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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Furniture
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Wood, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Furniture
Bone, Wood, Bentwood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Furniture
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Straw, Beech
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Porcelain
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Sheepskin, Cane, Wood, Walnut
2010s Polish Modern Furniture
Wood, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Plastic
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Wood, Teak
2010s Modern Furniture
Bentwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood, Rattan
2010s British Modern Furniture
Travertine, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Statuary Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Oak, Walnut, Wood
2010s European Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Linen, Bouclé, Mohair, Leather, Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Canvas, Polyester, Velvet, Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool, Silk
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Iron
2010s Scandinavian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Furniture
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Fur
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Silk, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal, Marble, Brass
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Acrylic, Polyester
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Silver Plate
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Belgian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Cotton
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s French Modern Furniture
Other
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal, Brass