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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Leather, Walnut
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Furniture
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Murano Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Furniture
Wool, Linen, Foam, Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Wicker
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
1920s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s Malaysian Modern Furniture
Copper
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Resin, Acrylic
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s American Modern Furniture
Metal
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Marble
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Taiwanese Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Chestnut
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Furniture
Wool, Linen, Foam, Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Malaysian Modern Furniture
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Travertine, Metal
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Upholstery
2010s Greek Modern Furniture
Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Mirror, Walnut
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s Ukrainian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet, Faux Fur, Ash
1930s Austrian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
1950s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Israeli Modern Furniture
Metal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Faux Leather
20th Century Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Metal