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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Chrome
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Acrylic, Fir, Walnut, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Furniture
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
Early 2000s American Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s Moroccan Modern Furniture
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Rock Crystal, Brass, Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Nickel
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Nickel
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Leather, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s German Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Chinese Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Teak
1990s British Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Wood, Oak
2010s Chinese Modern Furniture
Metal, Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Metal, Wire
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Central American Modern Furniture
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Silk, Wool, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Chrome
2010s American Modern Furniture
Cedar
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Travertine, Marble
Early 2000s Taiwanese Modern Furniture
Wood, Paper
Late 20th Century Indian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
1990s American Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
2010s Indonesian Modern Furniture
Wool, Acrylic