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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 and Gray Stripes

Modern Furniture

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Beige and Gray Stripes

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Beige and Brown Accents

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Kilim Rug with Textural Stripes in Pink with Beige Accents

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Kilim Rug with Textural Stripes in Gold and Orange Tones

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Black, with Brown and Green Accents

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Brown, With Beige and Green Accents

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern High-and-Low Textural Rug Design in Off White

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Kilim in Green stripes with Forest & Chartreuse accents

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Beige with Muted Textural Stripes

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Green, With Brown and Blue Accents

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Persian Tribal Storage Chest with Colorful Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Moroccan Style Rug in Black and White Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug with Green and Blue Floral Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Custom Scandinavian Style Rug with White and Ivory Geometric Patte

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Textural Rug in Beige and Peach Pink Tones

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Textural Rug in White Tones

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Moroccan Style Rug in Gray and Beige Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Moroccan Style Rug in Multicolor Stripes

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Persian Tribal Storage Chest with Colorful Geometric Patterns

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Persian Tribal Storage Chest with Colorful Geometric Patterns

2010s Persian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Persian Tribal Storage Chest with Colorful Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Moroccan Style Rug in Brown with White Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Moroccan Style Rug in Beige and Brown Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style rug in Blue & Beige Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Moroccan Style Gallery Runner in Red with Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug with Gray, Brown & White Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Persian Sarouk Farahan Style Rug in Navy Blue with Floral Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Kilim Runner Rug with Beige Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Kilim and Square rug in Gray Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Kilim with Taupe Chevrons & Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Beige and Blue Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture