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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Resin, Fiberglass, Mirror
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Limestone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Wood, Oak, Walnut
Late 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Foil
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Metal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Travertine
1980s Vintage Modern Furniture
Malachite, Silver Plate, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Furniture
Oak, Wood
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Indonesian Modern Furniture
Wool, Acrylic, Yarn
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Natural Fiber
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Marble, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass
Late 20th Century German Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Furniture
Wood, Walnut
1970s English Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Gold
1980s Irish Vintage Modern Furniture
Crystal, Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Rattan
2010s American Modern Furniture
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic, Rubber
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Oak, Cane
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
Late 20th Century English Modern Furniture
Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
2010s Australian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Leather, Hardwood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Leather, Suede
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Furniture
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century English Modern Furniture
Fabric, Beech
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Furniture
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Oak, Lacquer





