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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Modern Furniture
Leather, Zebra Hide, Canvas
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Modern Furniture
Fur
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Granite, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s American Modern Furniture
Leather, Oak
2010s European Modern Furniture
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Copper
Early 2000s Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s German Modern Furniture
Metal, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Fabric, Hardwood
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Leather, Fabric, Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Walnut
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Iron
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Lucite
2010s American Modern Furniture
Sheepskin, Wool, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Mirror, Wood
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Wood, Fir
1990s Danish Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Spanish Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood, Leather, Rattan
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
1980s Hungarian Vintage Modern Furniture
Wood
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Leather, Upholstery, Cane, Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Leather, Fabric
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Furniture
Linen, Wood
Mid-20th Century European Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Metal