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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Indian Modern Furniture
Cotton
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal, Brass
2010s South American Modern Furniture
Stone, Onyx, Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Alabaster
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Porcelain
2010s Modern Furniture
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Wood, Birdseye Maple, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Resin, Fiberglass, Lacquer
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Foam, Hardwood, Velvet
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal, Bronze
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Bronze
Early 2000s American Modern Furniture
Cherry
2010s German Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Moroccan Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s North American Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay, Pottery, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Wood, Walnut, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Fur, Natural Fiber, Silk
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet
1990s French Modern Furniture
Shagreen, Glass, Wood
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Central American Modern Furniture
Crystal
2010s Chinese Modern Furniture
Glass, Oak, Wenge
2010s Vietnamese Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s Modern Furniture
Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Furniture
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Chinese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Travertine, Marble
2010s Modern Furniture
Crystal, Stainless Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Plastic, Rubber
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Opaline Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Mirror, Oak
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Mirror, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Travertine, Marble, Carrara Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Metal
18th Century and Earlier Central American Antique Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel, Iron
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Bouclé, Maple
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Stone, Travertine
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass, Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
20th Century Modern Furniture
Walnut
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Mirror, Oak
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic