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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Chinese Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Marble, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
1990s Polish Modern Furniture
Glass
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Jute
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Velvet, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Porcelain, Clay
2010s Mexican Modern Furniture
Resin
1980s German Vintage Modern Furniture
Art Glass
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Leather, Straw, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Onyx, Marble, Stainless Steel
2010s Argentine Modern Furniture
Stone, Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Brass
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Cane
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Elm
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel, Iron
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Walnut
Late 20th Century German Modern Furniture
Porcelain
Early 2000s Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Wood, Hardwood, Maple, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Brass
Early 2000s French Modern Furniture
Silver Plate
2010s Argentine Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay, Pottery
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Marble
Early 2000s German Modern Furniture
Crystal, Silver Plate
2010s North American Modern Furniture
Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
1970s German Vintage Modern Furniture
Wood, Velvet
Early 2000s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Brazilian Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Chestnut
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
2010s Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet





