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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Maple, Burl
2010s Malaysian Modern Furniture
Copper
2010s American Modern Furniture
Maple
2010s American Modern Furniture
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Velvet
2010s Malaysian Modern Furniture
Copper
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Taiwanese Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Mirror
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Velvet
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Furniture
Linen, Fiberglass, Wood
2010s Malaysian Modern Furniture
Copper
2010s American Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel, Iron
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Cement, Iron
2010s Austrian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s Central American Modern Furniture
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Oak
2010s American Modern Furniture
Maple
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s American Modern Furniture
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Balinese Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s Central American Modern Furniture
Crystal
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s American Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Stone, Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Velvet
2010s American Modern Furniture
Oak
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Stone, Travertine
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Marble, Iron