Post Modern Directional Open Arm Lounge Chairs, 1980
By Directional
Located in Chicago, IL
Post Modern Directional Open Arm Lounge Chairs, 1980’s.
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
Post Modern Directional Open Arm Lounge Chairs, 1980
By Directional
Located in Chicago, IL
Post Modern Directional Open Arm Lounge Chairs, 1980’s.
Upholstery
Post-Modern Italian Lounge Chair
Located in Houston, TX
A stylized chic Italian lounge chair. Sturdy solid fruitwood frame with steel stanchions that support arms and seat. All professionally padded and upholstered in a low pile white vel...
Steel
$1,296 / set
Vintage Post Modern Dining Chairs, 1980s
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Italian metal postmodern dining chairs with grey/white lacquered wooden frames and chrome inserts in the backrests. Unknown designer but a very striking design. 1980s - Italy ...
Chrome
Ball Foot Sculptural Chair, Leather, Grey, Post-Modern, Panorammma, Mexico
By Panorammma
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
The “Ball-Foot Chair” is upholstered with a subtle beige cactus leather, a vegan textile infused with natural cacti fibers, which is produced in Mexico. The chair’s comfortable and r...
Steel
Post modern Yellow Leather Lounge Chair by Gyform Italy
By Gyform
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Post modern wide Yellow Leather Lounge Chair by Gyform Italy.
Leather
1980s Post-Modern Upholstered Swivel Chairs by Milo Baughman
By Milo Baughman
Located in Redding, CT
1980s Post-Modern Upholstered Swivel Chairs by Milo Baughman.
Upholstery, Wood
Post Modern Blue Leather Barrel Lounge Chairs, 1980
By Leon Rosen
Located in Chicago, IL
Postmodern pair of blue leather Barrel lounge chairs, 1980. Original leather
Leather
Post Modern Barrel Leather Chairs by Leolux, 1970
By Leolux
Located in Chicago, IL
Postmodern Barrel Leather Chairs by Leolux, 1970. Original leather with beautiful patina. Sofa is sold in separate listing.
Leather
Post Modern Perforated Steel and Chrome Arm Chair c. 1980's
By Shiro Kuramata
Located in New York, NY
Chic perforated steel and chrome arm chair, in excellent original, clean and ready to use condition. The chair features a perforated steel seat, back and arms, which are supported by...
Steel, Chrome
Tree Chair 2 - Sculptural Post-Modern Handcrafted Side Chair
By Nicholas Tilma
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Tree Chair 2 is a sculpted plywood chair. It’s visual language references natural forms – skeletons and bones, dinosaur anatomy, and dead branches, smooth and free of bark; all while...
Birch, Plywood
Ball Foot Sculptural Chair, Baby Blue, Post-Modern Design, Panorammma, Mexico
By Panorammma
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
The “Ball-Foot Chair” is upholstered with a baby blue leather. The chair’s comfortable and rounded seat is playfully in dialogue with its distinctive spherical extremities. Appearin...
Steel
Post Modern Biscuit Tufted Pair Turquoise Lounge Chairs, 1980
Located in Chicago, IL
Post Modern Biscuit Tufted Pair Turquoise Lounge Chairs, 1980’s.
Upholstery
Set of Six Post-Modern Dining Chairs
Located in Highland, IN
Set of six terrific dining chairs with a clean post-modern design that works well with most styles– from mid-century modern to contemporary.
Upholstery, Wood
$499Sale Price / item|50% Off
Post Modern Black Leather UNO chairs with chrome tube frame Archizoom
By Archizoom Associati
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Black leather and tubular cantilever chrome "Uno" chair made by Marcatre and designed in 1973 by Paolo Deganella and Gilberto Corretti members of the Italian "Archizoom" group in Flo...
Chrome
$263Sale Price|20% Off
Post-Modern 1990s Wood & Aluminum Modern Cantilever Z-Frame Chair
Located in San Carlos, CA
Rare 1990s Modern Cantilever Z-Frame Chair – Wood & Aluminum Statement Piece Upgrade your space with this striking modern cantilever chair, a true testament to 1990s contemporar...
Aluminum
$1,320Sale Price|41% Off
Post-Modern 1980s Cream Chrome Thonet Lounge Chair
By Thonet
Located in Madison, WI
RARE. This sculptural chair makes quite the statement in any space! It is a Post-Modern style chair, with extreme character.
Chrome
$1,120Sale Price / set|60% Off
Pair of Post Modern Italian Green Leather lounge chairs
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Pair of Italian Green Leather Lounge armchairs with removable cushions and armrests attached with zippers. High end soft leather upholstery - Pillow style post modern design. Made in...
Leather
$1,640 / set
Post modern dining chairs, set of 6 - 1980s
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Set of 6 post modern white lacquered wooden dining chairs with grey metal legs.
Metal
Ball Foot Sculptural Chair, Vegan Leather, Beige, Post-Modern, Panorammma, Mex
By Panorammma
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
The “Ball-Foot Chair” is upholstered with a subtle beige cactus leather, a vegan textile infused with natural cacti fibers, which is produced in Mexico. The chair’s comfortable and r...
Steel
Set of 4 Enameled Indoor / Outdoor Post-Modern Stacking Shell Chairs
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Set of 4 enameled indoor / outdoor post-modern stacking shell chairs. Neat design.
Steel
Surrealist Post Modern Three Legged Chair in Ivory Bouclé, circa 1980s
Located in Saint Louis, MO
Photographed along with and also currently available in our shop: 1980s Brass Vase 1980s Post Modern Travertine side table
Bouclé, Upholstery, Wood
Pair of Fine Custom Post Modern Design Club Chairs
Located in Bridgeport, CT
Pair of Post Modern Style barrel back chairs with sculptured frame, slightly flared arms and resting on contrasting and shape feet.
Fabric, Wood
Dutch Post-Modern Camel Leather High Back Lounge Chair, 1990s
By Jane Worthington, Leolux
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Dutch Post-Modern lounge chair from the 1990s, fully upholstered in camel leather.
Leather
Rascal Chair by Niall O'Flynn for Spectrum, Post-Modern Design, 1997
By Niall O'Flynn, 't Spectrum
Located in Toronto, CA
In the creation of the Rascal chair for Dutch furniture brand Spectrum, designer Niall O’Flynn marries his architectural vision with the brand’s commitment to explorations of structu...
Steel
Pair of Post-Modern Adjustable Lounge Chairs, Europe 1980s
Located in Utrecht, NL
This stunning pair of lounge chairs embodies an era of bold, sculptural furniture with a focus on comfort and organic form. Postmodernism in the 1980s embraced a playful approach to ...
Wood, Upholstery
Moooi Smoke Chair '2004' by Maarten Baas, Dutch Design, Post-Modern
By Maarten Baas, Moooi
Located in CULEMBORG, GE
Manufactured by Moooi in 2003-2004, Maarten Baas’ series of Smoke Chairs are made of expensive leather in a burnt wood frame — a truly original and unique choice of materials. Smoke ...
Leather, Wood
1970s Italian Post-Modern Lounge Chair in White Fiberglass
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Lounge chair, fabric, fiberglass, Italy, 1970s This exquisite armchair, crafted with a fiberglass base in Italy, embody the post-modern spirit of the 1970s.
Fabric, Fiberglass, Beech
Post Modern Experiment Rocking Chair by Yrjö Kukkapuro
By Yrjö Kukkapuro
Located in Weesp, NL
Introducing a stunning piece of furniture - the minimalist and sleek Yrjö Kukkapuro rocking chair for Avarte. This chair is a true example of modern design, with a focus on form and ...
Chrome, Iron
$1,680Sale Price|30% Off
Post-Modern Camp Chair by Nice Condo, Solid Ash & Aluminum, USA
By Nice Condo
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A De Stijl inspired lounge chair emphasizing the parts that comprise the whole, as well as their connections. The Camp Chair utilizes simple stick-frame construction paired with indu...
Aluminum
Post-Modern Sculptural Pair Chairs Silver Metal Blue Glass Bohuslav Horak 1988
By Bohuslav Horák
Located in Vienna, AT
Post-Modern sculptural metal vintage chairs model Pupeny or Buds by Bohuslav Horak, 1988.
Metal
Austrian post-modern red leather and black wood chair by Thonet, 1990s
By Thonet
Located in MIlano, IT
Austrian post-modern red leather and black wood chair by Thonet, 1990s Chair with square seat covered in bright red leather with black lacquered wooden structure, with matt finish.
Leather, Wood
Austrian post-modern purple fabric Chairs by Marcel Kammerer for Thonet, 1990s
By Thonet, Marcel Kammerer
Located in MIlano, IT
Austrian post-modern purple fabric and black wood chairs by Marcel Kammerer for Thonet, 1990s Pair of chairs with square seat and oval backrest, padded and covered in bright purple ...
Fabric, Wood
Italian post modern folding chair in wood and blue fabric structure, 1990s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian post modern folding chair in wood and blue fabric structure, 1990s Folding chair with wooden frame.
Fabric, Wood
2000s by Tsutomu Kurokawa/Mapell Chair WAADZWIZ・Japanese Post Modern Space Age
Located in 足利市, JP
A rare and avant-garde masterpiece of Y2K Japanese minimalism: the Original 2000 "Mapell" Chair by Tsutomu Kurokawa for waazwiz. Designed at the turn of the millennium, this chair pe...
Faux Leather, Polycarbonate
$6,000Sale Price|20% Off
Post-Modern Lounge Chairs by Otto Zapf for Knoll, Black Leather, 1988
By Knoll
Located in Wichita, KS
A pair of Otto Zapf for Knoll International black leather lounge chairs, Marked as manufactured in 1988 . These chairs are large in scale and impactful. The plush lounge chairs ...
Leather
Post Modern Swiss Design Black Seconda Chairs by Mario Botta for Alias, 1980s
By Mario Botta, Alias
Located in Renens, CH
Seconda Chairs by Mario Botta for Alias, 1980s The Seconda Chair (1982) is an iconic piece of design, with use of materials that are typical for Botta’s furniture and lamps: Sheet m...
Metal
1980s Milo Baughman Post Modern Swivel Chairs, Set of 2
By Milo Baughman
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
The distinctive craftsmanship frame that give this piece a delightful post modern design, assuring a striking proportioned profile view from all angles.
Upholstery, Wood
Post Modern Ivory White Bouclé Clam Shell Swivel Lounge Chairs
By Directional, Milo Baughman
Located in Saint Louis, MO
Luxurious pair of channeled Post Modern swivel chairs freshly reupholstered in soft ivory white bouclé.
Bouclé
A SCULPTURAL POST-MODERN SHABBY-CHIC CHAIR, att. MAISON JANSEN, France 1970
By Maison Jansen
Located in PARIS, FR
An elegant geometric chair, Post-Modernist, Shabby-Chic, Bauhaus, square section metal structure with irregular and faded gilding and architectural details, interlocking geometric se...
Brass
Post Modern Pair Lounge Chairs by Preview in Boucle, 1980
By Preview
Located in Chicago, IL
Post Modern Pair Lounge Chairs by Preview in Boucle, 1980 Fully restored and reupholstered in white boucle.
Bouclé
Post-Modern Style Aurora Chair in Sculpted Black Ebonized Solid Wood
By SIMONINI
Located in Vila Cordeiro, São Paulo
The Aurora collection aka Dawn marks a new exiting moment in our design history, in where we dove deep in to the creativity unknown, to create a collection that would be able to hold...
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Faux Leather, Cane, Hardwood, Walnut
Post-Modern Style Aurora Chair in Sculpted Solid Wood and Upholstery
By SIMONINI
Located in Vila Cordeiro, São Paulo
The Aurora collection aka Dawn marks a new exiting moment in our design history, in where we dove deep in to the creativity unknown, to create a collection that would be able to hold...
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Faux Leather, Cane, Hardwood, Walnut
Post Modern Swiss Design Black Seconda Chair by Mario Botta for Alias, 1980s
By Mario Botta, Alias
Located in Renens, CH
Seconda Chair by Mario Botta for Alias, 1980s The Seconda Chair (1982) is an iconic piece of design, with use of materials that are typical for Botta’s furniture and lamps: Sheet me...
Metal
$476Sale Price|20% Off
Post Modern Memphis Style Club Lounge Chair by Bernhardt
By Bernhardt
Located in New York, NY
Pure 1980's Postmodern, memphis influence lounge, arm chair. Gutsy tapered legs support the dramatic upholstered seat. Structurally sound and sturdy, unfortunately, the fabric shows ...
Upholstery, Wood
Set of 6 Post Modern Gaetano Pesce "543 Broadway" Chairs For Bernini, 1993
By Gaetano Pesce
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This is a remarkable set of six "543 Broadway" chairs designed by Gaetano Pesce for Bernini (Italy, 1993). These iconic postmodern chairs embody the radical, avant-garde ethos of the...
Steel
Italian post-modern folding tub chair in red wood and beige fabric, 1980s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian post-modern folding tub chair in red wood and beige fabric, 1980s Folding cockpit chair with red painted wooden frame.
Fabric, Wood
$3,564Sale Price / set|20% Off
1990s Post-Modern Cube Wire Lounge Chairs, Metal, Geometric Design
Located in Round Top, TX
A pair of metal wire lounge chairs. Cube forms with deep seats and extremely comfortable ergonomics. The frames feature an intricate geometric design that feels Modern and clean. The...
Metal
Set of 4 Ettore Sottsass Mandarin Chairs by Knoll - Black + Red Post Modern
By Ettore Sottsass, Knoll
Located in Decatur, GA
Set of Four (4) Knoll International "Mandarin" chairs by Ettore Sottsass. Exemplifying Sottsass’s bold postmodern sensibility, these sculptural chairs feature vivid red enameled arms...
Metal
Set of 8 Ettore Sottsass Mandarin Chairs by Knoll - Black + Red Post Modern
By Ettore Sottsass, Knoll
Located in Decatur, GA
Set of Eight (8) Knoll International "Mandarin" chairs by Ettore Sottsass. Exemplifying Sottsass’s bold postmodern sensibility, these sculptural chairs feature vivid red enameled arm...
Metal
Set of 2 Ettore Sottsass Mandarin Chairs by Knoll - Black + Red Post Modern
By Ettore Sottsass, Knoll
Located in Decatur, GA
Set of two (2) Knoll International "Mandarin" chairs by Ettore Sottsass. Exemplifying Sottsass’s bold postmodern sensibility, these sculptural chairs feature vivid red enameled arms ...
Metal
$1,540Sale Price|30% Off
Red & Black Nicoletti Salotti Post Modern Italian Leather Low lounge chair
By Nicoletti Salotti
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Red and black Nicoletti Salotti Post Modern Italian Red Leather lounge chair. Very fun Beautiful pop art wide leather chair.
Leather
Italian post-modern folding tub chair in yellow wood and beige fabric, 1980s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian post-modern folding tub chair in yellow wood and beige fabric, 1980s Folding cockpit chair with yellow painted wooden frame.
Fabric, Wood
$767Sale Price|50% Off
Post Modern Pietro Costantini Chairs - Set of 4
By Pietro Costantini
Located in Waxahachie, TX
Set of four Italian postmodern dining chairs by Pietro Costantini Beechwood covered in white lacquer and original leather seating. Italy, 1970s or 80s
Wood, Lacquer
$2,600Sale Price|20% Off
White Nicoletti Salotti Post Modern Italian Leather Low lounge chair ottoman
By Nicoletti Salotti
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Cream white Nicoletti Salotti Post Modern Italian Leather lounge chair with ottoman.
Leather, Wood
Post modern Memphis dining chairs in bouclé, 1980s
Located in Zaandam, NL
Gorgeous set of 6 memphis dining chairs in turquoise with white bouclé upholstery on metal wire frames. This set in in a good vintage condition considering its around 40 years old. S...
Metal, Chrome
Italian Post Modern Alessandro Mendini Multi Color Leather Lounge Chair
By Alessandro Mendini
Located in Weesp, NL
Introducing the ultimate in luxury and style: the limited edition San Leonardo lounge chair designed by Alessandro Mendini in 1986 for Matteo Grassi Italy. Numbered 14/100 and comple...
Leather
Dutch post modern foldable side chair, Eindhoven Design Academy, 1980s
Located in Zaandam, NL
Striking foldable chair from the Eindhoven design academy circle, circa 1980s. Constructed from painted wood panels and steel frame elements with bold geometric cutouts throughout th...
Beech
Post modern folding chair by Niels Gammelgaard for Ikea , 1980’s
Located in Delft, NL
Post modern folding chair by Niels Gammelgaard for Ikea , 1980’s
Metal
Set of 6 post modern leather dining chairs, 1970s
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Elegant brown leather and metal dining chairs. Beautiful black metal frames. 1980s - Belgium Dimensions: Height: 86cm Width: 45cm Depth: 45cm Seat height: 45cm Ref.: 26082701 *p...
Metal
Pasquale Natuzzi Italian Post-Modern ‘Navaho’ Leather Lounge Chair and Ottoman
By Natuzzi
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Natuzzi 'Navaho' lounge chair and ottoman in original tan leather, designed by Pasquale Natuzzi and manufactured by Natuzzi. The Navaho debuted at the 1977 Cologne Furniture Fair, wh...
Leather
Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
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.