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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Dhurrie Rug in Blue and White Stripes

Modern Furniture

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Dhurrie Rug in Blue and White Stripes

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 Beige-Brown Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Custom Rug Sample, Brown with Gold Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug with Pink, White and Beige-Brown Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Runner Rug In Brown with Black & White Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Distressed Contemporary Abstract Runner in Polychromatic Patterns

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Chinese Art Deco Style Rug, with Bamboo Floral Patterns

2010s Icelandic Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Sheepskin Single-Pelt Fur Rug in Dusk Pink

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s European Style Custom Rug Sample, Gold with Blue Floral Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim with Textural Beige and Chartreuse Stripes

2010s Chinese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s European Tudor Flatweave Rug in Beige, with Floral Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Moroccan Style Rug Polychromatic Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Block Print Rug in Brown with White Floral Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Beige-Brown with White and Blue Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Moroccan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Moroccan Square Rug with Beige-Brown Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Flatweave Runner in Beige and Gray Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Pakistani Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Classic style runner in Red with Orange Tiger Pictorial Pattern

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Tiger Skin Pictorial Rug in Green, Beige and Brown

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Pictorial Art Runner Rug in Blue with Colorful Fish Illustrations

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Flatweave Rug in Beige with Brown, Gray & Green Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Tribal Rug in Red with Primitivist Geometric Patterns

2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Cowhide Rug in Black and White

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Distressed Style Abstract Rug in Beige, Black, Purple

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s French Art Deco Style Circle Rug in Beige with Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Dhurrie Rug with Pink and Cream White Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Blue Tones, with Geometric Stripes

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

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

2010s Chinese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's European Cream Pink and Green Wool Floral Tapestry

2010s Indian Modern Furniture