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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Bronze
1950s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Chinese Modern Furniture
Walnut
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Metal
Mid-20th Century Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Concrete, Cement
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wood, Oak
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Oak
2010s Modern Furniture
Crystal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool, Silk
2010s British Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Asian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Teak, Rope, Rattan, Synthetic
2010s European Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Maple, Oak, Walnut
2010s Ukrainian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé, Faux Fur
Late 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Silver Plate
2010s Ukrainian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wool, Sheepskin, Bouclé, Cotton, Jacquard, Velvet, Faux Fur
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Nickel, Pewter
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Teak, Fabric
2010s American Modern Furniture
Reclaimed Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s French Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Linen, Wood
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Cement, Concrete
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Limestone, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Velvet
2010s German Modern Furniture
Chrome
2010s American Modern Furniture
Maple, Silk
2010s Malaysian Modern Furniture
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Taiwanese Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic