Outdoor Performance Fabric Sofa
2010s Italian Sofas
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Sofas
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sectional Sofas
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Sofas
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Rope
Mid-20th Century Sectional Sofas
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Fabric, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Fabric, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Leather, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Upholstery
2010s Portuguese Modern Daybeds
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Rope
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Rope
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Rope
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Rope
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Rope
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Rope
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Stools
Rope
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Chrome, Nickel
2010s Thai Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Fabric
Vintage 1980s Post-Modern Stools
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Iron, Wrought Iron
Outdoor Performance Fabric Sofa For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Outdoor Performance Fabric Sofa?
A Close Look at modern Furniture
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.
Finding the Right seating for You
With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.
Fortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture — since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors — has evolved considerably.
Among the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility.
The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest.
Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs.
With respect to the latest obsessions in design, cane seating has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, while bouclé fabric, a staple of modern furniture design, can be seen in mid-century modern, Scandinavian modern and Hollywood Regency furniture styles.
Admirers of the sophisticated craftsmanship and dark woods frequently associated with mid-century modern seating can find timeless furnishings in our expansive collection of lounge chairs, dining chairs and other items — whether they’re vintage editions or alluring official reproductions of iconic designs from the likes of Hans Wegner or from Charles and Ray Eames. Shop our inventory of Egg chairs, designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the Florence Knoll lounge chair and more.
No matter your style, the collection of unique chairs, sofas and other seating on 1stDibs is surely worthy of a standing ovation.
Read More
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
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See How New York City Designers Experiment on Their Own Homes
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Why Drew McGukin’s Colorful Home Differs from Those of His Clients
The New York–based designer has a high-impact style that's all his own, as his loft in the Chelsea Flower District makes abundantly clear.
Jeff Andrews Captures Old Hollywood Glamour in His Cinematic Spaces
Having created extravagant homes for reality TV’s biggest stars, the designer is stepping into the spotlight with his first book.
New Orleans’ Lee Ledbetter Makes Design Magic by Mixing Past and Present
The Louisiana-born and -bred architect talks to 1stdibs about the art of making timeless places that matter.
How a Modernist Hamptons Home on the Water Became the Ideal Weekend Refuge
Damon Liss and Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects collaborated on this serene getaway for a minimalism-minded Manhattan family of four.
Desert Modern Designer Arthur Elrod Finally Gets His Day in the Sun
The Palm Springs interior decorator developed a mid-century style that defined the vacation homes of celebrities and other notables, including Bob Hope and Lucille Ball.