Modern Armchairs
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Copper
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Wood, Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Armchairs
Foam
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
Early 20th Century Dutch Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s South African Modern Armchairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood, Bouclé, Fabric
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Hardwood, Fiberglass, Upholstery, Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Hardwood, Walnut, Cotton
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Hardwood, Fiberglass, Upholstery, Textile
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Straw, Foam, Wood
2010s Colombian Modern Armchairs
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Wool, Mohair, Oak
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Foam, Hardwood, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Straw, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Wood, Reclaimed Wood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Wood, Pine, Reclaimed Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Foam, Wood
2010s South African Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Philippine Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Armchairs
Bronze, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Foam, Beech, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Bouclé
2010s Asian Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Hardwood
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Sheepskin
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Foam, Beech, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Polyester, Walnut, Oak, Synthetic, Velvet
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Wool, Oak
2010s Danish Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Foam, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Foam, Beech