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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Cotton, Hardwood
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Velvet, Wood
1950s European Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Steel
2010s Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Upholstery
Mid-20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Faux Leather
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1940s Belgian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Cotton, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s South Korean Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
1950s European Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Steel
2010s Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Wood
2010s Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Fabric
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1970s Brazilian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Wood
2010s Chinese Modern Lounge Chairs
Marble, Stainless Steel
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Mohair, Upholstery, Velvet
1980s Norwegian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Copper
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Copper
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1990s Belgian Modern Lounge Chairs
Hardwood
1990s Belgian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Cord
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Brass
1990s English Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
Early 2000s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Bronze, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Straw
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Iron
20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Maple
2010s Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome