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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Lacquer, Leather, Wenge, Wood, Faux Leather
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Bronze
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Modern Lounge Chairs
Marble
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Lacquer, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Hide
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Marble
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Calico
20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Canadian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Foam, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Wool, Oak, Wood, Bouclé, Mohair
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Foam
2010s Canadian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Cowhide, Wood
2010s Ecuadorean Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze, Stainless Steel, Steel
2010s French Modern Lounge Chairs
Stone, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Foam, Birdseye Maple, Fabric
2010s Indian Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Resin
Mid-20th Century Indian Modern Lounge Chairs
Cowhide, Teak
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s Indian Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet
2010s French Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze