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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass, Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Natural Fiber, Synthetic, Wool
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Aluminum
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Rattan, Formica
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Travertine, Marble, Onyx, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Colombian Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Stone, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Stone, Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Stone, Marble, Granite, Brass
2010s Australian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Onyx, Brass
2010s British Modern Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Cedar
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Cedar
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Marble, Gold, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Persian Modern Furniture
Wool
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Onyx, Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Wood, Fir
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1930s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Paint
1920s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Paint
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Metal, Steel
2010s Canadian Modern Furniture
Fir, Reclaimed Wood
2010s French Modern Furniture
Stoneware
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Oak
2010s Japanese Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Oak
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Furniture
Sheepskin, Oak
1980s European Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass