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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
2010s Belgian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
Early 2000s Italian Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
2010s Australian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s Argentine Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Quartz
2010s British Modern Furniture
Mirror
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Wood, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
Mid-20th Century Indian Modern Furniture
Teak
Early 2000s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Leather
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Plaster
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Porcelain, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Modern Furniture
Wood, Bentwood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Textile
2010s English Modern Furniture
Walnut
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Travertine
2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool, Silk
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
1950s Indian Vintage Modern Furniture
Teak, Cane
2010s German Modern Furniture
Metal, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Furniture
Brass
1990s French Modern Furniture
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s German Modern Furniture
Metal, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Wood