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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Portuguese Modern Furniture
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Gold, Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s European Modern Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Foam, Wood
Early 20th Century German Modern Furniture
Metal, Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Gold Plate, Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Iron
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Upholstery
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Foam, Wood, Leather, Faux Fur
18th Century Italian Antique Modern Furniture
Abalone, Wood, Giltwood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble
Early 2000s Danish Modern Furniture
Wood, Bentwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Bouclé, Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Bouclé, Foam
1990s German Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Furniture
Limestone
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s American Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wool, Acrylic, Polyester
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Crystal
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood, Foam
2010s Greek Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Velvet, Foam, Wood, Trimming
2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture
Yarn
Early 2000s Danish Modern Furniture
Wood, Bentwood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass, Chrome
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Cherry
2010s Afghan Modern Furniture
Wool
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Metal
1950s Mexican Vintage Modern Furniture
Lapis Lazuli, Silver Plate
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Silk
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s American Modern Furniture
Marble, Stone, Brass, Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Mirror, Walnut
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Faux Fur, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Shagreen, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Papercord, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood, Faux Leather, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Marble





