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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Cut Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak, Leather
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
2010s Belgian Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Cut Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Sapele Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Sapele Wood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Maple, Plywood
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
1950s German Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Beech
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
Early 2000s Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Nylon, Plywood
Mid-20th Century Indian Modern Lounge Chairs
Cowhide, Teak
2010s Ecuadorean Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze, Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s French Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass, Rubber
2010s Ecuadorean Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze, Stainless Steel, Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s Slovenian Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile, Epoxy Resin, Carbon Fiber
1930s Swiss Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Plastic
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Foam, Hardwood
2010s Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Oak
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Ecuadorean Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze, Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s Ecuadorean Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze, Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Polystyrene
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Mohair
20th Century Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Ash
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Steel
Late 20th Century French Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chenille, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood, Feathers
Mid-20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Mohair
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
Early 2000s Guatemalan Modern Lounge Chairs
Plywood