Fifth Avenue apartment by Carolina von Humboldt Interiors. Sofa in rosewood and chenille by Celina, 1960s; bench in rosewood by Jorge Jabour, 1960s; nesting tables in rosewood with brass sabots, 1960s; armchairs in hardwood and celadon chenille, maker unknown, 1950s. Photo courtesy of Carolina von Humbolt.



By Benjamin Genocchio



For decades, the market for mid-century modern furniture was dominated by a familiar list of top European names. French designers such as Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, and Pierre Jeanneret, and Italians including Gio Ponti, Ico Parisi, and Franco Albini became staples of sophisticated interiors and increasingly expensive trophies at auctions and in galleries. Today, however, interior designers are looking further afield. Brazilian modernist furniture, once largely the preserve of specialist collectors, is moving decisively into the mainstream of high-end American interiors, offering a warmer and more relaxed alternative to the established European canon.


Designers including Joaquim Tenreiro, Sergio Rodrigues, Jorge Zalszupin, José Zanine Caldas and Percival Lafer are increasingly familiar names. Their furniture appears regularly in Manhattan apartments, Hamptons houses, and contemporary homes across the country, often alongside European modernism, contemporary art, and collectible design.


Several factors drive the shift, starting with a simple economic reality: the best French and Italian mid-century furniture has become extremely expensive. A rare original work by Prouvé, Ponti, or Jeanneret can now command a substantial premium simply because decades of scholarship, exhibitions, auctions, and promotion have established those names internationally. Brazilian modernism, despite enormous advances in recognition over the past decade, remains less completely priced into the market, making it an increasingly compelling option.


For interior designers, this matters. They can acquire furniture with exceptional design, provenance and craftsmanship without necessarily paying the premiums attached to the most celebrated European names. A growing sense of urgency also exists. As Brazilian designers become better known and scholarship expands, prices for the finest examples will likely continue to reflect that increased awareness. But price alone does not explain the enthusiasm. Brazilian modernist designers bring another vision of modernism—warmer, more tactile, more relaxed, and more closely connected to nature. French and Italian modernism are clearly not disappearing from fashionable interiors. But at a moment in time when people increasingly want their homes to function as havens rather than showcases, that combination of sophistication and ease feels particularly timely. Brazilian modernism does not ask us merely to admire furniture. It invites us to live comfortably with it, which is why it now feels so relevant in American interiors.


Designer Carolina von Humboldt of CvH Interiors points to what she describes as “the relaxed elegance” of Brazilian modernism in interiors. “For a recent 5th Avenue project in New York, our clients wanted a home that felt luxurious, elegant, and anything but ostentatious. Comfortable and welcoming were key words as well,” she explains. “Brazilian modern furniture immediately resonated with them: The sculptural and generous curves, great proportions, and the warmth and patina of the wood invited them to settle in, enjoy, and visualize how the pieces would look in their home.” Paired with a soft palette of refined fabrics, the modern Brazilian pieces helped von Humboldt create the atmosphere she wanted.


“Brazilian mid-century furniture was made during an extraordinary period of architectural and cultural experimentation, when designers had access to remarkable native hardwoods and an established tradition of skilled woodworking,” says Rodrigo Salem, the owner of Found Collectibles in New York, an Incollect seller and major dealer of Brazilian modern furniture in the United States. This is also where von Humboldt took her clients. “Brazilian rosewood, or jacarandá, caviúna and other richly figured timbers gave Brazilian designers a material and visual vocabulary quite different from their European contemporaries,” adds Salem.



Brazilian Modern credenza in Brazilian rosewood by Giuseppe Scapinelli, 1950s.



The results can be sumptuous. The density, grain, and color of the woods give even relatively simple furniture a powerful physical presence. Designers often let materials define a piece's character rather than treating wood merely as a structural component. Thick armrests, broad slabs, exposed joinery and sculpted frames celebrate the material itself on many original pieces. “Brazilian modernist furniture has a remarkable way of making the wood as compelling as the design itself,” says Douglas Durkin, founder of Douglas Durkin Design. “I’ve sourced many different pieces from Rodrigo at Found Collectibles, and in each case the richness of the caviúna or rosewood brings depth and individuality to a room. Their approach to restoration respects that character: a satin matte finish reveals the movement of the grain while allowing the patina of a piece to remain visible. These works have lived for decades, and that history is part of their beauty.”



Dining table in rosewood veneer with bronze smoked-glass top by Joaquim Tenreiro, Brazil, 1950s.



This is especially apparent in the work of Tenreiro, Rodrigues and Zanine Caldas. Their approaches differed, but each understood furniture as inherently tactile. “You want to touch it, sit in it and move around it,” Salem says with obvious enthusiasm. “Wood is carved and shaped rather than concealed beneath upholstery or reduced to a thin supporting structure.” That material richness also helps explain why Brazilian furniture feels so compatible with contemporary interiors. It offers warmth and elegance without looking traditional.



Pair of Brazilian Modern armchairs in pau marfim and olive-green mohair by José Zanine Caldas, Brazil, 1950s.



Another reason for its growing popularity is aesthetic. Brazilian modernism anticipated one of the strongest tendencies in interiors today: a move away from hard geometry and toward organic shapes, natural materials, and softer, more sensual forms. “Much European mid-century furniture is fundamentally architectural,” Salem explains. “Think of the sharp angles and attenuated lines associated with certain Italian modernists, or the rational, industrial structures of French postwar design. The best examples remain beautiful, but their geometry can feel formal.”



Pair of Brazilian mid-century modern rosewood armchairs in burnished caramel mohair by Móveis Cimo, Brazil, 1960s.



Brazilian modernism offers something different. Its curves suggest landscapes, rivers, waves, trees, and the human body. Chairs spread outward and around, not upward. Sofas are often generous and low. Wooden frames bend and swell. Leather is allowed to drape. The furniture has a sensuality that feels especially relevant and fashionable today, in an era that favors more casual interiors.



Rare Brazilian Modern chaise lounge in caviúna and mohair by John Graz, Brazil, 1950s.


Brazilian Modern sculpted sofa in rosewood and celadon mohair by Novo Rumo, Brazil, 1960s.



Sergio Rodrigues’s famous Mole chair, designed in 1957, embodies this idea almost perfectly. Its substantial wooden frame and loose leather cushions reject upright formality in favor of lounging. It is luxurious precisely because it looks comfortable. That quality resonates with changing ideas about domestic life. “After years in which high-end interiors could sometimes resemble immaculate galleries, clients increasingly want houses that feel relaxed and inhabitable,” says Kiki Dennis, principal at the New York-based architecture studio TenBerke. “For a recent project in Florida, our vision was a home that felt sophisticated and deeply welcoming—a place where our client’s children and grandchildren would feel just as comfortable gathering as the adults. Brazilian modernist furniture brought a wonderful balance of beauty and ease to the rooms that helped us achieve the kind of luxury atmosphere our client was looking for: distinctive and beautifully considered, yet entirely at home with family life.”



“Moleca” lounge chair and ottoman in rosewood and leather by Sergio Rodrigues, Brazil.



Brazilian modernist furniture fits naturally into this more inviting conception of luxury. It can be important without being precious. A chair can be sculptural and still invite someone to collapse into it. This organic quality also corresponds to a broader desire to bring nature into the home. Contemporary interiors are filled with stone, plaster, textured fabrics, plants, ceramics and natural woods. “Brazilian furniture belongs instinctively within that vocabulary,” Salem explains. “A beautifully aged wooden chair or table with an expressive grain, generous proportions and decades of patina can feel almost like a fragment of landscape brought indoors.”



Pair of “Copa” armchairs in jatobá and olive-green mohair by Jean Gillon for Italma, Brazil, 1960s. Private residence north of Phoenix, AZ. Photo: Rodrigo Salem.



Color is probably another reason for its appeal. The dominant palette of fashionable interiors today—cream, brown, beige, olive green, rust, and muted orange—comes overwhelmingly from nature. These are the colors of soil, leaves, bark, sand and stone. They're also the colors against which Brazilian modernist furniture looks particularly good. At the Found Collectibles showroom, a Celina sofa bed upholstered in olive green mohair, for example, can have the presence of an old tree in a room: the dark wood frame reads almost like branches or roots, while the mohair introduces another natural tone. Against cream plaster walls, pale rugs and warm stone, Brazilian rosewood becomes especially vivid.



Two-in-One sofa and daybed in Brazilian rosewood (jacarandá) and deep olive mohair by Celina Decorações, Brazil, 1960s.



“This compatibility makes the furniture surprisingly versatile,” Salem says. “A Brazilian chair can sit comfortably beside contemporary sculpture, an Italian lamp, an African textile or a minimalist sofa. The furniture has enough personality to establish a focal point without dictating the rest of the room.” That may ultimately be the most compelling explanation for the current enthusiasm. Brazilian modernism offers designers something increasingly hard to find: adaptable furniture that feels luxurious yet both historically important and fresh.




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