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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Fur, Natural Fiber, Silk
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Leather, Walnut
2010s Ukrainian Modern Furniture
Cotton, Faux Fur, Velvet, Linen, Fabric, Sheepskin, Bouclé, Wool
2010s American Modern Furniture
Chrome
20th Century Spanish Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Leather, Mirror
2010s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Greek Modern Furniture
Wood, Lacquer
2010s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Metal, Wire
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
2010s French Modern Furniture
Leather, Fabric
2010s American Modern Furniture
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Lacquer
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Plastic, Rubber
2010s Greek Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century Albanian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Greek Modern Furniture
Wood, Lacquer
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Mirror, Walnut
Early 2000s Italian Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Wood, Birdseye Maple, Maple
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Irish Modern Furniture
Fur, Silk
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Hardwood
2010s Afghan Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel, Iron
2010s Greek Modern Furniture
Wood, Lacquer
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
Mid-20th Century Swedish Modern Furniture
Plywood
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool





