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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Hickory, Walnut
2010s Chinese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Wool, Bouclé, Wood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Cut Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Mohair
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Oak
2010s Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Lacquer
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1990s European Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Wicker, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Rope
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Ceramic, Upholstery
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Wicker, Hardwood
2010s French Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Maple
20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery
2010s Argentine Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Foam, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
Mid-20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1930s Finnish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Birch
2010s Argentine Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
Early 2000s Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass, Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
2010s French Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1980s Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel