Modern Dining Room Chairs
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Ash
1980s Colombian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Wood, Lacquer
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Maple
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Velvet, Lacquer
1980s American Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather
Early 2000s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Rosewood
1970s American Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather
2010s Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Dining Room Chairs
Aluminum
20th Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Dining Room Chairs
Aluminum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Sheepskin, Wood, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Foam, Wood, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Sheepskin, Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
1970s Romanian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Naugahyde, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Bouclé, Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Textile, Wood
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Mohair
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
20th Century French Modern Dining Room Chairs
Cane, Wood
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Mahogany, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Linen, Wood
Early 2000s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Pine
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
20th Century American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel