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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 French Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut, Fabric, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Leather, Fabric
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Steel, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass, Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Leather, Velvet, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Furniture
Jute
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Argentine Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay, Pottery
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Brass
2010s German Modern Furniture
Oak
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Enamel, Nickel, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Bouclé
2010s German Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Belgian Modern Furniture
Linen
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Oak
2010s American Modern Furniture
Maple
2010s European Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Other
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Leather, Oak
2010s German Modern Furniture
Chrome
2010s Tunisian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Travertine, Marble
2010s American Modern Furniture
Mahogany
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Oak
2010s British Modern Furniture
Mirror
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s Finnish Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Furniture
Glass, Oak, Paint
2010s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Leather, Fabric, Wood, Fir
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Israeli Modern Furniture
Steel