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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Mid-20th Century Persian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool
Mid-20th Century Swedish Modern Furniture
Wool
Early 20th Century Russian Modern Furniture
Wool
Late 20th Century Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s North American Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool
Late 20th Century Persian Modern Furniture
Wool
Late 20th Century Persian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool, Jute, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool
Mid-20th Century Persian Modern Furniture
Wool
Late 20th Century Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
Mid-20th Century Persian Modern Furniture
Wool
Early 20th Century Persian Modern Furniture
Wool
Late 20th Century Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
Late 20th Century Persian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
Mid-20th Century Persian Modern Furniture
Wool
Mid-20th Century Persian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Cotton, Jute, Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Crystal, Onyx, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Granite, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Linen, Cotton, Leather, Wood, Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Bouclé, Wood, Oak, Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Persian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Travertine, Onyx, Statuary Marble, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Beech, Leather, Velvet, Bouclé, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Stainless Steel