Armchairs
20th Century English Victorian Armchairs
Rattan
1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Armchairs
Chrome
2010s European Armchairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Spanish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Cane, Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Armchairs
Chrome
1930s German Streamlined Moderne Vintage Armchairs
Steel, Chrome
1970s German Minimalist Vintage Armchairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Chrome
1990s American Bauhaus Armchairs
Chrome
1950s Slovak Mid-Century Modern Vintage Armchairs
Bentwood
1930s Czech Bauhaus Vintage Armchairs
Steel, Chrome
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal
1930s German Art Deco Vintage Armchairs
Chrome, Steel
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Armchairs
Upholstery, Birch, Bentwood
1920s German Bauhaus Vintage Armchairs
Chrome
1930s European Bauhaus Vintage Armchairs
Steel
19th Century Antique Armchairs
Upholstery, Bentwood
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Armchairs
Chrome
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Armchairs
Chrome
1910s Austrian Art Deco Vintage Armchairs
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Armchairs
Chrome
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Armchairs
Cane, Oak
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Armchairs
Metal
20th Century American Bauhaus Armchairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century North American Bauhaus Armchairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Czech Industrial Armchairs
Wood, Bentwood, Plywood
Late 19th Century Austrian Belle Époque Antique Armchairs
Cane, Bentwood
1930s Austrian Vintage Armchairs
Bentwood
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Chrome
1920s European Bauhaus Vintage Armchairs
Cane, Beech
1910s Austrian Vienna Secession Vintage Armchairs
Beech, Bentwood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Armchairs
Bentwood, Plywood
Late 20th Century Unknown Bauhaus Armchairs
Chrome
1940s American Machine Age Vintage Armchairs
Mohair, Birch
1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Vintage Armchairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Cane, Bentwood
1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Armchairs
Fabric
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Bentwood, Cane
1980s European Scandinavian Modern Vintage Armchairs
Metal
1970s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Armchairs
Chrome
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Armchairs
Metal
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Armchairs
Metal
1930s Czech Bauhaus Vintage Armchairs
Steel, Chrome
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Cane, Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Steel
Antique and Vintage Armchairs for Sale on 1stDibs
Armchairs have run the gamut from prestige to ease and everything in between, and everyone has an antique or vintage armchair that they love.
Long before industrial mass production democratized seating, armchairs conveyed status and power.
In ancient Egypt, the commoners took stools, while in early Greece, ceremonial chairs of carved marble were designated for nobility. But the high-backed early thrones of yore, elevated and ornate, were merely grandiose iterations of today’s armchairs.
Modern-day armchairs, built with functionality and comfort in mind, are now central to tasks throughout your home. Formal dining armchairs support your guests at a table for a cheery feast, a good drafting chair with a deep seat is parked in front of an easel where you create art and, elsewhere, an ergonomic wonder of sorts positions you at the desk for your 9 to 5.
When placed under just the right lamp where you can lounge comfortably, both elbows resting on the padded supports on each side of you, an upholstered armchair — or a rattan armchair for your light-suffused sunroom — can be the sanctuary where you’ll read for hours.
If you’re in the mood for company, your velvet chesterfield armchair is a place to relax and be part of the conversation that swirls around you. Maybe the dialogue is about the beloved Papa Bear chair, a mid-century modern masterpiece from Danish carpenter and furniture maker Hans Wegner, and the wingback’s strong association with the concept of cozying up by the fireplace, which we can trace back to its origins in 1600s-era England, when the seat’s distinctive arm protrusions protected the sitter from the heat of the period’s large fireplaces.
If the fireside armchair chat involves spirited comparisons, your companions will likely probe the merits of antique and vintage armchairs such as Queen Anne armchairs, Victorian armchairs or even Louis XVI armchairs, as well as the pros and cons of restoration versus conservation.
Everyone seems to have a favorite armchair and most people will be all too willing to talk about their beloved design. Whether that’s the unique Favela chair by Brazilian sibling furniture designers Fernando and Humberto Campana, who repurposed everyday objects to provocative effect; or Marcel Breuer’s futuristic tubular metal Wassily lounge chair; the functionality-first LC series from Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret; or the Eames lounge chair of the mid-1950s created by Charles and Ray Eames, there is an iconic armchair for everyone and every purpose. Find yours on 1stDibs right now.