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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 German Modern Furniture
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Scagliola, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Furniture
Onyx, Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Slate, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Mirror
1950s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Velvet
1980s Austrian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Velvet, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass, Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
1920s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Furniture
Walnut
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Furniture
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Travertine, Metal
1990s British Modern Furniture
Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Upholstery
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Upholstery
2010s Scandinavian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
Early 2000s Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Mirror, Walnut
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Earthenware, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Gold Plate
1990s British Modern Furniture
Cut Glass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Furniture
Wool, Linen, Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Furniture
Wool, Linen, Foam, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet