With a vast inventory of beautiful furniture at 1stDibs, we’ve got just the bentwood sling chair you’re looking for. Each bentwood sling chair for sale was constructed with extraordinary care, often using
wood,
bentwood and
animal skin. Find 13 options for an antique or vintage bentwood sling chair now, or shop our selection of 1 modern versions for a more contemporary example of this long-cherished piece. You’ve searched high and low for the perfect bentwood sling chair — we have versions that date back to the 20th Century alongside those produced as recently as the 21st Century are available. A bentwood sling chair made by
Mid-Century Modern designers — as well as those associated with
Scandinavian Modern — is very popular. You’ll likely find more than one bentwood sling chair that is appealing in its simplicity, but
Westnofa Furniture,
Ingmar Relling and
Alex Drew & No One produced versions that are worth a look.
While this specific seating is known to all for its comfort and familiar form, the history of how your favorite antique or vintage lounge chair came to be is slightly more ambiguous.
Although there are rare armchairs dating back as far as the 17th century, some believe that the origins of the first official “lounge chair” are tied to Hungarian modernist designer-architect Marcel Breuer. Sure, Breuer wasn’t exactly reinventing the wheel when he introduced the Wassily lounge chair in 1925, but his seat was indeed revolutionary for its integration of bent tubular steel.
Officially, a lounge chair is simply defined as a “comfortable armchair,” which allows for the shape and material of the furnishings to be extremely diverse. Whether or not chaise longues make the cut for this category is a matter of frequent debate.
The Eames lounge chair, on the other hand, has come to define somewhat of a universal perception of what a lounge chair can be. Introduced in 1956, the Eames lounger (and its partner in cozy, the ottoman) quickly became staples in television shows, prestigious office buildings and sumptuous living rooms. Venerable American mid-century modern designers Charles and Ray Eames intended for it to be the peak of luxury, which they knew meant taking furniture to the next level of style and comfort. Their chair inspired many modern interpretations of the lounge — as well as numerous copies.
On 1stDibs, find a broad range of unique lounge chairs that includes everything from antique Victorian-era seating to vintage mid-century modern lounge chairs by craftspersons such as Hans Wegner to contemporary choices from today’s innovative designers.
