“Modernism is the prism for everything in the 20th century,” Christopher Wilk, Keeper of Furniture, Textiles, and Fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum, once said in an interview. “Modernism was to that century what Classicism was to previous centuries. After Modernism, there was only postmodernism.”
RH,s, is celebrating this sentiment with the introduction of the 2024 RH Modern Sourcebook–a 364-page love note to this highly influential design era.
The collection is essentially the largest revamp of and features the work of international designers. It is punctuated with the icons of design’s past updated. Parisian designer Patrick Norguet gave a contemporary facelift (named the Boson and seen above) by widening the chair’s seat and swapping the Egg Chair’s four-prong base with a lux circular one offered in both pewter and brass. For RH, he’s outfitted the lounge chair in gorgeous linens, leathers, and seudes.
Inspired by island formations, Filippo Piotti created Isola: a modular couch with adjustable weighted back cushions.
Milanese designer Filippo Piotti seemed to lightly take notes from curvaceous 1950s sofa. However, Piotti was drawn to the formation of islands and named the modular couch Isola, which explains the weighted back cushions that can be easily arranged to create different views. According to the release, the versatility of the couch is due to Piotto’s fascination with “how people move, how they interact, how they sit…. and how the world, our environment, and our spaces are in a state of constant change.”
Another standout in the collection is the world by Viriginia-based designer, Julie Lawrence. She emphasizes the distinctive grain patterns in wood and has fashioned them into a sideboard, cabinet, dining table, and bed frame. There’s an in the mix, too, ideal for reading a book or, if we really want to channel the glamour of mid-century design, sipping on a martini. Some of the pieces are accented with richly textured hand-cased metal.
Virginia-based designer Julie Lawrence created a series of pieces based on the grain patterns of wood.
And, these are only three of the designers featured in the collection. Why are design enthusiasts (and avid Instagram users) still so obsessed with 20th-century modern design? Perhaps RH answers the question: the marriage of beauty and functionality never goes out of fashion.
To view the full collection, please visit
Style News Editor at Town and Country covering society, style, art, and design.