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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Distressed Style Modern Rug in Beige-Brown Abstract Pattern

Modern Furniture

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Distressed Style Modern Rug in Beige-Brown Abstract Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Handwoven Chain Stitch Pattern in Brown and White

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Oversized Contemporary Solid Textural Rug in Beige and Blue

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Classic Style Rug in Beige Brown Floral pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Mid-Century Modern Style Rug in Amber-Gold with Geometric Pattern

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Art Deco Style Custom Rug in Gray, Beige-Brown Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Mid-Century Modern Geometric Copper & White Wool Architectural

2010s Romanian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Rug in Beige-Brown and Black Floral Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Oushak Style Rug in Blue and Beige-Brown Floral Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Distressed Style Modern Rug in Blue Geometric Pattern

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s European Style Runner in Beige-Brown and Gold Arabesque Pattern

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Rug in Blue and Beige-Brown Abstract Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Kilim in Gray and Beige-Brown Chevron Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Modern Oushak Style Copper and Beige Silk Rug

2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Moroccan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's New Moroccan White and Black Wool Rug with Pile

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Abstract Modern Rug in Blue All Over Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Mid-Century Modern Style Rug in Gray and Green All Over Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Distressed Style Abstract Rug in Pink and Blue All-Over Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Art Deco Style Rug in Green High-Low Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Flat Weave, High-Low Kilim in White and Pink

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Contemporary Art Deco Style Beige & White Wool Rug with Air Design

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Classic Kangxia Style Rug in Brown and Blue Medallion Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Chinese Art Deco Style Rug in Beige-Brown and Blue Medallion Style

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's New Agra Transitional Red and Ivory Silk Rug

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Handmade Modern Rug Gold and Red Abrashed Striped Pattern

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Transitional Style Rug in Beige-Brown and Red Medallion Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's New Brown and Black Wool and Natural Sari Silk Rug

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Modern 18th Century Inspired Transitional Gold Wool-Silk Rug

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Contemporary Diamond Pattern Rug Beige Gold and Blue

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Modern Abstract Rug with Orange and Beige All-Over Pattern

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s European Style Runner Rug in Green and Gold Florals “Cordoba”

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

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

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Handmade Transitional Rug in Brown and Pink Floral Pattern

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s European Style Rug in Beige Brown Geometric Pattern

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's New Bamboo in Wool Gold and Brown Floral Rug

Early 2000s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Hand-Knotted Wool Silk Modern Runner in Brown - Geometric Design

2010s Egyptian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Persian Sultanabad Style Rug In Green And Beige Floral Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Contemporary Flat-Weave and Wool Rug in Beige Geometric Pattern by Rug & Kilim

2010s Chinese Modern Furniture