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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Hemp
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal, Brass, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal, Aluminum, Chrome, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Finnish Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Suede, Mahogany
2010s American Modern Furniture
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Chestnut
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Teak, Fabric, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Furniture
Upholstery
2010s North American Modern Furniture
Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Oak, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool, Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Chinese Modern Furniture
Metal, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Fabric, Walnut, Oak, Cherry, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Copper
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Furniture
Brass