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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Onyx, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Statuary Marble, Stainless Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool, Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Travertine, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Stainless Steel, Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Carrara Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Resin, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Carrara Marble, Granite, Onyx, Gold Leaf, Stainless Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Onyx, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Paint, Art Glass, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Marble, Granite, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Onyx, Stainless Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Statuary Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Travertine, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Travertine, Marble, Carrara Marble, Slate
2010s Chinese Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Furniture
Wood, Birch
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Scandinavian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Guatemalan Modern Furniture
Wood