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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Scandinavian Style Kilim Rug with Brown & Blue Geometric Patterns

Modern Furniture

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Rug in a Red & Orange-Brown Striae, Geometric Patterns

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

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

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Yellow & Orange Stripes & Geometric Patterns

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Hand-Knotted Cubist Runner in Green and Black Striped Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Persian Kerman Style Rug in Black with Vibrant Floral Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Textural Rug in Blue and Beige Tones and Striae

2010s Pakistani Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Custom Tiger-Skin Rug Design with Orange and Brown Pictorial

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Abstract Rug “Monsoon” by Natascha Maksimovic

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug with Light Blue Geometric Patterns

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Patchwork Kilim Rug in Polychromatic Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Custom Kilim with Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim x Jenn Ski Custom Mid-Century Modern Rug with Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Cream and White with Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Moroccan Style Geometric Scatter Rug in Beige-Brown

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Textural Rug in Light Blue Tones

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Textural Rug in Beige-Brown Stripes and Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Textural Rug in Brown and Purple Stripes and Striae

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Gray and Blue Textural Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Caucasian Tribal Rug in Red with Camel Pictorials

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim's Classic-Style Floral Runner in a Blue, Multicolor Floral Pattern

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Tiger Rug in White, Black, Orange Pictorial Pattern

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Contemporary Square Kilim in Ochre, Blue Stripes and Brown Accents

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Hemp Flatweave Runner Rug in Beige-Brown Tones

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Rug in a Blue and Beige-Brown Striae, Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Distressed Style Gift-Size Abstract Rug in Gray, White and Black

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Rug With Beige-Brown Geometric Pattern

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Kilim in Beige & Blue Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Patchwork Kilim Runner in Polychromatic Stripes

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Modern Kilim Rug, in Teal Tones, with Muted Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Distressed Swedish Style Rug in Red and Brown Geometric Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

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

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Modern Abstract CIrcle Rug, in Beige-Brown, Taupe and Gold Accents

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Patchwork Kilim in Polychromatic Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Scandinavian Kilim and Scatter Rug with Patterns in Cool Blue Tone

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug & Kilim’s Afghan Tribal Kilim Rug in Red with Geometric Striped Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture