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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Extra-Long Runner Rug, in Gray and Beige

Modern Furniture

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim Extra-Long Runner Rug, in Gray and Beige

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Khotan Rug in Beige-Brown With Geometric Floral Patterns

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Rug in Black and White Checkerboard Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Gold, Brown & Grey Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Bahaus Style Modern Rug with Beige-Brown Geometric Pattern

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Extra-Long Kilim Runner Rug with White Textural Stripes and Striae

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Patchwork Kilim in Polychromatic Stripes

2010s Moroccan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Custom Moroccan Rug Design in Green with White Lozenge Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Tribal Kuba Style Rug in Red and Beige Brown Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Hand-Knotted Silk Modern Tone-on-tone Custom Rug, Gray-Silver

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Classic Style Tiger Rug in Red and Orange Pictorial Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

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

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Rug in Beige-Cream with Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Classics Flatweave in Red with Colorful Geometric Patterns

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Rug in Polychromatic Ombre Design

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Oversized Kilim with Beige and White Textural Stripes and Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Distressed Style Gift-Size Rug in Beige-Brown Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Classics Rug in Beige with Brown Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Rug in Blue and Cream, with Stripes and Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Runner and Plain Rug with Beige Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Abstract Art Runner Rug in Polychromatic Tones

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Custom Rug in Blue, with Chevron Patterns

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Custom Abstract Square Rug “Snow” with Floral Impressionist Design

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Contemporary Braided Runner in off White

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Custom Scandinavian Style Rug with Pale Teal Geometric Patterns

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Patchwork Kilim in Light Blue Geometric Patterns

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Runner Rug with Open Field, Florals and Animal Pictorials

2010s Pakistani Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Abstract Rug in Beige with Brown Geometric Patterns

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Patchwork Kilim in Blue and Cream Geometric Patterns

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Contemporary Dhurrie Flatweave, Yellow, Maroon Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug and Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Beige with High-Low Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Tiger Pictorial Rug in Gray, Rust and Black Tones

2010s Indian Modern Furniture