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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Furniture
Porcelain
2010s Mexican Modern Furniture
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Furniture
Yarn
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood, Leather
2010s Finnish Modern Furniture
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Acrylic, Polyester
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Fabric
1990s Unknown Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Foam
2010s Australian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Marble, Aluminum
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture
Porcelain, Pottery, Stoneware, Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
Early 2000s Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
20th Century Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Porcelain, Pottery, Stoneware
20th Century Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
20th Century Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Murano Glass, Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Furniture
Wood
20th Century Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Furniture
Resin