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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood, Walnut
2010s American Modern Furniture
Marble, Carrara Marble
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Brass, Bronze, Enamel, Chrome, Nickel
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Silk
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Wood
2010s British Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Linen
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Chrome
1950s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Cement, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Modern Furniture
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s Argentine Modern Furniture
Wood
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
Mid-20th Century French Modern Furniture
Granite
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Wood
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century French Modern Furniture
Steel
1990s French Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Furniture
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Furniture
Oak
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Cotton
2010s American Modern Furniture
Travertine, Marble, Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Cotton
Late 20th Century Mexican Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
2010s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Granite, Steel
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Silver, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Furniture
Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Furniture
Horn, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Wood
Early 2000s American Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Rattan, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Furniture
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic