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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
2010s Brazilian Modern Chaise Longues
Teak
Late 20th Century American Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chaise Longues
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Textile, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chaise Longues
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chaise Longues
Upholstery
2010s Portuguese Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Velvet
2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chaise Longues
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Chaise Longues
Cotton, Down
2010s Swedish Modern Chaise Longues
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chaise Longues
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Ash
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
2010s Philippine Modern Chaise Longues
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Aluminum
1980s French Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
2010s American Modern Chaise Longues
Teak
1990s Philippine Modern Chaise Longues
Copper
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric
1990s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Cedar
2010s French Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chaise Longues
Cut Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Hardwood
2010s German Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Faux Fur
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Wood, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chaise Longues
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Hardwood
20th Century Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Synthetic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Chaise Longues
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Chaise Longues
Brass, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
2010s Swedish Modern Chaise Longues
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chaise Longues
Oak
2010s Spanish Modern Chaise Longues
Brass, Steel
1990s American Modern Chaise Longues
Chrome
2010s Spanish Modern Chaise Longues
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Wood