Modern Vanities
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Portuguese Modern Vanities
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Vanities
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Vanities
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Vanities
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Vanities
Marble, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Vanities
Marble, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Vanities
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Vanities
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Vanities
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Vanities
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Vanities
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Vanities
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Vanities
Brass
2010s British Modern Vanities
Brass
Mid-20th Century European Modern Vanities
Resin
Early 20th Century British Modern Vanities
Walnut
1950s Scandinavian Vintage Modern Vanities
Mirror, Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Vanities
Copper
Early 20th Century French Modern Vanities
Mahogany
Mid-20th Century American Modern Vanities
Wood
1960s British Vintage Modern Vanities
Mirror, Glass, Teak
1940s British Vintage Modern Vanities
Mahogany
Early 1800s European Antique Modern Vanities
Mahogany
20th Century Philippine Modern Vanities
Stone
1970s French Vintage Modern Vanities
Brass, Steel, Chrome
1970s Vintage Modern Vanities
Marble