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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Belgian Modern Armchairs
Metal
1950s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Hide, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Foam, Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Chrome
1960s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Oak, Fabric, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Velvet, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Velvet
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Fabric, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood, Jacquard
2010s Ukrainian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Fur, Faux Fur
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Steel, Aluminum, Cut Steel, Metal
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Sheepskin
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Textile, Wood, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Wood, Walnut
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fur
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Armchairs
Oak, Cane
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Philippine Modern Armchairs
Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Bouclé
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Wood, Reclaimed Wood, Pine
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass
1970s French Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Cotton, Hardwood, Walnut
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Textile, Upholstery, Beech
1990s Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood, Teak
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Teak, Fabric, Upholstery, Cane
2010s German Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Ash, Bentwood
Early 2000s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
1970s French Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather, Upholstery, Foam
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Armchairs
Foam
Early 2000s American Modern Armchairs
Steel