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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 British Modern Furniture
Mirror
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Oak
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Limestone, Iron
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Jute
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather, Foam, Rubber, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Stone, Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Furniture
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool, Silk
2010s Ukrainian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Oak, Lacquer
1990s Japanese Modern Furniture
Plexiglass, Teak, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
2010s American Modern Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Resin, Fiberglass, Lacquer
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Textile, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet, Faux Fur, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Furniture
Other, Stainless Steel
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Silver
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Leather
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s American Modern Furniture
Walnut
Early 2000s Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Glass, Wood
20th Century English Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Metal, Gold Leaf
1970s Austrian Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool, Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Furniture
Chrome
2010s American Modern Furniture
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Steel
Late 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Fabric, Foam
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Chestnut