Modern Lounge 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Concrete, Stainless Steel
2010s Chinese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Walnut, Oak, Wood, Faux Leather, Upholstery, Wool
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Felt
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
20th Century French Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Chrome
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s French Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Walnut
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Rope, Hardwood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
1990s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Rattan
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Walnut, Upholstery
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1970s Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Cotton
2010s English Modern Lounge Chairs
Cork
Early 2000s French Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Steel
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Alpaca, Beech
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Teak
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood