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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Concrete
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s American Modern Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Leather, Velvet, Polyester, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Furniture
Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Moroccan Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stone, Marble, Onyx
20th Century Modern Furniture
Leather
Early 2000s Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
1990s French Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s Egyptian Modern Furniture
Oak
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Mirror, Oak
1970s German Vintage Modern Furniture
Crystal, Brass
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Mirror, Oak
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Mirror, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Scagliola, Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Scagliola
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Nickel
2010s Swedish Modern Furniture
Plastic
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Agate, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Nickel
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Oak
2010s American Modern Furniture
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Oak, Lacquer
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Natural Fiber
1980s European Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Silver Plate
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Marble, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Wood, Reclaimed Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Wood, Oak, Reclaimed Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Wood, Oak, Reclaimed Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Wood, Reclaimed Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Wood, Oak, Reclaimed Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Wood, Reclaimed Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Wood, Oak, Reclaimed Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Wood, Oak, Reclaimed Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Natural Fiber, Synthetic, Wool
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Oak
2010s French Modern Furniture
Fabric
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel