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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Brazilian Modern Furniture
Alabaster
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
2010s Ukrainian Modern Furniture
Wood, Faux Fur, Linen, Cotton, Fabric, Ash, Acrylic, Bouclé, Wool
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s Unknown Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Plaster, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s American Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
1980s Dutch Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
2010s European Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Nickel
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
1950s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s Ukrainian Modern Furniture
Cotton, Faux Fur, Velvet, Linen, Fabric, Sheepskin, Bouclé, Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Quartz
2010s Chinese Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s European Modern Furniture
Fabric
2010s Greek Modern Furniture
Wood, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Plaster, Wood
2010s European Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Oak
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Silk
2010s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
2010s American Modern Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Mirror
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Mirror, Oak
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Travertine
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Concrete
2010s American Modern Furniture
Concrete, Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Cedar
2010s American Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Resin
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Glass, Wood