Modern Case Pieces and Storage 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s French Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1990s French Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Laminate
1990s French Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Other
1990s Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Lacquer
1990s American Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1990s Italian Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Aluminum
1990s Italian Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Ash, Olive, Macassar
Late 20th Century Philippine Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Rattan
1980s French Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wrought Iron
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Aluminum
1970s European Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood, Elm
1990s American Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Plastic
1970s French Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1970s French Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1990s French Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Laminate
1980s French Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Oak
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Late 20th Century Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mirror, Cherry
Late 20th Century American Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Nickel
Late 20th Century Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Metal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Rosewood, Sycamore
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Straw, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Burl
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Travertine
1970s American Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1980s Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
Late 20th Century Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Glass, Mirror, Cherry
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
1980s French Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Elm
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Metal
1970s Belgian Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Glass, Plastic, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Reed
1970s American Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1990s Spanish Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Metal
1990s German Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Steel, Chrome
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Composition, Marble
Late 20th Century American Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Nickel
Late 20th Century Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Metal
Late 20th Century French Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Shell, Eggshell, Bamboo
1970s American Vintage Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Chrome
1990s Italian Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Metal, Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Modern Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood