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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Contemporary Kilim in Beige-Brown with Blue Accents

Modern Furniture

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

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

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim Rug in Green and Blue Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Abstract Rug In An All Over Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern abstract rug in Pink, Gold and Gray Painterly Pattern

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Patchwork Kilim Rug in Polychromatic Stripes

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Patchwork Kilim Rug in Polychromatic Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Textural Rug in Rich Browns and Umber Stripes and Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Rug in Black, Blue and Purple Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Distressed Style Modern Rug in Beige, Green Abstract Pattern

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Orange & Cream Stripes

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Orange & Cream Stripes

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Runner in Multicolor Floral Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Abstract Rug in Brown Off-White Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Homage Geometric Red and Orange Wool Custom Rug

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Distressed Abstract Rug in Green, Beige-Brown and Blue

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Abstract Rug “Capriccio” by Blackpop & Sir John Soane Museum

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Patchwork Kilim in Beige with Multicolor Striped Pattern

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Light Blue with Ochre Accents

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Persian Kerman Style Rug in Black with Vibrant Floral Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Scandinavian Style Custom Kilim in Greige Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Persian Kerman Style Rug in Black with Vibrant Floral Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Abstract Rug in Beige-Brown, Gray and Red

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Custom Kilim in Multicolor Striations on White

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Pictorial Rug in Sky Blue, with Scenery Depiction

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Ombre Rug in Pink and Chartreuse Tones

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian style Kilim in Polychromatic Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Moroccan Style Rug with Cream Tone High-Pile Geometric Patterns

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Contemporary Moroccan Style Rug in Beige-Brown & White

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Rust with Off-White Notes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Abstract Rug in Green, Blue and Beige All-Over Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Abstract Rug in Blue and Silver Patterns

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Moroccan Style Rug in Brown & off White Tribal Pattern

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Rug in Off White, Black Solid Stripe Patterns

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Handwoven Modern Patchwork Kilim Rug in Multicolor Striation

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture