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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s German Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Ceramic, Upholstery
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Bronze
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Bronze
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Ceramic, Upholstery, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1990s Swedish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wicker, Rattan
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Polyester, Plywood
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
2010s Chinese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Hickory, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Lounge Chairs
Rope, Wood, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile
Late 20th Century Swedish Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Cast Stone, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Steel, Stainless Steel
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Elm
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s French Modern Lounge Chairs
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Australian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Oak
20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
Mid-20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Faux Leather, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wenge, Wood, Faux Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Oak
2010s Turkish Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Ash, Leather
2010s Asian Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Marble, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Hardwood