Modern Cupboards
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Modern Cupboards
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Cupboards
Sycamore
2010s German Modern Cupboards
Metal, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cupboards
Brass
1930s French Vintage Modern Cupboards
Mahogany, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cupboards
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Cupboards
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Cupboards
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Cupboards
Metal
1930s Danish Vintage Modern Cupboards
Pine
2010s Belgian Modern Cupboards
Stone, Bronze
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Cupboards
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Cupboards
Wood
20th Century American Modern Cupboards
Mirror, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Cupboards
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Cupboards
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Cupboards
Wood
2010s German Modern Cupboards
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Cupboards
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cupboards
Lacquer
2010s Belgian Modern Cupboards
Aluminum
2010s Belgian Modern Cupboards
Stone, Bronze
2010s Belgian Modern Cupboards
Stone, Aluminum
2010s Belgian Modern Cupboards
Aluminum
2010s Belgian Modern Cupboards
Aluminum
2010s Belgian Modern Cupboards
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cupboards
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cupboards
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cupboards
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cupboards
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cupboards
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Cupboards
Ash
2010s German Modern Cupboards
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cupboards
Plastic
2010s American Modern Cupboards
Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Cupboards
Ceramic, Wood, Lacquer
Early 2000s Italian Modern Cupboards
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cupboards
Acrylic, Hardwood, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Cupboards
Ceramic, Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Cupboards
Lacquer, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Cupboards
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cupboards
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Cupboards
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cupboards
Stainless Steel, Brass
2010s American Modern Cupboards
Brass
2010s American Modern Cupboards
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Cupboards
Marble, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Cupboards
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cupboards
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Cupboards
Hardwood
2010s Italian Modern Cupboards
Wood
2010s Egyptian Modern Cupboards
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cupboards
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cupboards
Wood
2010s Canadian Modern Cupboards
Leather, Oak, Teak, Walnut
2010s Egyptian Modern Cupboards
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cupboards
Brass, Bronze, Zinc
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Cupboards
Brass