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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Polystyrene
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Modern Lounge Chairs
Linen
2010s Turkish Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery, Foam, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1990s Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Maple
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
Early 2000s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Canadian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
Late 20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Oak
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Chinese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Oak
Late 20th Century French Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s Asian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Rope
1980s Finnish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Sheepskin
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile, Fiberglass
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Oak
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
1980s Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass, Leather
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s European Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Rattan, Oak
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Cut Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel