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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Guatemalan Modern Lounge Chairs
Plywood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Cane, Wood, Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
1960s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Iron
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Walnut
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century English Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1920s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Lacquer, Leather, Foam
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Wrought Iron
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1970s German Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Upholstery, Foam, Polystyrene
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum, Steel
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Resin
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Cotton, Hardwood, Ziricote
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Velvet, Wood
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Walnut, Plywood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1940s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Early 2000s Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Plastic
2010s German Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Foam, Wood
Mid-20th Century German Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Walnut, Upholstery
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
20th Century French Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1940s Finnish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Birch
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
1980s European Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Brass
2010s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Walnut