Modern Armchairs
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 European Modern Armchairs
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Armchairs
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Armchairs
Wood, Oak
1970s German Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather, Upholstery, Foam, Polystyrene
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Hardwood, Foam, Upholstery
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
20th Century Modern Armchairs
Wicker, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
2010s Indian Modern Armchairs
Fiberglass
1960s Unknown Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Armchairs
Wood, Oak
2010s Indian Modern Armchairs
Fiberglass
1980s Norwegian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Cotton, Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Cotton, Hardwood, Ziricote
2010s Indian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Fiberglass
2010s Danish Modern Armchairs
Wood, Sheepskin
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Suede, Wood, Walnut
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Armchairs
Chrome
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Suede, Wood
2010s Modern Armchairs
Brass
20th Century French Modern Armchairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Other
1960s French Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Wood, Velvet
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Wood, Leather
20th Century Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Chrome
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
1940s French Vintage Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Goatskin, Lacquer
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Hardwood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Chrome
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Other
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Canadian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s German Modern Armchairs
Leather, Upholstery
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric, Wood