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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Straw, Foam, Wood, Purpleheart
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Textile, Wood
Early 2000s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Teak
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Lacquer
2010s Argentine Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Hardwood
Late 20th Century German Modern Dining Room Chairs
Aluminum, Chrome
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century French Modern Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Dining Room Chairs
Textile
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Textile, Upholstery, Wood, Hardwood, Cane
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Ukrainian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fur, Fabric, Wool, Faux Fur, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Rosewood
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
2010s European Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Velvet
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Fabric, Hardwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Resin, Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood
1920s French Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel, Chrome
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Teak, Fabric, Upholstery
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Fabric, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Rattan, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Oak
1970s French Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Wood
1980s Austrian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Rattan, Wood, Wicker
2010s Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Plastic
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Bouclé, Wood, Leather, Mohair, Linen, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Faux Leather, Wood
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s European Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wool, Bouclé, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Moldovan Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Ash, Oak
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Cane, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Jacquard, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Upholstery, Velvet
2010s Canadian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Wenge
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
20th Century Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Plastic