Modern Lounge 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Bronze
2010s Philippine Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Ecuadorean Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze, Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Ceramic, Upholstery
2010s Ecuadorean Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze, Steel, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Jute, Wood, Trimming
2010s Ecuadorean Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze, Steel, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Ecuadorean Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze, Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
2010s Asian Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Ecuadorean Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze, Stainless Steel, Steel
2010s Ecuadorean Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze, Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Ceramic, Upholstery, Walnut
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Asian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Teak, Rope, Rattan
2010s Canadian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Ash, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Australian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wenge, Wood, Faux Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s German Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Canadian Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Argentine Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Argentine Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather