Modern Chaise Longues
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 2000s American Modern Chaise Longues
Bouclé, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chaise Longues
Straw, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Wood, Textile, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chaise Longues
Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Chaise Longues
Brass, Steel
2010s American Modern Chaise Longues
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Lithuanian Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Foam, Wood
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Oak
2010s Modern Chaise Longues
Velvet, Wood, Bentwood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Chaise Longues
Metal, Chrome
2010s American Modern Chaise Longues
Bouclé, Maple
2010s Asian Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Synthetic, Rattan, Rope, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Chaise Longues
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Chaise Longues
Upholstery, Teak, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chaise Longues
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Other
2010s American Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chaise Longues
Leather
1950s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chaise Longues
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Wool, Bouclé, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Foam
2010s Brazilian Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
2010s American Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
1960s French Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
2010s American Modern Chaise Longues
Upholstery, Wood, Walnut
1950s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Foam, Plywood
1990s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
2010s Modern Chaise Longues
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Birch
2010s American Modern Chaise Longues
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Masonite, Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
2010s American Modern Chaise Longues
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chaise Longues
Leather
1950s Brazilian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Wood, Raffia
20th Century French Modern Chaise Longues
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Balinese Modern Chaise Longues
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Textile, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Upholstery
2010s Spanish Modern Chaise Longues
Brass, Steel