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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Foam, Wood, Fabric
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wool, Mohair
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Metal
1950s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Oak
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Cord, Rope
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Teak, Fabric
20th Century Modern Armchairs
Chrome
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Metal
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Sheepskin
Early 2000s French Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Hardwood, Fiberglass, Upholstery, Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Armchairs
Leather, Hardwood
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Brass, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Cowhide
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Teak
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
2010s British Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
2010s Argentine Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Armchairs
Oak, Cane
1960s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Bouclé
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Fabric, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Other, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Foam, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Textile
2010s English Modern Armchairs
Cork
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Hide, Ash
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Cut Steel
20th Century European Modern Armchairs
Cane, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Armchairs
Beech
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood
1970s European Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s Philippine Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Fabric