Modern Furniture
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s French Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Oak
1990s Dutch Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Bouclé, Chenille, Cotton
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass, Metal
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Furniture
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Sycamore, Walnut, Maple
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
1950s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Furniture
Paint
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass, Metal
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Furniture
Plaster, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Velvet
2010s British Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Concrete, Cement
2010s British Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Gold, Gold Leaf
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Oak
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Aluminum