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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Belgian Modern Armchairs
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Other
1950s French Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel, Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
1980s Norwegian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal
Late 20th Century North American Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s Slovak Vintage Modern Armchairs
Bentwood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood, Bouclé, Ash
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
1970s German Vintage Modern Armchairs
Suede
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric, Foam, Wood, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Hide
2010s Philippine Modern Armchairs
Rattan, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Chrome
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Velvet
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Armchairs
Teak, Leather
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Velvet
1970s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Hide, Ash
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Velvet
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
1950s French Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
Early 2000s French Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
1960s Czech Vintage Modern Armchairs
Cherry
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Rubber, Ash, Beech, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Hide, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Oak, Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Walnut, Cotton, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather, Upholstery, Walnut
2010s British Modern Armchairs
Aluminum