Modern Footstools
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century French Modern Footstools
Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Fabric, Wood, Velvet
1950s British Vintage Modern Footstools
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Footstools
Foam, Fabric, Plywood
Mid-20th Century French Modern Footstools
Oak
2010s Brazilian Modern Footstools
Leather, Hardwood, Fiberglass, Upholstery, Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Velvet, Wood, Ebony
2010s Brazilian Modern Footstools
Leather, Hardwood, Fiberglass, Upholstery, Textile
2010s Brazilian Modern Footstools
Leather, Hardwood, Fiberglass, Upholstery, Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Footstools
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Wood, Ebony, Velvet
2010s American Modern Footstools
Metal
2010s Brazilian Modern Footstools
Leather, Hardwood, Fiberglass, Upholstery, Textile
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Footstools
Metal
Mid-20th Century English Modern Footstools
Leather
2010s Mexican Modern Footstools
Walnut, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Footstools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Footstools
Leather
2010s Mexican Modern Footstools
Hardwood, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Footstools
Gold, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Footstools
Bouclé, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Footstools
Brass
1970s Vintage Modern Footstools
Chrome
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Footstools
Fabric, Plywood, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Footstools
Plastic
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Steel, Brass
2010s Argentine Modern Footstools
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Fur, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Footstools
Gold Plate, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Footstools
Plastic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Footstools
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Fabric, Velvet, Wood
Mid-20th Century Modern Footstools
Mahogany
Mid-20th Century French Modern Footstools
Ash
2010s Brazilian Modern Footstools
Leather, Hardwood, Fiberglass, Upholstery, Textile
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Argentine Modern Footstools
Fabric, Wood
1920s Dutch Vintage Modern Footstools
Belgian Black Marble
2010s Argentine Modern Footstools
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Suede, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Brass
2010s American Modern Footstools
Leather, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Footstools
Upholstery, Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Fabric
2010s Argentine Modern Footstools
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Footstools
Fabric, Wood
2010s Argentine Modern Footstools
Fabric, Wood
2010s North American Modern Footstools
Wood, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Footstools
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Velvet, Wood, Ebony
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Bouclé, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Footstools
Velvet, Walnut, Fabric
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Footstools
Brass, Steel