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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s Spanish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Pine
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s German Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1980s Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fabric
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Wicker, Hardwood
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Argentine Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Oak
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Resin
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Concrete, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Wool, Synthetic, Faux Leather
2010s Canadian Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Upholstery, Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
1990s Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood, Teak
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak, Plywood, Fabric, Foam
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Walnut, Machiche, Hardwood
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Concrete
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Teak
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Hardwood
1980s Slovak Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak, Leather
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Rosewood
2010s Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
Mid-20th Century Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Swedish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Lounge Chairs
Beech
1980s Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Lacquer
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Philippine Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Teak, Leather
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Acrylic, Wood