Modern Furniture

MODERN STYLE

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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.

Style: Modern

Creator: Rug Kilim

Modern Flatweave Runner in Beige/Brown, with Textural Stripes, from Rug Kilim

Modern Furniture

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Modern Flatweave Runner in Beige/Brown, with Textural Stripes, from Rug Kilim

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Modern Rug in Blue, White, Golden Abstract Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Contemporary Abstract Rug With Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Modern Tiger Pictorial Rug Design in Burnt Orange and Blue

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Moroccan Style Geometric Scatter Rug in Beige-Brown

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim s Handknotted Modern Abstract Rug in Pink, Gold and Brown

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Oversized Textural Rug In Solid Beige and Taupe Tones Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Contemporary Dhurrie Rug in Blue Stripes

2010s Icelandic Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Sheepskin Multi-Pelt Fur Rug in Brown and White Tones

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Block Print Rug Design with Gray Floral Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim s Distressed Custom Rug Sample in Red and Blue Geometric Patterns

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Modern Custom Rug Sample in Blue and Brown with Geometric Patterns

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Modern Custom Rug Sample in Red and Pink with Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Contemporary Dhurrie Rug in Blue Stripes

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Green-Blue with Geometric Pattern

2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Modern Cowhide Rug in Off-White

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Beige-Brown and Blue Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Unshaped Abstract Rug in Gold, Gray and Blue

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Abstract Rug with Polychromatic Striae and Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim s Modern Rug in Beige, Gold, and Pink Floral Pattern

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Contemporary Abstract Rug With Painterly Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Kilim with Geometric Patterns in Tones of Green

2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim s Contemporary Geometric Red Line Brown Wool Geometric Rug

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Modern Classics Rug with Black, White, and Gold Horse Pictorials

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Hand-Knotted Contemporary Solid Green Rug by Rug Kilim by Rug Kilim

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Runner Rug with Light Blue Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Blue Tones with Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Caucasian Tribal Rug in Red with Vine Scroll Pictorials

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Contemporary Abstract Rug With Multicolor Geometric Patterns

2010s Moroccan Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Custom Moroccan Rug Design in Green with White Lozenge Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Rug in Green Tones, with Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Scandinavian-Inspired Rug, Beige-Cream with Square Geometric Patt

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Moroccan Rug In Blue, Green And Beige Geometric Patterns

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Modern Textural Rug, Tone-on-Tone Beige and Light Blue Striae

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Modern Textural Rug, Rich Tone-on-Tone Brown with Gold Accents

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Scandinavian Style Custom Kilim in Blue Grey Geometric Patterns

2010s Turkish Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Tiger Skin Rug in Beige with Blue and Black Pictorial

2010s Indian Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Modern Rug in Blue and Cream, with Stripes and Geometric Patterns

2010s Afghan Modern Furniture

Rug Kilim’s Contemporary Kilim in Sandy, Solid Beige-Brown with Pink Accents

2010s Indian Modern Furniture