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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
2010s Chinese Modern Furniture
Oak
2010s American Modern Furniture
Metal
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s British Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel, Iron
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wood
1990s Japanese Modern Furniture
Silver Plate
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay, Pottery, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Elm
2010s Modern Furniture
Crystal
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Plastic, Rubber
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Foam, Paint, Acrylic
2010s American Modern Furniture
Porcelain
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Bouclé, Chenille, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Maple
20th Century Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
2010s European Modern Furniture
Wood, Lacquer
2010s American Modern Furniture
Maple
2010s Chinese Modern Furniture
Glass, Oak, Wenge
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal, Brass
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Wood, Birdseye Maple, Maple
1990s American Modern Furniture
Nickel
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Stone, Travertine
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Bronze
2010s Greek Modern Furniture
Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Alabaster
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Travertine, Marble
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Chenille
21st Century and Contemporary Persian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal, Bronze
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel