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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Tiger Rug in White with Multicolor Pictorials

Modern Furniture

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Tiger Rug in White with Multicolor Pictorials

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Kilim rug in Beige-Brown & Grey Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug with Light blue and White Geometric Pattern

2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture

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

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 Kilim Runner Rug in Brown Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Custom Textural Rug Design in Jute with Beige-Brown Striae

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Patchwork Kilim in Polychromatic Stripes

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Polychromatic Textural Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Classics Runner Rug in Cream with Floral Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Extra Large Cowhide Rug in Solid Black

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Moroccan Style Rug with Polychromatic Diamond Pattern

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Handmade Modern Rug Brown and Black Striped Pattern

2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Abstract Rug In Brown With All-Over Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Hand-Knotted Abstract Accent Rug in Silver, Beige-Brown Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Contemporary Dhurrie in Gray with White Geometric and Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Khotan Style Rug in Ivory with Pomegranate Patterns

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Tiger Pictorial Rug in Beige-Brown and Black Tones

2010s Chinese Modern Furniture

Rug & kilim’s European Flatweave Rug in Beige with Green and Pink Floral Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Turkish Patchwork Kilim with Polychromatic Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Square Rug in Blue and Beige, with Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Tiger Pictorial Rug Design in Burnt Orange and Blue

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Beige, White and Blue Textural Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Oversized Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Solid Dhurrie Rug in Blue and Green Tones

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Contemporary Rug in Solid Beige Brown Open Field by Rug & Kilim

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Distressed Abstract Rug In Beige, Blue and Green

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Modern Flatweave Runner in Beige/Brown, with Textural Stripes, from Rug & Kilim

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Gold and Pink, with Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture