Yellow Patterns

Modern Furniture

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Abaca Custom Rug Sample, Black with Beige-Brown & Yellow Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Rug in Solid Beige

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Polychromatic Stripes & Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Vintage Dhurrie Rug with Blue Stripes and Cream White Accents - Rug & Kilim

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Custom Rug Sample in Blue and Brown with Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Rug In Blue And Cream, With Geometric Patterns

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s European Style Custom Rug Sample, Silver-Gray with Floral Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Beige, Taupe and White Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Rug with Green Abstract Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Classics Flatweave Rug in Cream-White with Ikats Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Dhurrie Rug in Blue Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Dhurrie Rug in Blue & White Geometric Square Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Custom Scandinavian Style Rug in Pink with Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Dhurrie Rug in Blue Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Tiger Pictorial Rug in Brown, Rust and Black Tones

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Moroccan Rug in Cream with Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Pictorial Tiger-Skin Rug in Orange, Blue and Black

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Abstract Rug in Green with Painterly Pattern

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Patchwork Kilim Extra-Long Runner in Polychromatic Stripes

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim Runner in White and Black Textural Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Dhurrie Rug in Green with White & Pink Ikats Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Blue with Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Scandinavian Kilim Style Custom Runner, Green, Blue Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug with Gold Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Custom Kilim with Geometric Pattern

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Patchwork Kilim Circle Rug in Polychromatic Stripes

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Patchwork Kilim Rug in Polychromatic Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Blue with Brown Accents

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Classic Style Custom Tiger Rug in Orange and Beige-Brown

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Classics Rug with Black, White, and Gold Horse Pictorials

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Rug in Black and White Geometric Patterns

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Seafoam Blue with Green and White Accents

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Gradient Custom Rug Sample In Beige-Brown Ombre Grid

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Classics Flatweave in Red with Colorful Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture