Modern Dining Room 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Purpleheart
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Textile, Upholstery, Hardwood
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Bouclé
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Bouclé
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Fabric
1990s Danish Modern Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Bouclé
2010s Austrian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wicker, Wood, Beech, Bentwood, Paint
1990s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Brass
2010s Austrian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wicker, Wood, Beech, Bentwood, Paint
2010s Austrian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wicker, Wood, Beech, Bentwood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Dining Room Chairs
Walnut, Mohair
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Velvet, Ebony, Beech
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Straw, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Beech, Velvet, Bouclé, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Beech, Leather, Velvet, Bouclé, Fabric
2010s Turkish Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Wood
1970s Canadian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
2010s Chinese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Poplar, Plywood
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Wood, Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Walnut
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Lacquer, Bouclé
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood, Walnut, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Taiwanese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Faux Fur, Leather, Velvet, Bouclé, Fabric
Mid-20th Century French Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric
2010s Mexican Modern Dining Room Chairs
Cotton, Hardwood, Walnut
2010s Mexican Modern Dining Room Chairs
Cotton, Walnut, Hardwood
2010s Mexican Modern Dining Room Chairs
Cotton, Walnut, Hardwood
2010s Mexican Modern Dining Room Chairs
Cotton, Hardwood, Walnut
1960s American Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Dining Room Chairs
Cotton, Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Bouclé, Wood, Fabric
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Dining Room Chairs
Aluminum, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Oak, Walnut
2010s British Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood, Walnut, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wool, Bouclé, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wool, Bouclé, Wood
Early 2000s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal, Chrome
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s French Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wool, Oak
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Bouclé, Wood, Wool