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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
$777 / item
42 Black Ash Frame Box by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
42 Black ash frame box by Lassen. Dimensions: D 42 x W 21 x H 42 cm. Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, metal, veneer, ash Also available in different colours and dimen...
Metal
$1,195 / item
49 Smoked Oak Frame Box with Shelf by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
49 Smoked oak frame box with shelf by Lassen Dimensions: D 49 x W 42 x H 49 cm Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, Metal, veneer, oak Also available in different colour...
Metal
$638 / item
42 Sand Frame Box by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
42 Fjord frame box by Lassen Dimensions: D 42 x W 21 x H 42 cm Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, Metal, Veneer Also available in different colours and dimensions. W...
Metal
$1,183 / item
49 White Frame Box with Door / Shelf by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
49 white frame box with door / shelf by Lassen. Dimensions: D 49 x W 42 x H 49 cm. Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, Metal, Veneer Also available in different colors a...
Metal
$1,195 / item
35 Oak Frame Box with 1 Drawer by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
35 Oak frame box with 1 drawer by Lassen. Dimensions: W 35 x D 35 x H 35 cm. Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, Metal, Veneer, Oak Also available in different colours a...
Metal
$1,392 / item
49 Smoked Oak Frame Box with Door / Shelf by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
49 oak frame box with door / shelf by Lassen. Dimensions: D 49 x W 42 x H 49 cm. Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, Metal, Veneer, Oak. Also available in different col...
Metal
$1,183 / item
49 Light Grey Frame Box with Door / Shelf by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
49 light grey frame box with door / shelf by Lassen Dimensions: D 49 x W 42 x H 49 cm Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, Metal, Veneer Also available in different colo...
Metal
$1,195 / item
35 Smoked Oak Frame Box with 1 Drawer by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
35 smoked oak frame box with 1 drawer by Lassen Dimensions: w 35 x d 35 x h 35 cm Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, Metal, Veneer, Oak Also available in different col...
Metal
$847 / item
35 Sand Frame Box with 1 Drawer by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
35 sand frame box with 1 drawer by Lassen Dimensions: W 35 x D 35 x H 35 cm Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, Metal, Veneer, Also available in different colors and di...
Metal
$847 / item
35 Fjord Frame Box with 1 Drawer by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
35 Fjord frame box with 1 drawer by Lassen Dimensions: W 35 x D 35 x H 35 cm Materials: Finér, melamin, melamin, melamine, metal, veneer, Also available in different colors and d...
Metal
$1,032 / item
35 Light Grey Frame Box with 2 Drawer by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
35 Dark grey frame box with 2 drawer by Lassen Dimensions: W 35 x D 35 x H 35 cm Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, Metal, Veneer, Also available in different colors a...
Metal
$1,032 / item
35 Fjord Frame Box with 2 Drawer by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
35 Fjord frame box with 2 drawer by Lassen Dimensions: W 35 x D 35 x H 35 cm Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, Metal, Veneer, Ash Also available in different colors a...
Metal
$1,195 / item
35 Black Ash Frame Box with 2 Drawer by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
35 black ash frame box with 2 drawer by Lassen Dimensions: W 35 x D 35 x H 35 cm Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, metal, veneer, ash Also available in different colo...
Metal
$359 / item
35 Base Frame Box by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
35 base frame box by Lassen Dimensions: W 35 x D 35 x H 28 cm Materials: Metal Also available in different colours and dimensions. Weight: 5 kg By Lassen is a Danish design ...
Metal
$777 / item
42-Light Grey Frame Box with Door by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
42-Light grey frame box with door by Lassen Dimensions: D 42 x W 21 x H 42 cm Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, Metal, Veneer Also available in different colours and ...
Metal
$951 / item
42 Smoked Oak Frame Box with Door by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
42 smoked oak frame box with door by Lassen Dimensions: D 42 x W 21 x H 42 cm Materials: Finér, melamin, melamin, melamine, metal, veneer, oak Also available in different colours...
Metal
$951 / item
42 Black Ash Frame Box with Door by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
42 Black ash frame box with door by Lassen Dimensions: D 42 x W 21 x H 42 cm Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, metal, veneer, ash Also available in different colors a...
Metal
Bookshelf Structure Wood Ebony Veneered Back in Vetrite with Strip Led
By sicis
Located in London, GB
Sicis is delighted to welcome you at ‘Home’. The classically inspired extent in contemporary plays an eclectic style, elegant and refined. Interiors express personality. A constant...
Glass, Wood, Ebony
Capanna Solid Wood Library, Walnut in Hand-Made Natural Finish, Contemporary
By Dale Italia
Located in Cadeglioppi de Oppeano, VR
Capanna is a wall bookcase equipped with shelves and support floors and made of precious canaletto walnut finished with acrylic. The Italian artisan tradition is reinterpreted in a c...
Walnut