Modern Chairs
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Portuguese Modern Chairs
Bouclé, Wood
2010s Tunisian Modern Chairs
Palmwood
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Chairs
Wood, Birch
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Hide, Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Dutch Modern Chairs
Plastic
2010s British Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Dutch Modern Chairs
Plastic
2010s Dutch Modern Chairs
Plastic
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Wood, Cedar
2010s French Modern Chairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Chairs
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Leather, Ash
1930s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Fabric, Velvet, Beech, Leather, Bouclé, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Leather, Bouclé, Velvet, Wood, Faux Fur
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood, Beech, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood, Beech, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Velvet, Bouclé, Leather, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Philippine Modern Chairs
Rattan, Foam, Maple
2010s American Modern Chairs
Fabric, Plywood
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Faux Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Chairs
Steel, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chairs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Chairs
Wood
Early 2000s European Modern Chairs
Birch
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal, Brass
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Ash, Plywood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Steel