Modern Cabinets
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century French Modern Cabinets
Shell, Eggshell, Bamboo
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Granite, Marble, Brass
1940s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Cabinets
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Cabinets
Cherry
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Cabinets
Metal
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Steel
1920s Dutch Vintage Modern Cabinets
Belgian Black Marble
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Canadian Modern Cabinets
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Metal
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Cane, Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Stainless Steel
1930s Finnish Vintage Modern Cabinets
Birch
2010s Modern Cabinets
Metal, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Bamboo, Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Cabinets
Brass
Early 2000s French Modern Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Metal
2010s South African Modern Cabinets
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Cabinets
Brass, Stainless Steel
18th Century French Antique Modern Cabinets
Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Cabinets
Marble, Carrara Marble
2010s Modern Cabinets
Bronze
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Cabinets
Rosewood
2010s Belgian Modern Cabinets
Stone, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Oak
2010s Modern Cabinets
Copper
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Belgian Modern Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Cabinets
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Cabinets
Wood
2010s Australian Modern Cabinets
Animal Skin, Leather
2010s Modern Cabinets
Bronze
2010s American Modern Cabinets
Hardwood, Ash, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Cabinets
Steel
1950s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Ash
1960s American Vintage Modern Cabinets
Walnut
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Oak
2010s English Modern Cabinets
Walnut
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Walnut
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Walnut
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Oak
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Cabinets
Wood, Lacquer
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
Bronze
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Walnut
2010s Croatian Modern Cabinets
Ash