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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Scagliola, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Concrete, Cement
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Clay, Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Mirror, Oak, Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Danish Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Concrete, Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Marble, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Onyx, Marble
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
Early 2000s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble, Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Mirror, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Rose Quartz
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Travertine
2010s Swedish Modern Furniture
Plastic
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Velvet
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Wood, Pine
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Velvet
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Crystal, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cherry
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic