Bruno Mathsson Pernilla Chair
20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Birch, Leather
Vintage 1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
Vintage 1940s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Beech
Vintage 1980s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Beech
Vintage 1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Papercord, Birch
Vintage 1940s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile, Birch
Vintage 1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Canvas, Birch
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Beech
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Beech
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Birch
Vintage 1980s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Beech
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood
Vintage 1980s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Beech
Vintage 1970s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Bentwood
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Canvas, Beech
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Canvas, Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Canvas, Beech
Vintage 1940s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Chaise Longues
Wood
Early 2000s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Chaise Longues
Cotton, Birch
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood
Vintage 1940s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Chaise Longues
Canvas, Beech
20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Birch
Vintage 1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Sheepskin, Beech
Vintage 1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Sheepskin, Beech
Vintage 1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Sheepskin
Vintage 1970s Swedish Lounge Chairs
Leather, Bentwood
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
Vintage 1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Canvas, Beech
Vintage 1970s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Canvas, Beech
Vintage 1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Bentwood
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Beech
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Beech
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Ash
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Beech
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Plywood
Vintage 1960s Swedish Lounge Chairs
Vintage 1970s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Canvas, Beech
Vintage 1940s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Beech, Birch
Vintage 1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Linen
Vintage 1940s Swedish Lounge Chairs
Beech, Birch, Laminate, Linen
20th Century Swedish Lounge Chairs
Beech, Birch, Laminate, Leather, Sheepskin
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Plywood
Vintage 1970s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Settees
Birch
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Birch
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Bentwood
Vintage 1970s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Bentwood
Vintage 1970s Swedish Lounge Chairs
Vintage 1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Vintage 1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Bentwood
Vintage 1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Beech
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Canvas, Beech
Vintage 1960s Swedish Armchairs
Vintage 1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Bentwood
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Beech
Vintage 1970s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Cotton, Beech
Vintage 1970s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Upholstery, Beech
Vintage 1950s Swedish Lounge Chairs
Canvas, Leather
Vintage 1930s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Canvas, Bentwood
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Bruno Mathsson Pernilla Chair For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Bruno Mathsson Pernilla Chair?
Bruno Mathsson for sale on 1stDibs
As the descendant of four generations of Swedish master cabinetmakers, Bruno Mathsson was born to design furniture. Mathsson was known as a methodical perfectionist who made usefulness the fundamental attribute of his iconic lounge chairs, tables, armchairs and other works, yet he was also a ceaseless experimenter, who constantly searched for improvements in form, materials and methods of design.
Like the Finnish designer Alvar Aalto, Mathsson was one of the first Scandinavians to embrace undulating, biomorphic forms in furniture. His early pieces such as the Eva and Pernilla series of chairs incorporate dramatically flowing bent beechwood frames, making them some of the most instantly recognizable works of 20th-century design.
Mathsson was also a pioneer of ergonomics — he is said to have based the contours of his chairs on the impression his body made when he sat in a snow bank — and used supple, accommodating woven webbing for seats. His concern for practicality is shown by pieces such as the Maria table. An elegant design with gate legs and hinged leaves, the table measures more than nine feet long when fully extended, but folds down to just nine inches in thickness.
From the mid-1940s through the 1950s, Mathsson focused on architecture, designing and building houses with insulated, triple-glazed window walls and heated floors — construction that flew in the face of traditional wood-clad Swedish residential design, and consequently met with some skepticism. He returned to furniture in the 1960s, employing an entirely new suite of materials: Stainless-steel framing and mesh seats feature in pieces like the Jetson chair; with the mathematician Piet Hein, Mathsson designed the Super-Elliptical table, which has a laminate top and four-part tubular steel legs that sprout like flower stems from a single base.
Bruno Mathsson’s stylistic flexibility as a designer made him a creator whose pieces meet all tastes and needs.
Find vintage Bruno Mathsson dining tables, seating and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right Lounge-chairs for You
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.