Modern Office Chairs and Desk 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s American Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
2010s European Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Wood, Leather
2010s Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Wood, Glass
1950s French Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
20th Century European Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
2010s English Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Wood, Faux Leather, Velvet, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Chrome
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
1990s North American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather
20th Century Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
1990s Swiss Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
2010s English Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Plastic
Late 20th Century European Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Wood
Late 19th Century North American Antique Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Plastic
1990s Swiss Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Plastic
Late 20th Century European Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Plastic
1970s German Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Other
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Swiss Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather
2010s Swiss Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
Early 2000s North American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Swiss Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Resin